Over the dull roar of rush-hour traffic in the I-405 gulch
below, a crowd gathered at NW Flanders and 15th to show a little love
for a bridge that’s halfway across town—the soon to be scrapped
Sauvie Island Bridge.
Those gathered—a few dozen cyclists and
pedestrians—support Commissioner Sam Adams’ proposal to move the
old bridge to NW Flanders, where it would serve walkers and bikers who
want to cross the freeway. The proposal, however, was voted down by
Mayor Tom Potter—who claimed the $5.5 million it would cost to
rehab and reinstall the bridge could be spent elsewhere on things like
sidewalks in outer East Portland—and Commissioner Dan Saltzman,
who had concerns about the sole-source contract with Max J. Kuney
Construction, which currently owns the bridge.
“It would create a bridge right there, across I-405,” says cycling
advocate Elly Blue, pointing to the gap between the auto-oriented
Everett and Glisan overpasses. “It would be the largest re-use project
in the history of Portland.”
“This is one of those rare instances where we’re expanding capacity
for bicycling and pedestrians because we’re creating a car-free
environment down here,” adds the Bicycle Transportation Alliance’s Karl
Rohde, noting that the mayor’s objections to the proposal were “just
flat-out wrong… the money for this project can not be used in other
parts of Portland.”
Breaking into groups, the bridge advocates carefully navigated the
Everett and Glisan overpasses by bike and on foot, to call attention to
their hope for a calmer crossing.
Moments after the rally began, Saltzman’s office sent out a press
release, announcing that he now supports the proposal: He and Adams
have worked out a new proposal that addressed Saltzman’s contract
concerns, requiring bids “for all construction related to the project”
and requiring the sources of funding to be secured “before executing
contracts.”
Though the project is on a tight timeline—Kuney Construction
needs to move it out of its current location in the next few weeks, and
is awaiting direction from the city to either scrap it or rehab it for
NW Flanders—Saltzman tells the Mercury that his
stipulation to secure funding at the outset means the contractor shares
the project’s risks.
Adams’ office is now in negotiations with Kuney Construction. Check
blogtown.portlandmercury.com for updates.