Starting the week of January 6, crews will be building a 10-foot diameter test shaft (foundation) just north of the Burnside Bridge in Tom McCall Waterfront Park. The test foundation will go down approximately 125 feet.
This work is part of the Earthquake Ready Burnside Bridge Project which is now in the Design Phase. It’s an important step before construction, to help engineers understand and verify how designs for the new Burnside Bridge foundations will interact with the soil. The findings of this work will also help the team determine whether 10 feet is the appropriate diameter for the new bridge foundations.
What to Expect
- Work will be between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m each weekday.
- The contractor may request to work on two separate weekends.
- No nighttime work is being requested for this work.
- The work will involve clearing and stabilizing the site, laying rock and fencing the area.
- Crews will bring in large equipment like cranes and baker tanks. Construction setup will be prior to peak commute times.
- The amount of noise activity will be between three and four weeks.
- Building the 10-foot test shaft will include excavating as well as placing concrete and reinforcement.
- Once the work is complete, crews will return the site to its original state.
- The work is not expected to impact the start of the Portland Saturday Market in March.
- The grassy area north of the bridge will be closed through April for reseeding.
Detours
The work area will be fenced in and contained within Tom McCall Waterfront Park. It will include the area under the Burnside Bridge and into the grassy area north of the bridge. Pedestrian and bike access will be rerouted around the work area either along the pedestrian path in Tom McCall Waterfront Park or along the west side of S.W. Naito Parkway. The bike/pedestrian path along the east side of S.W. Naito Parkway will remain closed for the duration of this work.
There won’t be any vehicular detours, but at times, there will be rolling slowdowns. Flaggers will be on site directing traffic on S.W. Naito Parkway to allow for large equipment to access the area.
Stay Informed
To sign up for regular updates during this work or to submit a question or comment, email: burnsidebridge@multco.us. Please put ‘Test Shaft’ in the subject line.
Construction & Noise Hotline
Call 503-988-4884 to reach staff at any time about construction noise.
Background
Multnomah County is leading an effort to replace the Burnside Bridge with a crossing that’s immediately usable after a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake. If you’d like to schedule a time to meet project leaders, ask questions and get an overview of the project, email: burnsidebridge@multco.us. For project information, visit: https://burnsidebridge.org/.
Multnomah County maintains five Willamette River bridges: the Sellwood, Hawthorne, Morrison, Burnside and Broadway Bridges as well as the Wapato Bridge over the Multnomah Channel. For information, visit: https://www.multco.us/bridges.
