Think the much-maligned “southern crossing” is the only Bend bridge in trouble?

Think again.

On a night when Bend city councilors gave thumbs-up to a plan that could put the Reed Market Road extension across the Deschutes River in 2002, Assistant City Manager Ron Garzini said there could be a need for a 8 to 12–month closure of the 65-year-old Newport Avenue Bridge in about five years, in order to do a major shoring-up of the aging span.

After a state and local inspection scheduled for next month, the bridge could have new weight limits imposed, to prevent further damage, but Garzini said Wednesday night the load limits shouldn’t prevent any of the current uses of the span, including construction-related vehicles.

The story told in public works circles is that when a piece of concrete was being “tamped down” on the two-lane span, “a piece of the bridge fell into the water,” Garzini said Wednesday night.

State funding should be available for the bridge repairs, Garzini said, adding that the city has not yet determined what the price tag could be. The bridge currently carries about 16,000 vehicles a day.

City says Newport bridge not dangerous – yet

“We are seeing some movement on the bridge, some wearing of the abutments,” the city official said, stressing that none of the problems are serious enough to endanger public safety – at least, not yet.

A recent short-term closure of the bridge for repaving and maintenance work — and the resulting traffic backups — showed just how crucial a link the Newport Avenue span is among Bend’s five existing bridges. The others include the Mount Washington Drive bridge (due for widening), and spans at Portland, Galveston and Colorado avenues.

Garzini told councilors the city will add the bridge project to its 5-year capital improvement program next year and that the work is likely to happen in five or six years.

The city official noted that it would be good to have the southern crossing in place before the Newport closure occurs, to help carry some of the diverted traffic.

The city currently is working on its new Portland-Olney-Neff east-west thoroughfare and installing a traffic signal at the backlogged intersection of Wall/Hill streets and Portland/Olney avenues, leading into downtown.

Garzini said the city is trying to stage projects so as not to all affect traffic at once. But Councilor Bill Friedman said he believes the city has underestimated the boost in traffic Portland Avenue neighbors will see once the link to Olney and Neff roads is completed.

The city also will look at the idea of making other Newport Avenue changes, as proposed in a recent design “charette,” at the same time as the bridge closure, since the work could happen more quickly with reduced traffic. Garzini also said that to ensure a “high-capacity, low-speed” street system, as many citizens prefer, it may be necessary to consider – in 10 or 12 years — the idea of turning Newport and Portland into one-way “couplet” streets.

Garzini also outlined the first draft of a timetable for the environmental evaluation, design, public input and construction of the southern river crossing and adjacent park. The council will meet with the Bend Metro Park and Recreation District board on Sept. 6 to discuss the proposal, which would have the project ready to go to bid by December of next year, if all goes as planned. A competition may take place to pick the best design for the bridge, so it will blend into the canyon setting that critics claim will be ruined by the span.

The 16-month process is likely to cost the city about $400,000, said Garzini, who added that the schedule is not too fast or slow a timeline “for such a major project.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 17th, 2000 at 5:17 pm and is filed under Top Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.