| Modified contemporary bridge graces Sandy River |
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| Modified contemporary design will grace new Sandy River bridges |
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ODOT and stakeholders chose Gorge bridge design
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We have a winner: After receiving input from the public and stakeholder groups over the past 18 months, ODOT and the Interstate 84 Corridor Strategy Team have chosen a “modified contemporary” design as the one most suitable for the Sandy River bridges to be replaced near Troutdale.
As anyone passing east on I-84 through Troutdale knows, the Columbia River Gorge, with its waterfalls and steep basalt cliffs to the south and sun-burnished hills to the north, fills the eye with its spectacular beauty. Situated at the entrance to the National Scenic Area, the Sandy River bridges are an important addition to the landscape, and ODOT was careful to solicit public feedback on their design. The agency involved 400 people in workshops to develop the draft strategy and 200 people in design ideas and concepts.
The bridges must also conform to the numerous regulations that govern a National Scenic Area. To help it manage and improve I-84 structures in a way that meets public safety and transportation needs while also meeting NSA provisions, ODOT developed its I-84 Corridor Strategy. The strategy provides guidelines for design elements ranging from abutments and railings to landscaping and wildlife crossings. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say, so the guidelines take the ideas of everyone from engineers to locals and ensure that they are workable solutions.
“We have been thrilled with the level of public participation in the decision process for the Gorge bridges,” said Charlie Sciscione, ODOT interim scenic area coordinator. “The importance of these bridges has required a very thorough review process, and local residents and business owners have been avid participants all along the way.”
In a special August work session, ODOT discussed three design options with key stakeholders. The standard contemporary design is a sleek, trim bridge with plain concrete surfaces, suited to urban areas. The Cascadian design has a similar profile, but its surfaces are covered with rock that mimics the stone in the vicinity, and is suitable for undeveloped areas. The modified contemporary is mix of the two, with rock confined to the bridge piers and pylons, and reflects the bridges’ role as a transition between the greater city of Portland and the NSA.
In a community open house on Sept. 11 in Troutdale, the public reviewed and commented on the alternatives. Then the I-84 Corridor Strategy Team, made up of representatives from the U.S. Forest Service, Multnomah County and the Columbia River Gorge Commission, reviewed the bridge design alternatives to ensure consistency with the I-84 Corridor Strategy design guidelines and chose the modified contemporary design.
Aesthetics are not the only topics of special interest on the Sandy River bridges. Since spring, ODOT’s project team has worked with stakeholders to include a combined bicycle and pedestrian crossing over the Sandy River. The team ultimately decided to keep the path on the eastbound I-84 bridge rather than build a separate structure. The aptly named Sandy River will require that the contractor drill shafts up to 150 feet deep so that they can rest on seismically more secure ground. And decisions remain to be made about 12-foot decorative pylons that will mark the bridges as the gateway to and from the Gorge.
The Sandy River bridge work is part of a larger project in which ODOT will also repair the eastbound and westbound I-84 bridges over Jordan Road, at exit 18. The total cost of the project is estimated at about $66 million.
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