Burnside Bridge Earthquake Readiness Project

[maccoinnich]

Burnside Bridge ideas narrowed to 4 options as county seeks ‘earthquake ready’ crossing



Multnomah County has narrowed its list of ideas for replacing or retrofitting the Burnside Bridge, a project it says is necessary to make sure at least one downtown Willamette River bridge could survive an earthquake, to four options.

According to a draft document published Aug. 31, the county wants to further study the following: Seismically retrofitting the 1926-era structure; building a new bridge without a lift span; replicating the drawbridge in the same height and location; or building a new drawbridge while splitting westbound traffic into a separate approach to address a growing bottleneck at Northeast Couch Street.

All of the options would cost more than $500 million to build. The Burnside Bridge was chosen as the best option to invest in because the street runs 17 miles in between Gresham and Washington County and could provide a significant life-line for the region if a Cascadia Subduction Zone rupture ravages the city.

According to the county, the current bridge is not expected to survive following a magnitude 8 or greater Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake. A simulation of the expected earthquake destroying the bridge has been viewed in 96 countries and watched more than 74,000 times.

...continues at the Oregonian.