To spend a minute enjoying this view of the Willamette River, you have to walk or bike across the Ellsworth Street bridge.
You may not notice this when you just drive across the Ellsworth Street Bridge. But work on raising the height clearance — unseen by daytime traffic — is actually going on.
To see signs of the construction, you have to stop and look around, as I did on a bike ride Saturday:
The construction on the bridge takes place at night during the week, between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., when Ellsworth traffic is temporarily rerouted across the Lyon Street bridge.
The $4.5 million project to increase the clearance to a little over 17 feet may continue through October, according to ODOT. The contractor is Wildish Standard Paving Co. of Eugene.
The staging area for the bridge construction project is on Hickory Street, on a land owned by Samaritan Health Services. Apparently no vacant lot closer to the bridge could be found. (hh)
This looks like a new part for the Ellsworth Street bridge being stored Saturday on a lot on Hickory Street in North Albany.
Nice vignette on the bridge and the river, Hasso. Thanks.
thanks for all your hard (unpaid) work!
I’ve little money, but I do appreciate your efforts!
Yeah, I reside on 6th Ave, not far from downtown, and I can clearly hear the machinery they are using on the bridge. Sometimes I think it’s right across the street. I remember the first night I heard what I can only presume now to be some kind of jackhammer or other similar device but it sounded like rapid gunfire Haha. I borrowed a sound machine which I need to use to help drown out the “echoes”. This comment is not a criticism of the work being done — merely a local comment on the sound effects. :-)
I thought you were showing results of removal of at least one cross-member. Guess it will come soon.
I just don’t understand how they can do this and keep the integrity of the bridge based on how it was originally designed and built.
Hopefully, one piece at a time.