Earthquake-ready Burnside Bridge moves forward despite federal grant uncertainty

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved an application for a federal grant to help pay for the earthquake-ready Burnside Bridge project.

The $447 million comes from the federal bridge investment project. If approved, the money would go towards the bridge’s construction. Megan Neill, the project manager, said even if the grant would help a lot, it is not essential.

“It certainly would go a long way in funding the construction phase of the project,” she said. “But there's a lot of uncertainty with the grants at the federal level right now. So despite all that, the– the county is moving forward with this project. We're working towards a 60% design milestone package next summer. And we're– we're constantly assessing our funding strategy along the way.”

That milestone would mean the design is essentially developed, and the county has worked through any major constructability issues or challenges. Current estimates put the grant at half the total project cost. But whether the county will get the money or not is still unclear.

“We'll continually assess the relationship with the county and at the federal level, constantly,” Neill said. “But projects like these weather major changes like that at administration level or at the local level. And so despite all that, this project moves forward.”

She said the county is constantly looking at its funding strategies. Even if they cannot count on federal dollars, the project is essential.

“It's so critical that our region has a seismically resilient bridge in the downtown core that our community can rely on to respond and recover after a major Cascadia subduction zone earthquake,” Neill said. “I mean, right now, none of the bridges downtown would be usable after the earthquake.”

We are still years away from a finished product. Neill said right now, construction is slated to start in 2028 and we could see a completed bridge in 2032 or 2033. She said having all the money up front would have sped up construction.

“But that's just not typical for large mega projects. It usually takes many agencies coming together and the public support for– to pull off a major project like this. So this– again, this is normal and something a lot of infrastructure projects across the country have to deal with.”

With the board’s approval, the grant application has to be submitted by Friday. Neill said they should hear whether or not they will get the money before the end of the year.