SURVEY: Vote for your favorite design to replace the Burnside Bridge

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Multnomah County is in the design phase of its plans to rebuild the Burnside Bridge and officials are asking the public to vote for their favorite options before the project moves forward.

The county has narrowed its options to two potential bridge styles and six different design variations. In a new survey released on July 1, Multnomah County asks the public to consider a cable-stay tower or tied-arch design to replace the Burnside Bridge’s current Strauss-type double-leaf bascule.

The cable-stay bridge options include “goalpost,” “V-shaped” or “inverted Y-shaped” concrete towers that rise 290 feet above the waterfront. A tied-arch style would give the city a steel “unbraced vertical,” “braced basket-handle,” or “braced-vertical” arch design that sits 130 to 150 feet above the roadway.

The County and other local agencies are rushing to replace the bridge with one that can withstand a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake. Scientists predict there is a 37% chance that a megathrust earthquake of 7.1 magnitude or greater will occur along the Cascadia Subduction Zone within the next 50 years.

“While the Burnside Bridge and other downtown Portland bridges are historic landmarks in our community, right now, none of downtown Portland’s Willamette River vehicular bridges will be immediately usable after a major earthquake,” the project’s webpage states. “Multnomah County is leading an effort to replace the current Burnside Bridge with one that can withstand a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake. It’s one of the largest earthquake resilience projects in Oregon.”

The public is invited to attend an interactive, live-panel discussion about the bridge replacement with project managers and local representatives at OMSI from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on July 11. The survey closes on July 31.