Mayor calls new price tag of Sellwood Bridge 'very frustrating'
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PORTLAND, Ore. -- The price of the new Sellwood Bridge just went up and Portland Mayor Sam Adams is not happy about it.
The new cost is $30 million more than the original price tag. The city will have to pay for part of that.
"The fact that, you know, they're coming to us, asking for $11 million more dollars means I will have to make budget cuts in the Portland Bureau of Transportation," Adams said. "Very disappointing. Very frustrating."
But what made the price jump to nearly $300 million? And what will have to be cut to make that work.
Multnomah County officials are running the project and they said it's not wise to do expensive studies to put together estimates at the beginning because it's not clear if the project will even go through.
Now is the time officials do the in-depth and more costly studies. Those studies are now revealing new facts about building the new bridge.
Bike riders complain about how scary the bridge is due to the cracks in it and its general need of repair. But repairs won't fix everything. The bridge needs to be replaced, complete with a new, higher price.
"That will affect basic maintenance and basic safety work for the city and our streets and roads," Adams said.
County officials said there are a number of reasons for the price hike. First, the hillside on Highway 43 is a problem. County workers must cut into the hillside to make the bridge. Officials said neighbors originally wanted a natural look and no retaining wall. Now, county officials said they found the hillside is not enough without some sort of support. All of that will cost $3-4 million.
Then there's the dirt under Highway 43. It's contaminated after years of railroad and car traffic. County officials said they found more contaminated dirt than expected. They have to get rid of it and can't just send it to a landfill. That process will cost another $3-4 million.
And finally, materials -- such as the steel for the new bridge, along with fuel. Before, county officials got estimates. Now, they're getting actual bids and the actual costs of materials is higher.
All this is frustrating for Adams. But some bike riders said the cost is less important than a new, safe bridge.
Adams hasn't announced what kind of budget cuts will have to take place in order to pay the higher cost. On Thursday, Multnomah County officials will vote on the final design for the new bridge.
first intelligent thing i have heard this man say since he took the office of mayor!Â
Yep! This bridge is much more important now than scrapping the idea and using that money to hold these gang members and others in prison for their full terms. Gang shootings everyday and because we are not as violent as some other larger cities, then it's really not a problem. Therefore, lets blow our money on sidewalks, bridges and protecting illegal immigrants rights.
 @stinger139 Really?That bridge IS important.All of our infrastruture is important.They should give out hunting tags for gang members then there wouldn't be a gang problem.Illegals DO NOT HAVE ANY RIGHTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gee, Sam, sorry you're frustrated. Maybe if you hadn't blown a couple of gazillion dollars on Trams, Streetcars, bikepaths, Waterhouses, and every other nutty (trendy) thing under the sun we would have the money for basic services and infrastructure. That figure should include blowing $250 million on the CRC, without turning a single shovelfull of dirt. Does anyone really care if the worst Mayor in the history of the City is "frustrated?" We all will be frustrated for another 165 days, 12 hours, and 8 minutes (when you leave office.)
 @Derek2mk BRAVO!!!!!!!
@Jim330rifle Thanks guys, lets also remember that 26 cents of *every* tax dollar goes (only)Â to service our existing debt. Per capita, that's about 2 1/2 *less* than Stockton, CA owes. Last week Stockton announced plans to declare bankruptcy.
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That isn't even considering the $3,204,988,800 in unfunded pension liability the City currently has.
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Sam and Randy's insane policies toward public debt will hamstrinig the City of Portland for decades to come.
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Be afraid, be very afraid...
@Derek2mk .........great analysis, Derek. Kudos !
Yet Sam had no issues with paying for the new bridge that is bike/max only downtown........Shocking.
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We hate you Sam.
I am not real happy about this either since I've paid the Sellwood bridge tax three times this year registering my vehicles.
Whats the big deal....... this is Portlland where the flippin tram cost $30mill more than expected............
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Only $30mill more on a project the size of a new bridge....... thats not bad considering who is in charge.
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If portland leadership had half a brain, they would have made the public transportation bridge a car bridge as well........ But only Portland is stupid enough to build a bridge that long/large and NOT have automobile traffic on it.
Drop this bridge and let Clackamas County build a new one further south - the majority of the traffic is for CC drivers anyway.. The distance between the Sellwood bridge and the rest of the Portland bridges is only a few miles. The distance between the Sellwood bridge and next crossings to the south is MUCH further. It makes more sense to build the new bridge further south!
 @RKH Good idea.  Have the city condemn the bridge as structurally unsound and then let Clackamas County figure out a solution for their own residents.
Why does it seem like every new public transportation project in this town is a complete scam?
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I don't want the next mayor office talking about any more public projects until they can fix the existing, basic problems with our roads.
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 @Caspertoo His antics allowed him to be blackmailed by the unscrupulous.  That was the cost.
Doesn't the mayor mean to say that WE the taxpayers are paying for it?
Until the city's budget is fixed and working for the whole city this project and a few others should be placed on hold. Bicyclist's don't pay for the roads but the powers that be seem to want to spend excessive amounts of money just to woo a few of them. If they don't feel safe on that particular bridge then they should stay off of it! Common sense..... Let's not start costly projects when we do not have the money for them and robbing one program to feed some other that has more glamorous press should never be done! Use our money as it was attained for and intended to be used! I own my house here in Portland and am tired of my property taxes and utility payments being used to make some politician look good or to fatten some friends of City Hall's pockets with no proper benefit to the general population as a whole! $300,000,000 or what Portland's share would come to is a lot of money our schools, fire department and social services could put to greater use and improve the quality of life for a larger portion of the population than the Sellwood Bridge. What percentage of people living in Portland use that bridge on a regular basis? Most people I know of that use it live in Clackamas county, not Portland.
@MickRoh ......mick, that's way to logical and well thought out and there is no place for that kind of thinking in Portland government.......LOL T
"The city will have to pay for part of that".......I have a problem with the way that is written. Since we are constantly told which words we can't use, like fa$, retar# and too many others, then it's about time we make a few word rules of our own. Starting with: whenever money is mentioned by the city or state, it will now be referred to as TAXPAYER DOLLARS and not the city's money.
Remember what a bang up job the city did in cost contaiment for the OHSU Tram?????
Get ready for some huge cost over runs and no accountability.
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It's $20 million now. I'd wager that the price will be more like $50-$100 million over by the time the bridge is complete. Sam's already raided the sewer fund. Maybe he can pass a tax to support Portland schools and then raid that for the bridge? Just trying to think Sam Adams style here.
While the writer, for reasons I'd prefer not to speculate about, successfully made it seem like a pet project for bicycle riders by quoting a couple bicycle riders, the bridge needs to be replaced because it is increasingly unsafe for vehicular traffic. Does no one remember that buses and trucks are no longer allowed on it, and haven't been for years, because it is in such poor shape? The Sellwood Bridge rated 2 on a scale of 100 and is considered the most structurally unsafe bridge in the northwest. Â
Screw the bridge, paint more bike boxes, it is Portland after all :)
If you build when you think you're going to need it, it will cost less then if you wait 5 years then build it. Inflation you know.....So, when you sit around an argue about nickles and dimes by the time you get done it will cost many more dollars. Just like this.
"But some bike riders said the cost is less important than a new, safe bridge. "
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Fine - then you PAY the difference.
There wouldnt be a problem if they didnt waste money on the crime train to Milwaukie, Â which is not wanted or needed.
"The new cost is $30 million more than the original price tag."
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Way to funny. Come on Sam, are you really that stupid? Of course the price will go up. It always does and nothing will change that. It should have been built into the budget. Look at the tram you moron. It went from 15 million to 55 million.
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Government employees and politicians have to be the dumbest people in the world not to figure this would happen.
 @RalphCramden They know exactly what's happening...after all they are profiting from it through their developer buddies.  It's the complacent, gullible taxpayer that is stupid.Â
 @UtterReality You're right about that. It's the way the game is played.
"Mr. Mayor, the people don't have a safe bridge to cross. Then let them eat light rail."
This is the one reason why Clackamoron County refuse to help pay for the Sellwood bridge.  I have an idea for all Oregon license plates to add county name so it will show Clackamas name on it and photo each driver's license plate and bill them to make them pay toll for the Sellwood bridge.  I have seen Florida and Tennessee use their county name on license plates.Â
Why would Sammie Adams be concerned about $11 million? He took $20 million from the sewer fund for bike paths without blinking an eye. It is not so much a money issue as it is a priority issue. Adams and the rest of the city council would rather spend transportation money on their non-transportation related pet projects while the streets fall apart. Portland has plenty of money if they would just spend it wisely and take care of the basic services first.
The city of Portland should tax the whining bicyclist . They should pay a tax 25 dollars per year to have the privilege to ride on the roads . After all its  a privilege to register your driver's license and your car. That means you pay a fee to earn that privilege to do so and bicyclist should be no different except for the off street paved paths which are all over the city that would be the only exception no ifs and or buts period
It sounds like it's time to start taxing bicyclists. Riders 18 and over need to display plates on their bikes unless they can show an automobile registered in Oregon (which is already taxed).
 @OregonSon Why on earth would we want to add another bureaucracy? It would cost more money to administer the program than the money that they'd actually be able to collect.Â
 @UtterReality So cyclists can stop getting a free ride (bike lanes, green zones, widenend sidewalks, etc, etc, etc...)
 @OregonSon Even if they have a car they should be taxed.If I have 2 cars or one car and a motorcycle,I still get hit with registration and license fees for all of them.Why should the cyclist get off easy with no cost to them at all.I am paying an extra fee for that idiot bridge every time I pay my registration fees and I have not used it in 15 years.At least Clackamas county had a vote for it but as usual we got railroaded and not even kissed in the process.
 @podunk.2 I am sure bicyclists do any damage to the road. Haven't seen studded tires on a bike yet ripping up the road. Haven't seen a 2 ton bike wearing out the road. A bicyclist does not cause any wear or tear to the road.Â
 @cyclist85 You use it, why shouldn't you pay too?
 @cyclist85  @podunk.2 The bridge will have bike lanes integrated into the new design. Would you prefer they drop the bike lanes then? There IS a cost to providing safe places for bikes to ride and those lanes will need to be maintained in the future regardless of how much the bikes do or don't tear the lanes up. Bridges and pavement age and need to be constantly maintained. It isn't free to anyone, except bike riders.
Yeah I get a little ticked off knowing that Clackamas county people use the bridge 70% more than the people paying for it.
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Between two cars and a motorcycle, I will pay about $1,500 for a bridge I crossed twice, in 1993.