Weekend Bridge closings

Thursday, 5/15/14 – 9:25 am

Traffic on the Hawthorne and Morrison bridges will be affected by an inspection and community events this weekend.

Saturday, May 17

Morrison Bridge:  The bridge will be closed to motor vehicles from 7 a.m. until as late as 7 p.m. during an inspection of the lift span deck.  The inspection is related to problems with deck panels that were installed in 2011 – 2012.  Sidewalks will remain open for bicyclists and pedestrians.  The on and off-ramps from the bridge to I-5 and I-84 will be closed.  While the I-5 southbound City Center/Morrison Bridge off-ramp (exit 300) will be closed, the I-5 southbound ramp to Highway 99E/U.S. 26 will remain open. Motorists can access I-5 north at N.E. Broadway and N. Williams Avenue and enter I-84 eastbound at N.E. Grand Avenue and N.E. Everett Street.  Onramps to the bridge will be closed at S.E. Grand Avenue and S.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.  During the closure, TriMet’s 15-Belmont line will use the Burnside Bridge in both directions.

Hawthorne Bridge:  From 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon the north sidewalk of the bridge will be shared by the public and participants in the Greater Portland Heart and Stroke Walk.  Due to the large number of children expected to participate in the walk, bicyclists are asked to be cautious when using the bridge’s north sidewalk during the event.  Event volunteers will be stationed on the bridge sidewalk to assist with traffic safety.

Sunday, May 18

Hawthorne and Morrison Bridges: The course for the Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon includes both bridges.  Traffic impacts include:

• ·  Ramps between the Morrison Bridge and SW Naito Parkway are closed from 3 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• ·  The Morrison Bridge offramp to SE Water Ave. will be closed from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.
• ·  Participants will use the path on the south side of the Morrison Bridge from 8 a.m. until 11 a.m.  The path will remain open to the public.
• ·  The two center lanes of the Hawthorne Bridge and the ramp from the bridge to SE Water Ave. will be closed from 4 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
• ·  TriMet bus service will be impacted.  Buses that normally use the Steel Bridge (lines 4, 8, 35, 44 and 77) will use the Broadway Bridge eastbound only.  Westbound service on the Steel Bridge is unaffected. Line 14 will be rerouted from the Hawthorne to the Morrison Bridge eastbound only. Westbound service on line 14 is unaffected on the Hawthorne Bridge, but service will be re-routed in both directions east of the bridge. Visit trimet.org for details.
• ·  The drawbridges of both bridges will not be able to open for river traffic from 3 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Multnomah County maintains six Willamette River bridges and 300 miles of roads. For more information, visitwww.multco.us/bridges.