Mayor Sam Adams' vision for a streetcar-ready Sellwood Bridge is changing.

The latest estimates to replace the bridge peg costs at $290 million -- down from $331 million four months ago -- but the design that engineers endorsed this month does not include money for an on-ramp or streetcar tracks on the bridge.

Including tracks had been a priority for Adams, who pledged $100 million in city money for the project in 2009 only after insisting that the bridge be "constructed with a streetcar-rail-ready bridge deck." In addition, a draft agreement from October 2010 called for streetcar "tracks in place on the deck of the bridge."

But Adams said Thursday that the new design is smarter, cheaper and still satisfies his desire that the bridge be built to someday accommodate a streetcar line.

"I'm the one that raised the issue," Adams said. "I'm deciding whether or not it's meeting my definition of being streetcar-ready. And I'm incredibly pleased with the outcome of where we've landed in terms of making this bridge cost-effective and streetcar-ready."

In September, the city and Multnomah County got in a public tug of war over the project, with

the project and Adams' staff contending that more savings could be found.

Since then, city and county officials have worked to trim expenses.

In November, engineers suggested that

on the west side of the bridge, where it will connect to Oregon 43. The ramp also would have provided a link to the bridge from a proposed streetcar line along Oregon 43 between Portland and Lake Oswego.

The latest estimates, in 2014 dollars, maintain those cost reductions. But the new budget doesn't include an estimated $5 million for streetcar tracks on the bridge, nor the estimated $6 million to $8 million county spokesman Mike Pullen said would be needed to build a streetcar ramp from Oregon 43 to the bridge.

Pullen noted that actually building a streetcar line across the bridge would carry costs for wires and other components beyond that $11 million to $13 million. "To do full disclosure, it would be even more than that," he said.

In addition, local agencies worried that putting tracks on the bridge could jeopardize Federal Highway Administration funding.

"There's no way I'm going to pursue something to waste money," Adams said. "If my streetcar engineers say, 'Put the rails in later, and that has to be borne by the streetcar project in the future,' that's what I'm going to do."

Adams added that the city is negotiating with the Oregon Department of Transportation to take over ownership and maintenance of Oregon 43. If that happens, he said, city officials could decide whether a ramp is necessary.

"If we get control of Highway 43, like we do all over the city, we could put the rails in the middle of one of the lanes and provide access, and turn right onto the bridge," Adams said.

The revised plan does include asphalt or concrete "block outs" where tracks could be added without a major overhaul. And the lighting system would be designed to accommodate overhead streetcar wires.

Next up on the project to replace the 86-year-old bridge: The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners will meet Thursday to approve a design.

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