Portland transportation leaders and representatives from inner eastside neighborhoods on Thursday celebrated the groundbreaking of a long-awaited bike and pedestrian bridge spanning Interstate 84.

The project, which has been discussed for decades, is now officially called the Congressman Earl Blumenauer Bike and Pedestrian Bridge. The $13.7 million carless structure will connect the Lloyd and Central Eastside Industrial districts at Northeast 7th Avenue. Crews will soon start working on the 475-foot-bridge and construction is expected to wrap up in early 2021.

Commissioner Chloe Eudaly, Portland transportation leaders, officials from the two neighborhoods and an urban renewal commissioner spoke about the project at a news conference as the roar of highway traffic lingered in the background.

But the news conference evolved into a Blumenauer lovefest. Speakers wore bicycle lapel pins, like the Northeast Portland Democrat has sported for years. Blumenauer, 71, first elected to the House of Representatives in 1996, is one of the nation’s foremost advocates for bicycling infrastructure and transit projects.

Eudaly, who oversees the transportation department as Blumenauer once did decades ago, said the bridge is “just one part” of Blumenauer’s “ever-growing legacy.”

A rendering of the Blumenauer Bridge spanning I-84. The bridge lands at Northeast 7th Avenue.

“I don’t like to make promises I can’t keep,” Eudaly said, “but come hell or high water, somewhere on this bridge, there will be a bow tie,” she said, a nod to the Portland Democrat’s ever-present clothing choice.

Blumenauer, who first learned in May that Eudaly suggested naming the pedestrian bridge in his honor, said it’s important to put the bridge in context. “We now fully understand the climate crisis that we’re in,” he said, “and transportation is the biggest carbon contributor in our region and across the country.”

He said that “common sense” projects like this bike and pedestrian bridge are the most efficient and effective ways to make walking and biking safer. “It’s good for the environment, it’s good for our health, it’s good for our souls,” he said.

Blumenauer called the bridge a symbol of the city’s commitment to a low-carbon future, but also a “magnificent entry” for drivers headed into downtown on I-84. “I suspect that there will be people protesting on this bridge,” he said, “I think the impeachment [of President Trump] will be over by then, but there will be something else that inspires the passion of Portlanders to demonstrate.”

The bridge will be 24 feet wide and include a 10-foot pedestrian path and 14-foot two-way bicycle track. Emergency vehicles will be able to driver across the bridge if necessary.

Go Lloyd and the Central Eastside Industrial Council, the groups representing the neighborhoods, each contributed $250,000 for the bridge. The remainder of the project is paid for by transportation fees charged to developers.

The bridge is expected to open to the public in spring 2021.

-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen

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