Plans to build new Sellwood bridge approved - KPTV - FOX 12
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The final design of the new Sellwood bridge is officially approved. Thursday's vote by Multnomah County commissioners advances the multi-million dollar project to the construction phase.
The final adopted design carries a price tag of $299 million, that's $30 million more than the estimated cost brought to the board months ago.
The final design includes a steel deck arch bridge, with two traffic lanes, two shoulders, as well as two multi-use raised paths for cyclists and pedestrians.
The revised plan reveals a majority of the money raised for the new bridge comes from a $19-per-year county vehicle registration fee.
The state and federal governments are also contributing a little more than $30 million each, and the new plan also has the city of Portland shelling out around $84 million to build the bridge.
It's a cost increase that comes as a surprise to the city, according to Transportation Policy Director Catherine Ciarlo, who said Mayor Sam Adams is concerned how they will find more funding in the budget to come up with the city's share.
Ciarlo said even though the bridge is a county project, and not the city's, it is still the single largest project in the city of Portland's transportation budget.
They plan to sit down with the project's financial manger next week, to figure out exactly why the cost went up so dramatically, and why they weren't informed, Ciarlo said.
Adams was in a council meeting this afternoon, and was not available for comment.
The new bridge is expected to open to traffic in 2015, with project completion scheduled for early 2016.
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