It’s HERE!  This, the month of December, in the Year Of Our Lord Two Thousand and Twelve A.D., marks the START OF CONSTRUCTION ON THE NEW SELLWOOD BRIDGE!

As you can tell we’re a little excited, but it’s going beginning with more of a whimper than a bang.  Although in-water construction was supposed to begin on Dec 2, a quick look out the window doesn’t reveal any construction barges.  Even when they get underway it will still be pretty quiet for a while.  The major events this month are the start of the temporary supports for the shoo-fly and the building of material staging areas at both ends of the bridge.   January will see the removal of the old Staff-Jennings buildings and the closure of Powers Marine Park on the southwest side of the bridge.  We aren’t really expecting any disruptions for several months yet.  But it’s December now, and that means THEY’RE STARTING!

If you’re curious about the actual design of the bridge, there’s much more info there as well.  Final design recommendations have been made and accepted, and new renderings (at right) are showing a handsome new addition to Portland.  The County has put together a great flyer that shows the final design and many of the individual details.  You can get a PDF version of the flyer by clicking here, and if our monthly update isn’t enough for you then you can get daily updates from the County’s Sellwood Bridge Project website at www.sellwoodbridge.org.