It’s still quiet around the Sellwood bridge as we wait for the salmon migration to finish so in-water work can resume again on July 1. However, there is current activity both visible and invisible.
On the invisible front, the bridge is still serving as a touchstone for learning. In our February newsletter we told you about Lois Cohen and how she works with project team to develop lesson plans about the bridge. This month, the Sellwood Bridge project website has more detail about how elementary, middle, and high school students are integrating the Sellwood into their lessons.
On the visible front, a bunch of trees have disappeared from the westside of the river. 813 trees were removed from the Riverview Cemetery property along Highway 43 to prepare for stabilization of the hillside and construction of the westside bridge interchange. (It was important to bring these trees down before Spring kicked into gear; if a bird had nested in one of the trees the tree would have had to remain until the birds were gone.) What do you think happened to the trees that were removed? Under the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855 the area tribes have the right to harvest natural resources in the area of the Sellwood Bridge, so all the trees are heading north. The whole story is on the Indian Country Media Network.
Here’s our monthly gallery of construction images…
Barge near the East side supports. We have no idea what that big metal tower thing is, but we’ll try to have info for you next month.
- Tugboats work on the West side supports near the old Staff-Jennings site
- Workers move trees destined for the Grand Ronde Tribes
- Treeless hillside on Highway 43 looking toward Lake Oswego
- Newly bald hillside on Macadam Avenue
Geese inspecting the construction equipment. Everything was OK.
…and don’t forget …
Multnomah County is set to keep you updated on the bridge construction 24/7. Their website at SellwoodBridge.org has full project information, archives, and other resources. Probably the most interesting thing on the site are the cameras set up to cover the new bridge construction. The link at left takes you to the live camera, and there’s also a time-lapse video that will condense the each day’s construction progress into just a few minutes.
