Northbound and southbound travelers will share the three lanes and the sidewalk on the southbound bridge. To safely lift and place these ten record-breaking, 220-foot-long bridge girders, we must close all lanes between 54th Avenue East in Fife and SR 18 in Federal Way. WSDoT generally defers to ODoT for this facility based on a likely “ancient” “joint” operations agreement. A movable concrete barrier will shift the lanes to allow for two lanes of traffic to travel in the heaviest direction during commute times.The northbound span of the Interstate Bridge between Vancouver and Portland will close Sept. 12–20 as crews replace mechanical parts that help lift and lower the bridge.
I’m told the majority opposition to this is people who work for the Port of Portland who live in Vancouver. Sadly the DOTs and others quickly forget these lessons in TDM. A demonstration of the future and solution to the current dilemma facing the region going forward.It would be safer for all modes to provide jersey barrier protection on the bridge deck for micromobility while keeping cars within the other two lanes bidirectional. The taxes we pay already for – ostensibly – road upkeep mean that little to you?It would be really great if we had some sort of mass transit into Vancouver during this work. Bi di-rectional bus lanes with service to the C-Vine. They got lucky in the 90s as the work went quickly (on the “young” ~50 year old bridge) and a lot of folks went on vacation…too bad this upcoming work cannot happen when school is all out…thus the vacation option would be more effective.Odds are the Washington administrators will shut down the new bridge, once the trunion is fixed, deciding it will be good for another 50 years.Three of the ramp closures are on the northbound side. Heavy traffic, congestion and long delays are expected in the region on I-5, I-205, I-84, SR 14 and local streets in north Portland and south Vancouver throughout constructionPeriodic nighttime single and double lane closures will occur on I-5 and the Interstate Bridge throughout construction.The heaviest impacts will occur during the closure of the northbound span of the bridge September 12-20, 2020 and the following 7-day lane closure on I-5 south. What will you do during this closure?Seems that this success story from the past could be used to pitch a “we can do this” spin on the upcoming closure, rather than a “doom and gloom” spin.Where are all the vacant parking spaces in downtown Vancouver that you’d use for this event?There are over 50,000 Washington residents who work in Oregon.
At midday, crews will move the concrete barriers to provide two northbound lanes and one southbound lane for the evening commute.Yes it will stay a 2-way bikeway until ODoT makes it oneway…even thought this is technically a joint WA & OR owned facility. That’s because the bridge carries about 300,000 car and truck users every day.
ODOT should think creatively here.How about one lane for truck and auto traffic each direction and one lane for transit that switches directions as needed to get busses across. (I hope they can do this again but doubt there is any extra track capacity now.) During the evening commute, the bridge will have one southbound lane and two northbound lanes open. During the closure, travelers crossing the Interstate Bridge in both directions will share the three existing lanes and sidewalk on the southbound bridge. It would be great training wheels for people to imagine commuting beyond SOV. And overall it was a big non-event congestion-wise. Busses can pick up in downtown Vancouver and drop at popular Portland-side stops and/or max stations. The web page says “Lane closures on the Interstate Bridge and I-5 will begin late August 2020 and continue into late September 2020 in addition to the full closure of the northbound bridge”. They can’t fathom riding the bus. (We at the CoV tried to coordinate it as a one-way facility in the flow of MV traffic, but the ODoT of ~2007 was not interested in this change even though it has benefits during peak hour…and not being blinded by on-coming car headlights at night. Travelers should expect delays.Everyone can help reduce congestion during the closure by using options such as delaying or shifting trips, biking, taking transit, or working from home or another location when possible.