Oregon Public Broadcasting

Portlanders can add another bridge closure to their driving plans.  As Andrew Theen reports, starting this week the Sellwood Bridge will be closed to cars at night for repair work.

The tentative schedule is to close the Sellwood bridge to cars after 6:30 pm starting this Friday through the 22nd.  The $100,000 project aims to extend the life of the aging structure by filling cracks in the concrete approaches.

Ian Cannon is the Multnomah County Bridge Services Manager.  He says there are 400 feet of cracks in the concrete girders ranging from miniscule to what he calls "pretty noticeable."

Cannon said filling the cracks is a temporary solution.

Ian Cannon: "So it prevents moisture getting in and corroding the reinforcement in the concrete.  And it also tends to slow down the kind of rate that the cracks will grow at."

The Sellwood Bridge is federally listed as "functionally obsolete and structurally deficient." 

Cannon said the planning for a long-term solution is ongoing.  The draft environmental impact statement that examines replacement options should be released this fall.