Pacific Power - Willamette River Crossing Project
Two-thirds of The Fields Park grassy oval is closed due to a Pacific Power - Willamette River Crossing Project. A brief description of the work is below. Complete project details and timeline are on the Pacific Power - Willamette River Crossing Project website.
Project Frequently Asked Questions
Project Background
To accommodate the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) long-planned cleanup of the Portland Harbor Superfund Site, Pacific Power plans to remove the existing power supply cables in the sediment of the Willamette River in Portland located between the Broadway and Fremont Bridges. To preserve power service and reliability to their customers, they will replace the old lines with a new group of lines. The new underground line will be approximately 2 miles long and will be located underneath the bed of the river. The new underground line will be placed inside two, 2-foot diameter, 3,000-foot-long tunnels to be drilled under the riverbed. The new lines will be installed and placed into service in advance of any existing line removal or EPA cleanup.
The project requires stationing and use of massive drills and other equipment to create the tunnel under the river and install the new line. The staging area for this on the west side of the river is the grassy area of The Fields Park. During the construction phase of the project, which we currently expect could last approximately twelve months, two-thirds of the oval grassy area of The Fields Park will be closed to the public. Pacific Power will make every effort to use as little of the green space as possible, but users should expect use of the grassy portion of the park to off-limits during the construction phase of the project. The playground, dog off-leash area, and oval walking path will all remain open. Once the project is completed, access to all portions of the park will be restored.
Construction Update
- The large sound wall around Fields Park has been deconstructed and the work of demobilizing the remaining equipment is scheduled through the week of 4/29/2025.
- The next, and last, significant construction step will be installation of a new utility vault in the sidewalk across the street from the park near the intersection of NW 11th and Pettygrove. We anticipate this will begin the first week of May. It will take about one month to install the vault and trench from the new vault into the park to connect to the conduit that has been installed in the tunnels under the river.
- Vault installation at 11th and Pettygrove. We expect this to begin in early May and last about one month. In addition to installing the new vault near the intersection, crews will trench from the new vault to a vault under the park.
- The plan is still to transition from construction work to restoration of the Park in June. The date to assume that work has not yet been set as well as the date to reopen the Park but the contractor and the City are in communication and will release that information as soon as it becomes available.
Overall Project Timeline:
The most up-to-date timeline can be found at the Pacific Power - Willamette River Crossing Project page.
- Design, Permitting & Right of Way: 2019 - 2023
- Engineering & Equipment Procurement: 2022 - 2023
- Construction
- Construction begins at The Fields Park – Fall 2023
- Two-thirds of the grassy oval at The Fields Park will be closed to the public for up to 18 months
- The popular dog off-leash area, playground, and oval walking path at The Fields Park will remain open during the project.
- River Crossing Underground Crossing – 2023 - 2024
- Onshore West Side Construction – 2023 - 2025
- Onshore East Side Construction – 2023 - 2025
- Completion– Late 2025
- Construction begins at The Fields Park – Fall 2023
Project contact: PacificPowerConstruction@PacifiCorp.com - Please include the project name “River Crossing” in your inquiry.
Basic Earthquake Emergency Communication Node (BEECN)
A Basic Earthquake Emergency Communication Node (pronounced beacon) is a place to go in Portland after a major earthquake to ask for emergency assistance if phone service is down, or report severe damage or injury. More information can be found at the Basic Earthquake Emergency Communication Node page.
In the early 1900s, the Pearl District was a major industrial and transportation hub of Portland, with extensive rail yards, warehousing, and manufacturing facilities. In the 1950s, many industrial activities were relocated as transportation patterns shifted from water and rail to surface transit on interstate highways and air. The low rents that soon followed created spaces for artists and small businesses.
The Pearl District of today began in the early 1980s with extensive planning efforts to convert warehouses and rail yards into mixed-use development. Pearl District redevelopment gained momentum in the 1990s which resulted in urban mixed-use with multi-family residential buildings, offices, and a broad range of retail shops and services.
This is the third park that was outlined in the Portland River District Park System Urban Design Framework Study (January 2001). The study included planning and design concepts for four parks within the Urban renewal Area (URA) located between NW 10 and 11 Avenues, beginning at NW Johnson. The four parks include Jamison Square (completed 2002), Tanner Springs (completed 2005), The Fields (completed 2013), and a potential Riverfront Park. The Fields is situated within the Hoyt Street Yards portion of the Pearl District Neighborhood Association (PDNA).