(Jan. 19, 2020) Flanders Crossing, the Portland Bureau of Transportation‘s (PBOT) newest pedestrian and bicycle bridge, will be installed over Interstate 405 this weekend, with a full freeway closure beginning this Friday, Jan. 22.
Flanders Crossing will connect Northwest Portland to the Pearl District and the central city over I-405. To allow for a safe installation of the bridge, I-405 will close in both directions at 10 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22 and re-open by 5 a.m. Monday, Jan. 25. The on-ramps and off-ramps at Northwest Couch Street will close before the freeway itself, at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 22.
During the closure:
- Signed detours will direct drivers to Interstate 5.
- All northbound traffic on I-405 must take Exit 1D, 12th Avenue/U.S. 26.
- All southbound I-405 traffic, including traffic from the Fremont Bridge, must take Exit 2A/2B, Everett/Couch/Burnside.
Crews will set up traffic control and begin mobilizing for bridge installation on Friday, Jan. 22 at 10 a.m. On Saturday, Jan. 23, Flanders Crossing will be installed using two cranes and two 12-wheel trailers on either end of the bridge to move the 355,000-pound truss bridge into place over Interstate 405. The installation is expected to begin at around 9:30 a.m. and will last approximately 8 hours until the bridge is in its final place. On Sunday, crews will disassemble the bridge launch equipment and sweep and inspect I-405 before reopening the interstate to traffic. Installation of the bridge is contingent on wind speeds. Wind gusts of 35 mph or higher will prevent the bridge from being installed. For the latest updates during the bridge’s installation, follow PBOT on Twitter at @PBOTinfo.
We ask the public to travel cautiously and to observe all detours and directions by reader boards and flaggers. People driving should expect delays. Use alternate routes or ways of getting around, such as walking, biking, or taking transit.
This work is weather dependent and the schedule may change.
For real-time traffic information during the closure, visit www.TripCheck.com.
When complete, the 24-foot wide Flanders Crossing will stretch 200 feet across I-405. Designed for two-way pedestrian and bike traffic, the bridge adds a seismic lifeline in the case of a major earthquake. As part of PBOT’s design for the project, there will be new traffic signals at NW 14th and 16th avenues, along with a four-way stop sign at 15th Avenue, to make it easy for pedestrians and people biking to access the bridge from both directions. The bridge is expected to open to pedestrians and people biking in Spring 2021.
Background
Until now it’s been hard for pedestrians or people biking to get across the I-405 in the area, with people having to use either NW Everett or Glisan streets, both of which have sidewalks on only one side and have tricky intersections with the onramps and exit ramps for I-405. For such a short distance, Flanders Crossing will provide the first easy, comfortable way to get across I-405, connecting Northwest Portland with the rest of the central city in a much safer way for pedestrians and people biking.
Flanders is also part of a new neighborhood greenway route, a low-stress, east-west biking and walking connection across Northwest Portland, the Pearl, Old Town, and into downtown Portland, including connecting to the Steel Bridge and Waterfront Park. Flanders Crossing and the new neighborhood greenway are enthusiastically endorsed by the Northwest District Association, Pearl District Neighborhood Association, Old Town Chinatown Community Association, the Nob Hill Business Association, and many others.
The $9.5 million bridge is funded through grants from ConnectOregon and city Transportation System Development Charges (TSDCs).
For more information, visit the project website at https://www.portland.gov/transportation/policy-and-planning/construction/flanders-crossing-bike-and-pedestrian-bridge