Hello, I am the Polk County Bridge Guy and am here to answer your questions about Project BridgeWatch. As your questions are sent in, I'll answer them on this page so that others can read them, too.
For now, the most common questions I receive are...............drumroll.......
Question: Why isn't a bridge south of Hwy 22 under consideration to relieve the traffic congestion downtown by connecting to Commercial or Kuebler?
Answer: The simple answer is a southerly crossing is needed, but not as badly as a more northerly crossing. Less than 15% of the people using the bridge are originating or destined for south Salem according to the forecast in the year 2030. Polk County continues to be a proponent of residents needing access to go south without having to traverse downtown Salem.
However the other 85% need a more northerly crossing and that is why the current effort is focused north of the existing bridges.
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Question: Have the proposed bridge concepts changed the City of Salem's plans for Marine Drive as of June 4, 2007?
Answer: The Marine Drive concept has not changed from the County's perspective, however Marine Drive is a City of Salem plan and they should be consulted for an official position on any changes. The Senior Transportation Planner for the city is Julie Warncke (jwarncke@cityofsalem.net) and she can be reached at (503) 588-6211.
What you may be hearing about is some number crunching and computer traffic modeling examining if Marine Drive could be a larger solution to the new bridge crossing over the Willamette River. Some task force members have asked the engineering team if the Marine Drive concept developed by the city as an access collector road could be expanded to be more of an arterial to help get commuters across the river. The location you describe sounds like what is shown on a preliminary concept drawing bordering the ball fields.
The engineering that is taking place now is trying to answer two important questions relative to Marine Drive. First, would expanding the Marine Drive concept actually help relieve congestion on Wallace Road or help people get across the river? Second, if Marine Drive could be a solution from a computer model, could it actually be constructed? Quite frankly these are significant issues that need to be addressed before engineers spend much time on exactly where Marine Drive could be relocated. We should know the answers to these bigger issues in time for the public meeting on this project scheduled at the end of the month.
What is important is to make sure you attend one of the meetings. The project team will be wanting to elevate some 'concepts' to 'alternatives' over the next few months. The public input is vital to the project to ensure all of the issues have been identified before advancing concepts (including tunneling under the Willamette) to alternatives for further consideration.
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Question: Where will the new bridge be built?
Answer: This is a good question. Unfortunately, I can't give you a precise answer at this time because the studies are ongoing and a decision has not yet been made. I CAN, however, show you the locations that previous studies have selected as good possibilities. Click the link to download a .jpg map showing the possible locations: Download Map.
Until we post more questions and answers, you can learn more information at the Salem River Crossing Project Website.
Don't forget to email or write your County Commissioners and legislators in support of the new bridge, and if you've got questions...send 'em on in to the Bridge Guy!
