TO: Mayor and City Council
THROUGH: Krishna Namburi, Interim City Manager
FROM: Gretchen Bennett, Acting in Capacity Community Services Director
SUBJECT:
title
Follow-Up Presentation on ODOT’s Center Street Bridge project to seismically retrofit the Center Street Bridge over the Willamette River.
Ward(s): All Wards
Councilor(s): All Councilors
Neighborhood(s): All Neighborhoods
Result Area(s): Safe, Reliable and Efficient Infrastructure; Welcoming and Livable Community
end
SUMMARY:
summary
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is planning seismic retrofit improvements to the Center Street Bridge to ensure operational functionality after a major seismic event. Phase 1 of the project will retrofit the bridge over the Willamette River and its eastside ramps, with anticipated impacts to Riverfront Park and Wallace Marine Park during construction. This follow-up presentation provides an update on the project objectives, public outreach, park and traffic impacts.
end
ISSUE:
Presentation on the Center Street Bridge Seismic Retrofit Project.
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Information only.
body
FACTS AND FINDINGS:
Presentation Topics
• Recap Objective of the project - The “why”
• Update on Public Outreach
• Update on Park Impacts
• Update on Traffic Impacts
Project Objective
The Marion and Center Streets bridges are the only crossings of the Willamette River in the Salem area. Both river crossings have been identified as seismically vulnerable and are expected to be significantly damaged or even collapse after a major seismic event. Due to the size of the crossings, these assets would take years to repair or replace. This will substantially delay recovery of the area and will impose additional challenges to the statewide post-earthquake recovery effort. Because of its age and condition, seismic retrofit of the Marion Street Bridge is not anticipated to be cost effective.
A substantial portion of the Center Street Bridge was replaced in 1985, making it a better candidate for seismic retrofit. Completing a seismic retrofit will improve safety and speed recovery of the area after a major seismic event. Once complete, there will be an operational bridge crossing on Center Street that carries two-way traffic after a major seismic event.
Proposed Project
Due to the need to replace sections of the west side and funding limits, the project will be completed in two phases. Phase 1 will retrofit the spans across the river to the east abutment and the eastbound to southbound ramp connecting to Front Street. Phase 2 will replace a portion of the west approach spans to provide a seismically resilient two-lane connection from the west abutment to the west edge of Phase 1 improvements.
Phase 1 will design and construct seismic retrofit improvements that:
• Replace the bridge pier located on the west riverbank with large diameter drilled shafts and a new crossbeam.
• Enlarge the footings and add steel piles and ground anchors to the in-river bridge piers. Cofferdams and work bridges are needed to complete this work.
• Enlarge the footings and add ground anchors to the bridge piers on the east riverbank and across the east side of the bridge. Near the railroad tracks, crash walls will be added and retrofits designed to avoid track impacts.
• Construct new modular expansion joints and bridge member strengthening from the deck-level of the bridge.
• Upgrade and upsize the City of Salem waterline on the bridge to provide seismic resiliency. The City owns and operates the waterline and will fund the City’s share of the waterline cost with utility funds.
• Prepare an Emergency Response Plan so that if there is a major seismic event prior to completing Phase 2, ODOT has a plan to quickly reconnect streets in West Salem to Phase 1.
• Complete an alternatives analysis for the west approach replacement to select a preferred alternative and refine cost estimates.
Impacts from the construction of Phase 1 will include tree removal along each riverbank and some trees in the Riverfront Park parking lot, using a portion of that parking lot for construction work and access, closing two lanes on the Center Street Bridge, a limited number of overnight full bridge closures, lane closures on Front Street, and many utility relocations, primarily on the east side of the river.
Phase 2 will design and construct the preferred alternative from the Phase 1 west approach replacement analysis. Specific project elements and impacts will be determined as that phase progresses.
Project Budget
Phase 1 total cost is between $130M and $200M. Funding will be a combination of HB2017 and supplemental sources.
Phase 2 total cost is $130M to $190M based on preliminary concept estimates. The Phase 2 analysis will refine this range. Phase 2 is currently unfunded.
Project Schedule
Project design, environmental approvals, and right of way acquisition are being advanced now. The project bid opening is scheduled for January 29, 2026. Construction is expected to require three to four summer seasons to complete. The following sequence outlines anticipated construction activities each year. This is subject to change based on contractor means and methods:
• In 2026, trees will be removed for construction work and access areas. The contractor will mobilize to their work areas on each side of the river and construct their work bridge to access the in-river piers. Some of the in-water pier construction will be completed.
• Utility work and traffic impacts on Front St are expected in early 2026.
• Through the winter and spring of 2027, the contractor will work on the east approach bridge around the railroad and Front Street. In summer of 2027 the remainder of the in-water pier construction will finished.
• Through the winter and spring of 2028, the contractor will finish east approach bridge construction. In summer of 2028 the work bridge and access will be removed.
• Traffic impacts on OR22 eastbound (Center Street) are likely to occur in 2027 or 2028. Impacts will potentially extend back on OR22 in West Salem and into downtown east of the river.
• Traffic impacts on Water Street and Front Street are likely to occur in 2026 through 2028 or 2029.
• Some work may continue into early or mid-2029 depending on the outcome of some ongoing design development and considerations.
Update on Public Outreach
Beginning in February through April 2025, the OR 22 Center Street Bridge Seismic Upgrade Project Team conducted focused outreach to the Salem community about the pending project.
• In coordination with City staff, over 550 parties signed up on the Interested Parties List.
• Conducted door-to-door canvassing resulting in over 300 in-person contacts.
• Gave over 30 group presentations including Neighborhood associations, Salem Health, Salem-Keizer School District, the Gilbert House, and the Salem Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (SPRAB.)
• In-person and Online Open House.
An online comment form was open from late February until mid-April to collect feedback on project impacts. There were 120 comment forms completed. The top 5 comment areas were:
• No comment (49)
• Traffic Impacts (35)
• Third Bridge (14)
• Project Support (8)
• Park access impacts (7)
The full public outreach summary is included as Attachment 2. Additionally, a letter from SPRAB is included as Attachment 3
Update on Park Impacts
Riverfront Park
Water Street and a portion of the North Riverfront Park parking lot will be used to access the bridge and ramps during construction.
You can expect:
• Construction activities using large cranes.
• Tree removal in parking lot and next to the bridge.
• Reduced number of parking spaces in northern parking lot.
• Changes to pedestrian access from north entrance.
During and after construction:
• Vehicular and pedestrian access to the park will be maintained at the northern entrance.
• Electric charging and ADA parking will remain available in northern lot.
• Southern parking area will not be impacted by bridge construction.
• Additional parking will be provided nearby.
• During the largest events (like Salem’s Ironman competition):
o Decreased construction noise.
o Shuttle service to and from additional parking.
o Park ambassadors to help guide attendees, participants, and spectators.
• Parking area will be rebuilt after the project is complete.
• Landscaping will be restored and new trees will be planted.
Wallace Marine Park
Wallace Marine Park will be used to access the bridge and ramps during construction.
You can expect:
• Construction activities using large cranes.
• Tree removal next to the bridge.
• Periodic use of boat launch to deliver materials and equipment for construction on bridge.
• ODOT needs permanent easements from the City near the pier closest to the river for new bridge columns and maintenance.
During and after construction:
• Maintain access to park and boat ramp during construction.
• Install tree protection areas to avoid large equipment driving over critical root zone where possible.
• Landscaping will be restored and new trees will be planted.
Trees
• Approximately 120 City-owned trees are being removed.
• Tree protection areas are identified in Wallace Marine Park north and south of the bridge to minimize affected trees.
• ODOT and the City are negotiating valuation/appraisal of the trees through the right-of-way process.
• Trees will be replanted per City requirements at the completion of construction.
Temporary parking areas
• Approximately 93 parking spaces in Riverfront Park’s north parking lot will be used for the construction work area. This is approximately 55% of total parking spaces in this lot.
• Three parking spaces on the east side of Water Street will be used for the construction work area.
• Anticipated duration is 3 years.
• The project will reconstruct this portion of the parking lot at the completion of construction.
• ODOT and City are working to identify nearby temporary parking to offset the lost parking spaces. The temporary parking will be at least a 10% increase over the number of lost spaces.
• Access to the Park from the north for all travel modes will be maintained throughout construction during normal park hours.
Riverfront Park events
• Temporary parking will be available for all events that occur during construction.
• Four events [World Beat Festival; Ironman; Easter Festival; NW Taco Fest] will have additional accommodations:
o Suspend loud construction activities on day(s) of event (but not on set-up days).
o Shuttle service will be provided from the temporary parking area to Riverfront.
o Park ambassadors will be provided to support temporary accommodations and unique circumstances that arise to provide clear communication with event organizers, participants, and attendees.
Public Outreach
• Comprehensive, bilingual strategy with numerous engagement opportunities from now through construction. ODOT has a consultant to assist with this effort.
• Online Open House late 2025/early 2026 prior to construction.
• Implementation of extensive Transportation Options Campaign, “Bridge the Commute” to address some of the traffic impacts on the bridge and along Front Street.
• Bilingual project flyers.
Phase 2
• A future (currently unfunded) Phase 2 will replace a portion of the bridge on the west side of the river.
• Impacts similar to those for Phase 1 are anticipated, but only in Wallace Marine Park.
Update on Traffic Impacts
Most of the seismic retrofit work will occur at ground level during the 3-year construction duration; however, there will be some periods of traffic impacts:
• Dual Lane closures on Center St Bridge for up to 6 months to construct large modular joints and strengthen structural connections at the deck level. The project team is actively working to reduce the duration of the stages that require continuous lane closures. The project team is evaluating if signal timing changes would help during these stages.
o For the 3 months that the two most northern lanes are closed, the ramp to northbound Front Street will also be closed.
o For the 3 months that the two most southern lanes are closed, the ramp to southbound Front Street will also be closed.
o Emergency vehicles will be able to bypass the queue on the west side ahead of the river spans from OR22.
• Lane Closures on OR99E - Front Street northbound to Marion St Bridge onramp for up to 3 months.
• Lane Restrictions on OR99 E - Front Street southbound for up to 3 months (limited to 16-ft width).
• Up to 4 nighttime full closures, on weekends, up to 6 hours each.
o One lane on Marion Street bridge will be closed for normal traffic and used for emergency vehicles.
o Signed detours will be south to OR99W to OR34 in Corvallis or north to OR99W through McMinnville and Newberg.
• Up to 20 short term (15-minute maximum) full closures on Center Street Bridge for bridge bearing work.
o Emergency vehicles can be accommodated.
• Single lane closure on the southern-most lane during Bent 15 drilled shaft construction.
BACKGROUND:
None.
Rob Romanek
Parks Planning Manager
Attachments:
1. Center Street Bridge Seismic Retrofit Project Vicinity Map
2. ODOT Public Outreach Summary
3. Letter from SPRAB