Metro has received a grant from the Oregon Department of Transportation for a bicycle and walking bridge in North Portland that will connect Pier and Chimney Parks. The bridge, expected to be completed in 2012, will be part of the Willamette River Greenway and 40-mile Loop Trails. ODOT’s grant is nearly $1.5 million; Portland Parks & Recreation will contribute funding for the project and will maintain the bridge after it is completed.
The 14-foot-wide, 100-foot-long pedestrian bridge will be constructed over existing Union Pacific railroad tracks. Once in place, it will set the stage for completing a gap in the regional trail system that separates North Portland from the 2,000-acre Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area, the Rivergate District – a large employment area, Kelley Point Park, the Columbia River, the Columbia Slough and a network of hundreds of miles of local and regional trails.