Slow/no wake zone begins this week

With construction on the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Bridge set to begin July 1, five construction barges, including two derricks, will be towed to the construction site on the Willamette River. The barges are scheduled to begin arriving on late Tuesday, June 14.

The Oregon State Marine Board has approved a slow/no wake and exclusion zones around the construction site to ensure the safety of boaters, swimmers and construction workers. These zones are:

· A bank-to-bank, slow/no wake zone for 500 feet upstream and downstream from the bridge project, effective June 15, 2011 through December 2012

· An exclusion zone under the work bridge trestles take effect July 1 until they are removed

A map of the slow/no wake and exclusion zones is attached.

About the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project

The 7.3-mile project is the region's sixth MAX line to be built and extends from the terminus of the MAX Green and Yellow lines at Portland State University to South Waterfront, SE Portland, Milwaukie and Park Avenue in Clackamas County. The project includes 10 stations and the first bridge constructed over the Willamette River in more than 40 years. It will create up to 14,000 jobs and generate $573 million in personal earnings. Federal funds will pay for half of the $1.49 billion project, state and local partners are funding the balance. TriMet's share is less than 5 percent of the project budget and will not be needed until 2013. The line is set to open in September 2015.

About the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Bridge

The light rail bridge will be the first cable-stayed bridge design for the region, extending 1,720 feet (.326 miles) over the Willamette River. It is the first of its kind, carrying light rail, buses, bikes, pedestrians and a future Portland Streetcar extension, but no private vehicles. The bridge alignment is SW Porter Street on the westside and SE Sherman Street on the eastside.

The overall project is still in the Final Design phase. The Federal Transit Administration has approved early construction work on the bridge, as construction in the Willamette River is limited due to migrating fish. The "fish window" allows in-river work from July through October. Bridge construction will begin on July 1, 2011.

Project partners

Clackamas County, Metro, City of Milwaukie, Multnomah County, City of Oregon City, Oregon Department of Transportation, City of Portland, Portland Development Commission and TriMet.

For more information about the project, please visit trimet.org/pm.