Salem Porkway - I-305 - new bridge
new 2/3rds billion bridge across Willamette, going through Environmental Impact Statement now
Salem new bridge would connect Salem Parkway with Highway 22 on the west bank of the river
www.salemrivercrossing.org (official ODOT site)
New bridge planned for old I-305 route canceled in 1970s
source:
THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM IN OREGON A HISTORIC OVERVIEW
Prepared for the Oregon Department of Transportation Salem, Oregon
Prepared by George Kramer, M.S., HP Senior Preservation Specialist Heritage Research Associates, Inc. Eugene, Oregon
May 2004
https://www.facebook.com/no3rdbridge
No Third Bridge - Salem, Oregon
(no regular webpage, just a Facebook account)
WE CAN SOLVE THE PEAK HOUR CONGESTION PROBLEM NOW, BUT NOT BY "FIXATING" ON A 3RD BRIDGE
This written testimony from Mark Wigg just about sums it up. Seven years ago the Salem River Crossing Project set out to solve a peak hour traffic congestion problem around the ends of the existing bridges. Today that project has mutated into the Salem Alternative that will do next to nothing to solve that problem.
Mark Wigg knows what he is talking about. He was a transportation project manager for over 20 years. He worked for ODOT on many of the largest and most complex transportation projects in the state. We hope the Council will listen and heed his expert testimony when they vote on the 3rd bridge next Monday night.
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Dear Mayor and City Council,
It is time to Let Your People Know:
1. That pushing for a new bridge means not reducing congestion for 15-20 years or more.
2. That most commuters currently inconvenienced by congestion will not be commuting over the bridges by the time this “solution” is constructed.
3. That even if council approves a smaller local bridge now, that decision will need to be reevaluated and a freeway-style bridge with far more greater impacts is likely to be the bridge design that is selected in the future. The bridge you vote for today will not be the bridge we get.
4. That the city and state will need to spend millions of dollars and thousands of hours of staff time pursuing a bridge alternative.
5. That if a bridge alternative is approved, the city will spend millions of dollars buying and demolishing homes and businesses, leaving devastated neighborhoods for decades. Look at the northeast quadrant of Market Street interchange for an example of what will happen to Edgewater and North Salem.
6. That the bridge alternatives may someday reduce congestion for some people crossing the river but will increase congestion to intolerable levels during rush hours between Salem and Keizer.
7. That over the last 40 years studies have identified at least four other ‘better’ locations for a bridge and that in 10 or 20 years a new council may decide that another location is better.
8. That the fixation on building a new bridge is preventing us from doing the seismic retrofits and other repair work needed on the existing bridges because it diverts limited funds and staff time.
9. That the city has lower cost ways to reduce congestion that could be implemented more quickly and for far less money.
10. That Salem’s Transportation System Plan predicts that the state and federal government will contribute less than 2 percent of the cost of a new bridge, so most of money will need to come from Salem residents.
11. That Salem’s Transportation System Plan predicts that the city will have only 37% of the money it needs for capital improvement projects over the next 20 years not counting a new bridge.
12. That the city and state have solutions to manage emergency bridge closures so that two-way traffic over the river can be maintained and emergency vehicles can use the Union Street Bridge if needed.
We can work together for real solutions to congestion, but this fixation on building a new bridge is preventing us from developing those solutions. It is time to let people know the truth about the third bridge. It is not going to solve the congestion problems we face today and it is diverting our energy from finding real solutions.
With appreciation for your service to our community,
Mark Wigg
www.kurumi.com/roads/3di/i305.html
I-305 (cancelled) Oregon
This is the proposed but unbuilt Salem Spur, intended to connect I-5 to city streets in North Salem. I-305 would have followed the Salem Parkway (now Business Route 99E). Its official length in the federal highway log was 3.3 miles. [4]
In 1977, I-305 was withdrawn from the Interstate highway system. Funds were traded in for road projects in the area, including widening of the major bridge across the Willamette River to West Salem. [7]
I-305 still appeared in some later road atlases, including the 1985 nationwide edition by Rand McNally.
See also: Interstate 305 (Cancelled) (Mike Wiley)4. Route Log and Finder List - Interstate Highways, USDOT, 1978
7. Oregon Department of Transportation. "A chronological history of ODOT: 1899 to 1993." http://www.odot.state.or.us/ssbpublic/bss/rmds/history/~chron.htm (12 March 2004)