French Prairie Bridge Task Force to Meet April 12 to Review and Recommend Preferred Site
The City of Wilsonville French Prairie Bridge Task Force is holding a public meeting on Thursday, April 12, 6 pm, at City Hall, 29799 SW Town Center Loop East.
The 21-member task force’s primary objective at this meeting is to identify a preferred site location for the French Prairie Bridge, a proposed bicycle/pedestrian/emergency-access bridge across the Willamette River.
Evaluation and scoring of three possible bridge sites, located between the I-5 Boone Bridge and Portland & Western railroad bridge, have been completed and scored by the Project Technical Advisory Committee (TAC).
The task force is considering the TAC scoring at the meeting, and may provide its own score; both scores, in that event, would be presented to City Council for consideration in May.
The French Prairie Bridge would fill a critical gap in both local and regional transportation infrastructure, connecting the Portland metro area and the northern portion of the Willamette Valley for cyclists and pedestrians, and providing an alternative to I-5 for incident-response vehicles.
For more than two decades, residents and visitors have sought a safe bicycle and pedestrian crossing of the Willamette River. This bridge would provide new recreation opportunities by connecting the Portland metro Ice Age Tonquin Trail with the Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway.
The U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) are currently studying the project’s environmental impacts to deliver a clearer picture of project impacts before design and construction begin.
The task force meeting updates project timelines and previews upcoming events, such as citizen input on possible bridge types. The agenda also includes a period for community members to provide public comment.
For information, contact project manager Zach Weigel, Capital Projects Engineering Manager, at 503-570-1565, weigel@ci.wilsonville.or.us; or sign up for regular project updates and review meeting materials at FrenchPrairieBridgeProject.org.
