Eugene building new bridge to somewhere
EUGENE, Ore. - Eugene will soon have a new bridge.
Engineers are pumped up that the Delta Ponds bridge project is half way to the finish line.
The $6 million Delta Ponds bike and pedestrian bridge project, more than 1,000 feet long, will reach from Goodpasture Island Road east across the highway to Robin Hood Avenue.
Project Manager Patrick Cox said huge 85-foot-tall columns will support the bridge. They'll lean away from each other. It's engineering name is a humorous coincidence for the project.
"That configuration is called Delta," Cox said. "On account of the bridge going over the Delta Highway, it seemed like a pretty good choice to go with the Delta configuration for the towers."
The bridge is right on track for completion this September. Special LED lighting has just been approved for the towers of the bridge.
Cox said the lights are "to illuminate the cables, so this bridge will be lit up at night like some of the nicer bridges you see in Portland."
Thanks to fantastic cooperation from Mowat Construction, KVAL News was the first news crew to get full access to the ramp in progress.
"The bike bridge and the pedestrian bridge is part of a recreation element, so you can see the spectacular view of the ponds and the work we'll be doing here," said Scott Milovich, landscape architect for the city.
It's work that's been going on to restore the fish habitat at Delta Ponds, which will also be finished this summer.
"I think once people start to come out here and see this, I think people will ride and walk this bridge for the sake of seeing it," said Milovich.
The city says federal stimulus money and a federal highway grant will cover $5.8 million of the $6 million dollar cost. Local funds pay the balance of the cost.
