Oregon Department of Transportation schedules work to build Sandy

Daily Journal of Commerce (Portland, OR), Oct 23, 2008 by Tyler Graf

Beginning in June 2009, the Oregon Department of Transportation will begin work on a $60 million project that will replace two bridges that cross the Sandy River. But the project's cost will be dictated by environmental regulations that shorten the summer work period - thereby lengthening the project's overall timeline.

The four-year project will replace bridges over the Sandy River on Interstate 84 near Troutdale. The general contractor will have to operate under strict guidelines that allow only a month and a half per year of in-water construction work, starting at the end of June.

The shortened summer schedule, in place to protect wildlife and the health of the river, is one reason the project will take four years to complete, said Steve Narkiewicz, an engineer for ODOT. A mix of federal and Oregon Transportation Investment Act money will be used on the project.

"If we were not limited by our ability to work in the water, we could probably get the job done faster," Narkiewicz said. "And every year that you're under construction you face the possibility of having to deal with inflationary costs."

The state will use OTIA money to help pay for the bridges - money that has already been set aside for infrastructure improvement projects such as this one.

"The challenge has always been, and continues to be, how to best use the money (that is set aside)," Narkiewicz said.

ODOT has noticed something strange, however: While the costs of projects have typically increased over the past several years, project managers have noticed that some costs have recently decreased. Narkiewicz attributed this to the changing economic landscape, in which contractors are willing to accept less money for work.

In the last six months, Narkiewicz said, bid solicitations have often been below ODOT's cost estimations, a reversal from what's traditionally expected: bids coming in far above the department's cost estimations.

Though bids are becoming more favorable to ODOT, with the reconstruction of the Sandy River bridges the low bid will not necessarily get the contract.

For its bidding process, set to start in May, ODOT will be using the A C contracting system. Using this system, ODOT will be awarding solicitations based partially on how low the bid is, but also how well the contractors can demonstrate they've performed similar aspects of the project in the past.

ODOT prefers that bidding system for projects that require specialized knowledge.

Once the project gets under way in June, the general contractors will be working from bridge designs that took ODOT about two years to develop and move through the approval process.The new, wider bridges will feature a rock facade and decorative pylons. The spans themselves, at 200 feet, will be dark gray with dark brown trim.

And the pylons at the gateways to the bridges will be 12 feet high, six feet wide and four feet deep at the top.

The eastbound bridge will feature a combined crossing for pedestrians and bicyclists. Narkiewicz said the intent was to have all the bridges look similar.