Biden-Harris Administration Announces $13.9 Million in Funding to Replace the Burgard Bridge in North Portland

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) today announced that the City of Portland’s project to replace the Burgard Bridge (Lombard Street overpass) will receive $13.9 million as part of a $300 million investment from the Bridge Investment Program in nine small and medium-sized bridge projects in both rural and urban areas in eight states and the District of Columbia. The grants from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Bridge Investment Program are an integral part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to rebuild our infrastructure and grow our economy from the middle out and bottom up. It comes on top of billions of dollars in other bridge and highway funding already flowing to every U.S. state and territory that is helping communities rebuild, repair, and replace tens of thousands of bridges across the nation and restoring connections that are vital to commuters, emergency responders, truck drivers, public transit riders, and more.

“When bridges have to close for repairs—or worse, begin to fail—it can cut off access to an entire community, adding hours to commutes, costing money for local businesses, and delaying first responders from getting to an emergency,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “The grant awards we’re announcing today are helping communities of all sizes modernize their bridges so that school buses, delivery trucks, ambulances, and commuters can get where they need to go quickly and safely.”

The grant to the City of Portland help replace the 93-year-old viaduct over the Union Pacific Railroad in the St. Johns neighborhood of Portland. This project will provide an essential connection between the North Portland peninsula and other areas of the city.

Bridge damaged by train derailment

The Burgard Bridge, which carries more than 8,600 vehicles per day, including upwards of 3,100 trucks, is in poor condition and has substructure damage from a train derailment in 2020. The bridge provides a critical connection to area residents and industries and is considered a multimodal enhancement project that serves other transportation modes. The design of the new bridge will allow the addition of a third railroad track. This grant is part of historic investments made possible by the Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which will help repair or rebuild ten of the most economically significant bridges in the country along with thousands of bridges across the country. These bridges are critical to the movement of people and goods locally, regionally, and nationally.

Three Union Pacific train cars came off the track in North Portland on May 19, 2020. (photo by Union Pacific, courtesy PBOT)
“The Biden-Harris Administration is investing in this bridge replacement project because it will improve connectivity in Portland, allowing residents and businesses to access other neighborhoods and parts of city more easily,” said Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt.  “Over the next five years, the Bridge Investment Program will work to repair, replace, and rehabilitate structures that allow businesses to move their goods to market while helping people get to jobs, schools, doctors, and other vital destinations.  This project is an investment in both the United States’ economic growth and in the safety and long-term resilience of the communities that make this country great.”

“This funding is great news for people who live and work in Portland,” said Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici.

“The improved bridge will make travel safer and easier for those walking, rolling, and biking in North Portland, connecting important communities and destinations.”

The $300 million in investments announced today are awarded to bridge projects with eligible costs of up to $100 million.  Today’s announcement follows earlier announcements under the Bridge Investment Program umbrella:

• In October 2022, FHWA announced $20 million in bridge-planning grants for 24 projects in 24 states.  Those grants were designed to create a pipeline of construction-ready bridge projects that are now in the early stages of project development.
• In January 2023, FHWA announced $2.1 billion in large-bridge project grants to make critical improvements to four nationally significant bridges that serve as a vital link for local residents, communities, and both the regional and national economy. In addition to the four FY22 Large Bridge Project Grants, FHWA also announced an additional Bridge Planning grant to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the amount of $1.6 million to advance critical planning work in support of replacement of the Bourne and Sagamore Bridges over the Cape Cod Canal.

The Bridge Investment Program is a competitive grant program that will invest $12.5 billion over 5 years to rebuild, repair, and replace small, medium, and large bridges. This program already invested $2.4 billion in Fiscal Year 2022, and complements the $27.5-billion Bridge Formula Program, representing the single-largest dedicated investment in bridges since the construction of the Interstate Highway System.

For more information on the Bridge Investment Program, visit the FHWA’s Bridge Investment Program webpage.