2022 Project Update from Commissioner Fox
Building large infrastructure like a mile-long bridge takes time, but the Hood River Bridge Replacement project has been moving faster over the past 18 months. We have both a cost estimate and schedule for design and construction. We also found a way to move up the opening date by a year if we’re able to secure funding soon. Pending funding and a Final Environmental Impact Statement, everything is in place to move forward.
2022 accomplishments and project highlights:
We have a dedicated team committed to the bridge replacement.
We conducted a nationwide competition to find a consultant — a Replacement Bridge Management Consultant, or RBMC. We selected HNTB last summer.
Work has started on bridge design preparation for construction.
In early fall last year, we started preliminary design and this February, geotechnical testing of the bedrock and soils will start. Both steps will inform contract specifications for the final design/construction contractor. We expect to award that contract in late 2023.
We hosted an Industry Day for potential Design and Construction contractors. Over 80 people participated, and we held more than 20 one-on-one meetings with designers and contractors who expressed further interest in pursuing the project.
We agreed on a contracting strategy and selected a Progressive Design Build-type contract which will give us the most flexibility.
We are working closely with project partners and tribal leaders to move forward successfully.
We’re working out memoranda of agreements with four impacted treaty tribes; the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs in Oregon, and the Confederated Tribes and Band of the Yakama Nation in Washington, and the Nez Perce Tribe in Idaho.
Our management consultant is working closely with the Bistate Working Group and the Port of Hood River to make balanced decisions for projects next steps.
We heard from nearly 2,000 community members on where the new Hood River-White Salmon Bridge Authority should locate its primary place of business. Oregon was selected.
We have launched a new website at hoodriverbridge.org where we will provide updates on the project and our community can provide feedback.
We took several steps to secure funding for the bridge replacement.
We wrote and submitted numerous grant applications in 2022.
We made two trips to the nation’s capital to discuss the need for a new bridge with our federal senators and representatives and with the U.S. Department of Transportation.
We hosted several meetings with state representatives, including a half-day conference with 30 state-level representatives from Oregon and Washington to help them better understand the need for a new bridge.
We had 18 one-on-one meetings with Oregon elected officials discussing the project and the importance of funding this project.
We changed our funding approach by applying for larger federal grants of $100 to $200 million to help fund construction to build on the several $5 million planning grants already received.
This is a real project with recognition from both states and the federal government. We’re speeding things along wherever we can, and we’re very mindful of cost impacts.
Looking ahead to what we have planned in 2023, I’m optimistic we will secure state and federal funding, finalize the Environmental Impact Statement, receive our Record of Decision, and move forward with design and construction. We are proceeding with getting necessary contracts in place by the end of this year. I’d like to see construction operations building foundations in the water by early 2025. By getting all necessary steps in order, we can get the new bridge in place by the end of 2029.
Mike Fox, Port of Hood River Commissioner and Secretary, also serves as the Chair of the Bistate Working Group. Commissioner Fox was elected to the Port Commission in 2021 after retiring from a 45-year career in mega infrastructure engineering and construction in 2017. His family has lived in the Hood River Valley for five generations since 1893 and he is a proud husband with three grown children and three grandchildren.