EUGENE, Ore.– The stalled Chambers Street bridge project is back up and running after a lengthy delay for drivers and pedestrians. In an effort to ensure the bridge is able to withstand the expected Cascadia Subduction zone earthquake, the City of Eugene started a retrofit project on the bridge to make it seismically stable.
Marion Suitor Barnes with the City of Eugene Public Works said the city recognizes the importance of the roadway. With Chambers Street connecting with River Road, keeping that stretch of roadway open for first responders is why Barnes said the city wanted to work to make sure it could withstand a natural disaster.
“We’re looking at the main thoroughfare and lifeline streets for potential emergencies in Eugene, and obviously River Road is a main thoroughfare and so that bridge is very important,” Barnes said.
With the construction, traffic had to be rerouted while the project itself ran into delays. Those delays caught many local commuters by surprise when, after weeks of work on the bridge, it stopped for a month. Barnes said there were adjustments that needed to be made to the plan and construction was halted while those adjustments were made…