(May 13, 2019) UPDATE - The bike path is now OPEN. Crews finished major repair work 39 days earlier than projected. Enjoy the trail.

(March 20, 2019) – The City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services advises the public that a sewer repair project will close the Columbia Slough pedestrian/bicycle bridge north of the Columbia Boulevard Wastewater Treatment Plant for three months beginning Monday, March 25.The closure will be in effect all hours and all days until June 23. Crews are repairing a 20-inch diameter pressurized pipe that runs underneath the bridge and carries sewage from Northeast Portland to the treatment plant. Repair of the aging pipe will protect public health and the environment.

An alternate route for pedestrians and people traveling by bicycle over the Columbia Slough is Interstate Avenue. The closure and construction are part of the Inverness 20-inch Force Main repair project.

 The Inverness Force Main is an 11-mile pressure sewer that splits into two sections about two miles east of the wastewater treatment plant. Both sections are suspended underneath the Columbia Slough Pedestrian Trail Bridge, which Environmental Services constructed.

A similar 90-day bridge closure two years ago allowed Environmental Services to repair the first section, a 30-inch diameter pipe. This closure will allow repair of the second section, a 20-inch diameter pipe. www.portlandoregon.gov/bes/inverness20.

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The Bureau of Environmental Services works with Portland residents and businesses to protect water quality, public health, and the environment through wastewater collection and treatment, sewer construction and maintenance, stormwater management, and stream and watershed restoration.

Media contact: Diane Dulken (503)457-7636 diane.dulken@portlandoregon.gov