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The team spearheading the effort to replace the Burnside Bridge, in Portland, plans to seek a $447 million grant from the federal Multimodal Projects Discretionary Grant program.

The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners on Thursday approved the project team鈥檚 notice of intent to apply for the grant, which would come from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Proposals are due May 6.

One application will be used to request funding from three sources: the National Infrastructure Project Assistance (Mega) program, the Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight and Highway Projects (INFRA) program, and the Rural Surface Transportation Grant program.

The requested $447 million would help pay for the construction phase, which is expected to cost between approximately $625 million and $775 million. With the grant, the project 鈥� budgeted at $895 million 鈥� would be funded in full. Grant funds are expected to be committed by Sept. 30, 2028.

A 40 percent match is required for the grant. The team is proposing to exceed that by contributing $421 million in bonding secured by vehicle registration fees, $20 million from the state via House Bill 5030 in 2023, and $7 million from a RAISE planning grant and Fiscal Year 2023 congressional appropriation.

The project team is currently working through design details, Multnomah County Transportation spokeswoman Sarah Hurwitz stated in an email. The county is considering two bridge type options: cable stay or tied arch.

HDR, the lead design team consultant, is leading a design team of 30-plus subcontractors that are working on various tasks. David Evans and Associates is leading the owner鈥檚 representative team.

In November 2023, the county selected Burnside Bridge Partners as the construction manager/general contractor. It鈥檚 a joint venture that includes Stacy and Witbeck, Traylor Bros. (headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, with a West Coast office in Long Beach, California), and American Bridge Co. (headquartered in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania 鈥� near Pittsburgh), which built the original Burnside Bridge.

As bridge architect BEAM Architects 鈥� headquartered in the U.K. 鈥� develops design options, the engineering team will evaluate and identify the technical trade-offs of each concept. From there, Burnside Bridge Partners will conduct an analysis to understand the true costs, risks and challenges given the current availability of materials, market pricing and site constraints.

The county will screen out options that are difficult to construct or that significantly increase project costs, Hurwitz stated. Currently, the county is considering 10 bridge possibilities: six cable stay options and four tied arch options. The county will advance options for the Community Design Advisory Group and the public to review this summer.

The public will be able to provide input on the bridge鈥檚 design through an online survey in late June through July. More information will be announced on the project鈥檚 website later.

Once fully funded, construction could start in early 2026 and the bridge could open as early as 2031.