Peter Courtney Minto Island Bridge to Open in April

Remaining activities must be completed in sequence and are weather-dependent.

Minto Brown walking bridge under construction. Photo by Sean King, Salem-News.com

(SALEM, Ore.) - Despite a project timeline setback early on due to delayed delivery of the large supporting arches, the Peter Courtney Minto Island Bridge is on track to open to the public in April.

The bridge structure, including deck panels, rib arches and other infrastructure is now self supporting. Still to be completed are the bridge deck surface, structure tensioning, and removal of the temporary work bridge.

The bridge design is very unique and complex. Therefore, the remaining activities must be completed in sequence and are weather-dependent.

Remaining activities include:

• There are two final bridge deck concrete pours remaining. Each requires 14 days afterward to properly cure before the next step in tensioning the bridge deck can happen.
• Once the concrete bridge deck is completed, the temporary towers, forms, and work bridge must be removed. This will begin on June 1 due to permitting requirements. The City is currently working with the permitting agencies to determine if a portion of the temporary structure can be removed prior to June 1 to minimize the amount of removal work this summer.
• Once the temporary structures are removed, the contractor will begin the remaining work at Riverfront Park building the concrete walls, sidewalks, landscaping, and irrigation. This work cannot begin until after the temporary structure is removed.

Once work begins to remove the temporary work bridge, the new bridge and south end of Riverfront Park will be closed temporarily.

A Grand Opening celebration will likely occur in August once all work at Riverfront Park is completed and the temporary work bridge is removed.

The City appreciates the public's patience as the bridge takes shape and nears completion. Once finished, the Peter Courtney Minto Island Bridge will be an iconic and beautiful addition to the City of Salem skyline.

Source: City of Salem Public Works Department