The Oregon Department of Transportation announced in a press release on Oct. 23 that they have made “major strides” on the Van Buren Bridge project.

The biggest hurdle in constructing the new bridge, ODOT Public Information Officer Mindy McCartt said, has been completed: placing the eight support pillars. 

Four shallow pillars go 70 feet deep into the ground, and four other deep pillars are in the water and go 200 to 245 feet deep. 

The 500,000 pounds of rebar and hundreds of cubic yards of concrete that make up the pillars will not only be sufficient to handle traffic, but it will also let the bridge stand through earthquakes, the press release said.

“There are always some complications in any construction project. Our surprises came underwater,” said McCartt. 

McCartt explained that they had to constantly make adjustments as they drilled through layers of earth to hit solid rock.

According to McCartt, the bridge project is moving “right along”, but it is far from finished.

“Something a lot of people don’t think about is that we’re not just building one bridge,” McCartt said, “we’re building three. The temporary bridge for traffic, the bridge for the construction crew and the new bridge itself.”

According to the press release, the next step in the construction process is to install the steel girders which will act as the backbone of the bridge.

McCartt said that the bridge will be ready for traffic by the end of 2025, and the entire project — including removing the temporary bridges and landscaping to make it seem the construction never happened — will be finished by the end of 2026. 

McCartt expects the construction to slow during winter due to weather conditions.