ODOT Provides Van Buren Bridge Open House

If you’ve always wanted to see into the future, the Oregon Department of Transportation has a crystal ball waiting one click away. ODOT has invited everyone to an open house for the new and improved Van Buren Bridge. 

With weight restrictions of 12 tons and a construction date of 1913, the removal of this seismically unsound structure has been kicked around for about 50 years – through reports and planning to funding which happened in 2017.  

Destroying the existing bridge hasn’t been an overwhelmingly popular idea. The City of Corvallis talked about buying the bridge off the state and moving it downstream a bit. Preservationists talked about the historic significance of it; but when all is said and done, Oregon decided that the need for something safer outweighed the bridge.  

Now, ODOT can say exactly what the new bridge with its two eastbound lanes, bike lane, and protected path for both bikes and people will be as they move through final permitting requirements and look at how the construction of the new bridge will impact residents. A part of these final plans is a search for ways to commemorate the existing bridge which has made travel across the Willamette so much easier, and to insure that folks are signed up to get alerts when activities might cause delays. 

Construction is currently slated for 2023 at a cost of $72.6 million. 

For anyone interested in past open houses for this project, ODOT has provided a list: 

By Marissa Roberts 

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