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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />September 8, 2010 <br /> <br />CONTACT: <br />Eric Jones, Public Affairs Manager, 541-682-5523 or 541-954-2938 <br />FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE <br /> <br />Dedication Event Saturday Gives Public a Preview of New Delta Ponds Bridge <br />After more than a year of construction, the Delta Ponds Bridge is ready for a public preview. <br />Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy and members of the community will formally dedicate the new bridge on <br />Saturday, September 11, at 11 a.m. <br />After the formal dedication, a short parade led by the One More Time Marching Band will <br />give pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles an opportunity to cross the new bridge. Local <br />residents are also invited to have fun at a community festival from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at 900 <br />Robin Hood Avenue, at the east end of the new bridge. “All Paths Lead to the Crossing” will feature <br />food, music and lots of family-oriented activities. Admission is free. <br />While the dedication marks the substantial completion of the $5.6 million bridge project, the <br />work isn’t completely done. Once the fun is over on Saturday, the contractor will reclose the bridge <br />and finish installing permanent hand rails and putting up specialty lighting, including cable lights on <br />the top-most cables and the edge of the bridge deck. <br />“It’s possible that we may have the bridge open intermittently before final completion in mid- <br />November,” said Patrick Cox, project manager for the City of Eugene. “The most important <br />consideration, for now, is safety for the contractor and the public.” <br />“The good news is that soon the Delta Ponds Bridge will be the finest transportation <br />infrastructure in Eugene and a crowning jewel on the decades of effort to restore the Delta Ponds <br />from abandoned eyesore to iconic parkland,” Cox said. <br /> <br />Facts and Figures About the Delta Ponds Bridge <br /> <br /> The elevated structure is more than 1,000 feet long, from Robin Hood Avenue on the east to <br />Goodpasture Island Road on the west. The cable-stay bridge span is 340 feet long and <br />features a “delta” tower system. <br /> <br /> Total cost of the project is approximately $5.6 million, including $1.2 million from federal <br />stimulus (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) funds, $2.6 million from federal <br />transportation (SAFETEA-LU High Priority Projects) funds, $1 million from federal <br />transportation enhancement (TE) funds, and $800,000 from City matching funds. <br /> <br /> The contractor, Mowat Construction of Clackamas, began work in August 2009. <br /> <br /> The project also included installing a pedestrian island on Goodpasture Island Road and <br />completing the sidewalk system on Robin Hood Avenue to improve safety for path users. <br /> <br /> A 30-foot-tall sculpture, “Bountiful,” by local artist Lee Imonen, graces the west end of the <br />bridge. <br />For more information about the project, go to www.eugene-or.gov/DeltaPondsBridge. <br /># # # <br /> <br />Public Works Administration ● City of Eugene ● 101 E. Broadway, Suite 400, Eugene, OR 97401 <br />Phone 541-682-8421 ● Fax 541-682-6826 ● www.eugene-or.gov/pw <br />