The other Portland bridge mystery (Jack Bog's Blog)

While all of Portland ponders why the city is building a cutesy bike bridge over Interstate 405 in the Pearl District, there's another baffling bridge question worth pondering: Why did the city borrow nearly $9 million in March to move an offramp on the Hawthorne Bridge that won't actually be moved for heaven knows how long?

We've blogged about this a bit before, but the story that we've gotten back from the local bureaucrats so far hardly holds water. The city went in hock back in March to the tune of $8.8 million for "urban renewal" funds that it promptly donated to Multnomah County. The stated purpose of the borrowing and of the transfer of the money was to supply funds to the county to move a bridge offramp on the west side of the Hawthorne span so that a new county courthouse could some day be built where the ramp sits now.

But the key words are "some day," because if you go down and check out the ramp in question today, you'll see that there's no sign of its being moved any time in the near future:

Oh, there's a construction fence around part of that block all right, but that's not about moving the ramp. That's about the private office building that Hoffman Construction is building across First Avenue. There's no sign of any activity even remotely connected with actually moving the ramp. Right now that block is just the Port-a-Potty lot for the office tower construction crew.

Leave aside (for the moment) the odd facts that (a) city taxpayers are paying for a county bridge re-do and a county courthouse, and (b) the county doesn't have the money to build the courthouse. Even if the courthouse were fully bankrolled, it just doesn't make sense for the local government to borrow nearly $9 million in March to fund a construction project with a start date of who-knows-when.

Now, we know what some readers are probably thinking: that the city and county made a smart move, because they can invest the $9 million at a higher return than the interest that the city's paying on those bonds. But guess again. The city is paying higher than 6 percent annual interest on those bonds, and there's no way the city is making that kind of return on its own investments these days.

No, we know what rat smells like. This is it.

And what is the county doing with the $9 million while it sits around contemplating its navel about funding things like the new courthouse, the Sellwood Bridge replacement, and the fix for the ongoing mental health care implosion? Given its dire financial straits, it looks to us as though the county might be using that money to meet its payroll.

Comments (7)

"a sleight-of-hand swindling game in which the victim bets on the location of a pea covered by one of three nutshells"
Use to be called the shell game...now it's political deception.

Posted by KISS | May 1, 2008 7:03 AM

Italy has the right idea. Publish everybody's income and tax payment. That might help us find answers to this $9 million dollar question and many others. Like the "new" Sauvie Island bridge for Adam's special constituency.

Posted by Don | May 1, 2008 9:27 AM

Where is the FBI Immelson on this one? Sounds like misrepresentation, white collar crime by our local government bodies-two colluding parties.

Posted by lw | May 1, 2008 10:00 AM

"Now, we know what some readers are probably thinking: that the city and county made a smart move, because they can invest the $9 million at a higher return than the interest that the city's paying on those bonds."

Funny you say that because a public / private entity that's near and dear to your heart lost their shirt playing that game.

Posted by James | May 1, 2008 10:44 AM

The County has this project budgeted for $24 Million in contract expenditures next year - so I don't think they are using the proceeds for their payroll. Here's a link to the relevant pages in the county budget: http://www2.co.multnomah.or.us/aspnet/budgetwebFY09All/PDF/72053-MINT.pdf

I be a call to the listed project manager Doug Butler would yield answers to your questions about the funding and planned expenditures for next year.

Posted by Frank | May 1, 2008 3:40 PM

Just for grins and giggles would that infamous Sauvie Island bridge stretch across or sit beside the crumbling Sellwood bridge? Maybe leave the Sellwood for the bikes and reuse the Sauvie bridge for cars? Just thinking outloud.

Posted by Estabon | May 1, 2008 5:22 PM

a call to the listed project manager Doug Butler would yield answers to your questions about the funding and planned expenditures for next year.

We have been in touch with Mr. Butler, and are awaiting details on the timing questions. We'll make a full report when we hear back from him again.

Posted by Jack Bog | May 1, 2008 6:06 PM

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Thursday, May 1, 2008

The other Portland bridge mystery

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