PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The 50th annual Portland Marathon starts on Sunday, Oct. 2 at 7:10 a.m., and is expected to impact traffic around the city throughout the day.
The County of Multnomah said that the marathon will shut down multiple lanes of vehicle and pedestrian traffic across several Willamette River bridges, including Broadway Bridge, Burnside Bridge, Morrison Bridge and Sellwood Bridge. Broadway and Burnside Bridges will also remain closed to heightened water traffic, with no lifts occurring between 6:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Experienced Portland commuters, be warned, this year’s race route is completely different from past years. That’s because event organizers intentionally added more Portland neighborhoods to the route in celebration of the marathon’s golden jubilee.
“The race route has been entirely changed from previous routes in an effort to include more of Portland’s neighborhoods and create a memorable experience for runners and residents,” Marathon organizers stated.
Multnomah County has announced the following changes to bridge traffic for Sunday, Oct. 2:
Broadway Bridge:
The bridge will be closed to all motor vehicles, including TriMet buses and Portland Streetcar, from 6:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. TriMet’s 17 bus line will detour to the Steel Bridge. Sidewalks will remain open for bicyclists and pedestrians. Drivers can use the Steel or Fremont bridges during the closure. For information on Portland Streetcar service changes, visit www.portlandstreetcar.org/schedules.
Burnside Bridge:
The north sidewalk, bike lane and outside westbound lane will remain closed from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. TriMet bus routes 12 and 19 detour to Steel Bridge. Bus route 20 detours to Hawthorne Bridge.
Morrison Bridge:
The onramp from SW Naito Parkway, the Morrison Bridge north and south traffic lane and the SE Water Ave ramp will remain closed due to construction. The south shared use path on the bridge will be closed from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Sellwood Bridge:
The north sidewalk and westbound lane will be closed from 6:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. The south sidewalk and eastbound lane will remain open. Westbound drivers can use the Ross Island Bridge as an alternate route.