Portland to close Eastbank Esplanade trail

Portland will close the Eastbank Esplanade for two months starting Feb. 1, in what marks one of the most extensive maintenance projects in the popular trail’s nearly 20 year history.

Mark Ross, Portland Parks and Recreation spokesman, said the $500,000 maintenance project includes repairing concrete on the esplanade, installing new and improved lights, cleaning out trash and painting over graffiti, removing dead trees and planting additional trees and native plants. The project also calls for “polishing up” existing public art pieces on the trail such as the Vera Katz statue.

The closure, which will stretch from the Steel to Hawthorne Bridge, will likely force thousands of people to alter their commutes. The city will route traffic to Naito Parkway. “We’re fortunate that we have the detour on the other side of the river,” Ross said. The closure is expected to end April 1. The City Council also approved $200,000 in ongoing maintenance for the path in future years.

Hannah Schafer, spokeswoman with the Bureau of Transportation, said Friday the city would install the seasonal separated bike and pedestrian path known as Better Naito by Jan. 28 to give the thousands of cyclists and pedestrians a new route as the city closes the esplanade.

During summer, the eastside route draws some 2,400 daily bike commuters and 1,200 pedestrians. Schafer said numbers fall roughly by half during the winter.

“We’re still seeing over 1,000 people biking everyday on the esplanade,” she said.

With that route closed, riders need someplace to go, especially once they hit the west side of the Willamette River, and the riverfront multi-use path would be clogged with all the detoured riders and walkers.

Better Naito typically starts in late May and lasts until the end of September.

The project, which converts one northbound travel lane to a two-way bike and pedestrian path, was recently included on a list of transit and mobility projects approved for funding through the Central City in Motion plan.