Sellwood bridge traffic (Portland: home, school, to live in)

[lvrpl]

I'm moving to Portland and was just wondering what traffic is like on the Sellwood Bridge if one were to be going east in the morning and west in the evening. I'm wondering if it's feasible to live in SW Portland and work in SE Portland. Thanks for any help or info!

[Sarcastic_Twit]

If you were to live in SE and work in SW, you'd be going west in the morning and east in the evening unless those were two separate questions, or you work nights. Heading west, I usually don't have any problems throughout the day. Macadam going north is good until John's Landing. Taylor's Ferry is good heading west.

Coming home east is a different story. Taylor's Ferry is slow with a jam at Macadam. Then it slows at the bridge since oncoming traffic going onto the bridge doesn't have a light. The east end of the bridge is slow on Tacoma due to people turning left at 13th and 17th. It backs up all the way to the bridge.

The bridge itself is narrow and some of the more adventurous/suicidal bikers like to hug the roadside.

One warning, Sellwood Bridge is in need of an overhaul. If you plant yourself in SE, you might lose that route to work in the near future.

[lvrpl]

Oh, right - sorry about the mistake in the first post. I would like to live in the SW and work in the SE parts of Portland (I've edited the post accordingly).

So in light of the correction, would going east in the morning be a problem? Is going west in the afternoon still alright?

Also, is the Ross Island Bridge any better of an option? Thanks again!

[philwithbeard]

For just plain old fashion gut level "this-bridge-is-not-going-to-collapse-today" vibes, take the Ross Island Bridge.

[backdrifter]

Originally Posted by philwithbeard

For just plain old fashion gut level "this-bridge-is-not-going-to-collapse-today" vibes, take the Ross Island Bridge.

The Ross Island Bridge commute in rush hours is awful. I attend school in SW and live in SE and take the Deathtrap Bri... I mean... Sellwood Bridge just to avoid the traffic on Powell Blvd and the Ross Island Bridge. But then again, I am going the opposite direction from OP. Going over the Ross Island Bridge heading east might be a bit smoother coming up from Barbur, but not sure about Macadam.

[Sarcastic_Twit]

Originally Posted by lvrpl

Oh, right - sorry about the mistake in the first post. I would like to live in the SW and work in the SE parts of Portland (I've edited the post accordingly).

So in light of the correction, would going east in the morning be a problem? Is going west in the afternoon still alright?

Also, is the Ross Island Bridge any better of an option? Thanks again!

Backdrifter is right. Heading west is generally not a problem (on Sellwood)but heading east is (on both Sellwood and Ross Island).

It's bad on the Sellwood if you are coming down Taylor's Ferry or north on 43. On 43, it's only a yield sign. You have to gun it when you can, or hope for a friendly driver to let you on.

On Ross Island heading east, it's worse. Ross Island gets fed by 4 different sources all converging at the bridge. Yield signs are the only traffic control and so the wait to get on can be painful.