Multnomah County will be building a new earthquake-ready Burnside Bridge.
The 94-year-old bridge is no doubt beautiful and historic, but it's also dangerous.
According to county engineers, the bridge will collapse in a magnitude 8 or larger earthquake.
"The geologists tell us it's a matter of when it's going to happen not if it's going to happen," said Multnomah County spokesperson Mike Pullen. "None of our downtown bridges would be usable for weeks or months and in the case of a 94-year-old bridge like this one, we'd have to completely rebuild it."
A computer simulation shows what county engineers believe a major earthquake would do to the Burnside Bridge.
First it would collapse onto Naito Parkway and Waterfront Park.
The intense shaking would break the bridge apart sending entire sections crashing into the river.
All ramps leading to the bridge would crumble.
The county is looking at four different options to fortify the bridge and has been asking the public to weigh in.
So far 85% say they want the county to build a new $825 million long-span bridge, which is actually the least expensive option.
The biggest complaint? It could partially block the iconic view of the Portland, Oregon sign.
"From the traffic lanes it would definitely kind of change your view of it," Pullen said.
The county also wants to know what the public thinks should happen to traffic during construction of the bridge. Should the county build a temporary bridge, or should they close the bridge down altogether and instead divert traffic to the other downtown bridges?
A temporary bridge, similar to what was put in during the Sellwood Bridge construction, would create two lanes of traffic, but it would also cost $90 million to build.
The public comment period lasts through the end of this month.