I used to be a journalist. Look here’s the proof:
But no more. I’ve moved on. So now I can make fun of The Register-Guard all I want with no fear of repercussion. What are they going to do — cancel my subscription?
But I just want to warn you that you shouldn’t rely on me for timely bike news. It all depends on whether I feel like blogging or whether I’d rather sit on the couch and play “Angry Birds.”
But today I’ve decided to fill you in on some news. Look at this. Here is this month’s winner of the Improvised Cargo Device of the Week:
Yes, that would appear to be an old drawer. Sorry about the blurry photo. I used to be a journalist, but not a photojournalist. Here’s another look:
I really like the knob.
You know, I do actually sit around from time to time trying to think of all the possible things that could be used to as improvised cargo devices. This one had never crossed my mind. I don’t think I’m frugal enough to be this creative.
But on to the real news. EWEB and ODOT … hey, that would be a good name for a cartoon, kind of like “Ren & Stimpy“:
Anyway, EWEB and ODOT — man it’s taking a long time to get to the news, isn’t it — EWEB and ODOT are closing the Knickerbocker bridge for 11 days, starting next Monday, July 9. It will reopen on the 20th. EWEB is repairing a water line that runs underneath the bridge and ODOT is doing some kind of work on the path related to the new I-5 bridge.
We don’t particularly care about the details. Just know that you should detour onto the Autzen Bridge, which is the one we refuse to call by its new name, because the new name is way too hard to spell (Phronemaier or something).
If you don’t know the Knickerbocker Bridge, it’s the one closest to the freeway. Here:
That’s all I can handle for tonight. I have some other things to tell you about tomorrow. And I’ll have to catch you up on Le Tour de Milk Crate, too.
Eugene Bicyclist 
“We don’t particularly care about the details”
We should. Throughout the construction of the new I5 bridges, they have royally messed up what were nice and convenient bike paths. I love the way they turned a major biking corridor into an obstacle course of crazy turns, doglegs and converging paths. The clear intent must have been to slow people down, not to move people through…
i hope they fix it all up when the construction is through, but I can’t find any information on what it will really look like.
Jyll Smith from ODOT here.
I know that changes in the park paths can get confusing, but they’re essential to keeping people safe during overhead bridge work. But we’re also working to leave the park area and paths around the bridge project in better shape once our work is done.
Replacing the Interstate 5 Willamette River Bridge is providing a perfect opportunity to make improvements to the path system so they’re safer and more convenient for all.
We just completed a new connector path between North Walnut Road and the North Bank Path. This eliminates a congested and confusing intersection near the Knickerbocker Bridge.
We’re also building a new viaduct path on the south bank of the Willamette River, along the north side of Franklin Boulevard. We will replant and restore the existing South Bank Path that crosses under Franklin Boulevard using native plants.
Before we’re done, we’ll resurface all the paths near the bridge project and rebuild the intersection of the North Bank Path and the Knickerbocker Bridge to eliminate the steep transition between the two.
Please be patient with the ongoing path changes and construction work – the end result will be safer, more convenient connections once the bridge project is complete.
You can also follow our blog, willametteriverbridge.blogspot.com, to stay current on our ongoing work in the Whilamut Natural Area. Also, you can see the detours open during construction here: http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/REGION2/docs/area5/I-5_WRB/Public_invol_materials/WRB_STAGE2_Detours.pdf.
Thanks, Jyll, for the info. I’m not sure if it’s just my computer or something, but I couldn’t get the detour PDF to open.
I was able to open the PDF, though it did take some time as the state is having issues with its websites. Please be patient and it should open.
Well, I meant I didn’t care so much about what exactly EWEB is doing to the water line under the Kinckerbocker Bridge. But, yes, we should care about what the path looks like when it’s all done. I’ll see what I can find out.
This afternoon (Thursday, July 19) the Knickerbocker Bridge was open to traffic. It looked to me like they might be done.