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Goodpasture Covered Bridge 37-20-10

Lane County, Oregon

Photos 

Goodpasture Covered Bridge

Photo taken by Michael Goff on July 9, 2010

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BH Photo #169566

Map 

Street Views 

Description 

The Goodpasture Bridge is one of the most beautiful and most photographed covered bridges in the state. Designed by the State Highway Department and built by Lane County, the classical and timeless architecture of this bridge is accentuated by Gothic style windows on both sides of the structure. At 165 feet, the span is the longest covered bridge in Oregon still in daily use.

Lane County spent $13,154 constructing the Goodpasture Bridge and is still reaping the benefits of a good investment. Unfortunately, both time and traffic have significantly weakened the span. By the early 1980s, rumors persisted that the Goodpasture Bridge would be closed with a new concrete span built to handle the local traffic. Instead, Lane County agreed to repair the bridge, and work was completed in 1987 which included renovation to handle the daily loads of log trucks. In addition, the remodeling included a right-turn lane for traffic exiting Highway 126 onto the bridge, and a concrete retaining wall along the north bank of the McKenzie River. Some $750,000 was spent to complete work on the bridge, road, approaches and wingwall. The Eugene Register-Guard reported that Ole Halverson, who helped built the bridge in 1938, attended the dedication in April 1987 and liked what he saw. "They did an excellent job of strengthening it," Halverson said. "It looks the same as new."

The nearby town of Vida was once called Gate Creek, resulting in confusion with Gales Creek in Washington County. "Vida" was selected as an alternate name because it was also the name of the daughter of postmaster Francis Peport. The Goodpasture family settled near the town of Vida and gave their name to the bridge.

(Reference: Roofs Over Rivers, by Bill and Nick Cockrell)

Facts 

Overview
Covered Howe through truss bridge over Mckenzie River on Goodpasture Road
Location
Lane County, Oregon
Status
Open to traffic
History
Built 1938
Design
Covered Howe through truss
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 165.0 ft.
Total length: 237.9 ft.
Deck width: 17.7 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 15.3 ft.
Recognition
Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on November 29, 1979
Approximate latitude, longitude
+44.14806, -122.58750   (decimal degrees)
44°08'53" N, 122°35'15" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
10/532989/4888400 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Vida
Average daily traffic (as of 2010)
750
Inventory numbers
WGCB 37-20-10 (World Guide to Covered Bridges number)
NRHP 79002100 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
ORNBI 39C118109400001 (Oregon bridge number on the National Bridge Inventory)
BH 30036 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection report (as of August 2018)
Overall condition: Fair
Superstructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 42.5 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com

Categories 

Built 1938 (901)
Built during 1930s (12,198)
Covered (2,270)
Covered Bridges of Oregon (52)
Have street view (29,166)
Howe through truss (527)
Howe truss (657)
Lane County, Oregon (117)
Mckenzie River (Oregon) (9)
 NR-listed (3,014)
Open (41,013)
Oregon (1,262)
Owned by county (21,656)
Span length 125-175 feet (4,454)
Through truss (17,185)
Total length 175-250 feet (4,520)
Truss (35,934)
Wooden deck (6,173)

Update Log 

  • September 9, 2020: Updated by Alexander D. Mitchell IV: Latest reports indicate bridge still standing, not destroyed by wildfire as previously reported by county officials
  • September 8, 2020: Updated by Alexander D. Mitchell IV: Reported as destroyed by wildfire Sept. 8, 2020
  • April 15, 2018: New photos from Richard Doody
  • April 9, 2018: New photos from Richard Doody
  • March 10, 2014: Updated by Dave King: Added NRHP date & imported photos
  • July 12, 2010: New photos from Michael Goff
  • April 22, 2010: New Street View added by Michael Goff
  • April 20, 2009: Posted HAER photos

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Sources 

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Comments 

Goodpasture Covered Bridge 37-20-10
Posted October 22, 2020, by Tony Dillon (spansaver [at] hotmail [dot] com)

Still looking good!

Goodpasture Covered Bridge 37-20-10
Posted September 9, 2020, by Mike Goff (michael [dot] goff [at] hotmail [dot] com)

Our last report has this bridge still standing.

Goodpasture Covered Bridge 37-20-10
Posted September 9, 2020, by Tony Dillon (spansaver [at] hotmail [dot] com)

There appears to be some confusion. At the bottom of the article it says the bridge was reported to be okay.