Goodpasture Covered Bridge 37-20-10
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
Update Log
- 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
Related Bridges
- Leaburg Dam/Bridge (Downstream)
- Bruckart Bridge (Upstream) - Two modern bridges between structures
Sources
- Historic Highway Bridges of Oregon - Dwight A. Smith, James B. Norman & Pieter T. Dykman, Oregon Historical Society Press, 1989
- HAER OR-136 - Goodpasture Bridge, Spanning McKenzie River at Goodpasture Road, Vida, Lane County, OR
- Mike Goff - michael [dot] goff [at] hotmail [dot] com
- Goodpasture Covered Bridge - Oregon Covered Bridge Guide
- Wikipedia - Goodpasture Covered Bridge
- Dale Travis Covered Bridge List
- Dave King - DKinghawkfan [at] hotmail [dot] com
- Richard Doody
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/or/lane/goodpasture/