Steel Bridge (1912)

Photos 

Steel Bridge

from the west bank of the Willamette River

Photo taken by Michael Goff on April 11, 2008

Enlarge

BH Photo #115909

Map 

Street Views 

Facts 

Overview

Vertical-lift through truss bridge over Willamette River on Pacific Highway West & MAX Blue Line in Portland

Location

Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon

Status

Open to highway and light rail traffic on upper deck; bicycle/pedestrian and rail traffic on lower deck

History

Built 1912

Builders

- Robert Wakefield of Portland, Oregon (Superstructure Contractor)
- Union Bridge & Construction Co. of Kansas City, Missouri (Substructure Contractor)
- Waddell & Harrington of Kansas City, Missouri (Engineering Firm)

Railroads

- Amtrak (AMTK)
- Amtrak Cascades
- Light Rail
- MAX Light Rail (MAX)
- Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Co. (OWR&N)
- Southern Pacific Railroad (SP)
- Union Pacific Railroad (UP)

Design

Pratt through truss

Dimensions

Length of largest span: 299.9 ft.
Total length: 799.9 ft.
Deck width: 49.9 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 17.8 ft.

Recognition

Eligible for the National Register of Historic Places

Approximate latitude, longitude

+45.52750, -122.66889   (decimal degrees)
45°31'39" N, 122°40'08" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")

Approximate UTM coordinates

10/525856/5041604 (zone/easting/northing)

Quadrangle map:

Portland

Average daily traffic (as of 2016)

13,700

Inventory numbers

OR 06683 (Oregon Dept. of Transportation structure number)
BH 29900 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Inspection report (as of August 2017)

Overall condition: Poor
Superstructure condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 45.1 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com

Categories 

Update Log 

• June 29, 2020: New photo from Patrick Gurwell
• November 22, 2018: New photo from John Bernhisel
• October 26, 2018: New photos from Mike Goff
• April 5, 2018: New photos from Richard Doody
• July 27, 2016: New photos from Mike Garland
• December 10, 2015: New Street View added by Douglas Butler
• October 19, 2014: New photos from Royce and Bobette Haley
• July 10, 2014: New photos from Andrew Raker
• August 28, 2013: New photos from Douglas Butler
• September 8, 2010: New Street View added by Michael Goff
• April 20, 2009: Posted HAER photos
• April 16, 2009: New photos from Michael Goff
• October 8, 2008: Updated by Michael Goff: Added Design Description
• September 29, 2008: New photo from Michael Goff
• September 22, 2008: Updated by Michael Goff
• June 25, 2008: New photos from Michael Goff

Related Bridges 

• Broadway Bridge (Downstream)
• Burnside Bridge-Center Section (1926) (Upstream)
• Steel Bridge (1888) (Predecessor)

Sources 

• Mike Goff - michael [dot] goff [at] hotmail [dot] com
• Wikipedia
• HAER OR-21 - Steel Bridge, Spanning Willamette River at State Route 99, Portland, Multnomah County, OR
• Historic Highway Bridges of Oregon - Dwight A. Smith, James B. Norman & Pieter T. Dykman, Oregon Historical Society Press, 1989
• Bridges of Portland - Ray Bottenberg, Arcadia Publishing, 2007
• The Portland Bridge Book - Sharon Wood Wortman, Oregon Historical Society Press, 2001
• Douglas Butler
• Andrew Raker
• Royce and Bobette Haley - roycehaley111 [at] yahoo [dot] com
• Mike Garland - Rapier342 [at] comcast [dot] net
• Richard Doody
• John Bernhisel - Johnmbernhisel [at] gmail [dot] com
• Patrick Gurwell - pgurwell [at] gmail [dot] com

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