Vista Avenue Viaduct
Photos
 |
Vista Ave. Bridge Photo taken by Michael Goff on June 13, 2008 |
 |
Pedestrian Area on Southeast Abutment Photo taken by Michael Goff on October 7, 2009 |
 |
Pedestrian Area on Northwest Abutment Photo taken by Michael Goff on October 7, 2009 |
 |
Mid-bridge Pedestrian Overlook Photo taken by Michael Goff on October 7, 2009 |
 |
Mid-bridge Pedestrian Overlook Photo taken by Michael Goff on October 7, 2009 |
 |
Pedestrian Overlook, Rail, and Lightpoles Photo taken by Michael Goff on October 7, 2009 |
 |
Lightpole on Midspan Rail Photo taken by Michael Goff on October 7, 2009 |
 |
Rail Detail Photo taken by Michael Goff on October 7, 2009 |
 |
Information Plaque Photo taken by Michael Goff on October 7, 2009 |
 |
Entry Pylon with Plaque southeast abutment Photo taken by Michael Goff on October 7, 2009 |
Facts
- Overview
- Concrete arch bridge over SW Jefferson on SW Vista Avenue in Portland
- Location
- Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon
- Status
- Open to traffic
- History
- Built in 1925 by Parker & Banfield
- Builders
- - Fred T. Fowler (Engineer/Architect)
- Parker & Banfield (Contractor)
- Design
- Concrete deck arch
- Dimensions
-
Length of largest span: 248.0 ft.
Total length: 548.9 ft.
Deck width: 37.4 ft.
- Also called
- Suicide Bridge
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +45.51889, -122.69750 (decimal degrees)
45°31'08" N, 122°41'51" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 10/523625/5040639 (zone/easting/northing)
- USGS topographic map
- Portland
- Inventory number
- BH 29893 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
- Inspection (as of 10/2010)
- Deck condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Appraisal: Structurally deficient
Sufficiency rating: 49.7 (out of 100) - Average daily traffic (as of 2007)
- 8,993
Update Log
- September 7, 2010: New Street View added by Michael Goff
- October 8, 2009: New photos from Michael Goff
- August 26, 2008: New photos from Michael Goff
- June 25, 2008: New photo from Michael Goff
- April 25, 2008: Updated by Max Johnson: Corrected "Date Built"
Sources
- James Baughn - webmaster [at] bridgehunter [dot] com
- Mike Goff - michael [dot] goff [at] hotmail [dot] com
- Historic Highway Bridges of Oregon - Dwight A. Smith, James B. Norman & Pieter T. Dykman, Oregon Historical Society Press, 1989
- Wikipedia - Vista Avenue Bridge
Comments
The date for this bridge seems to have been a discussion in the past. I have done a little research on this structure and this is my conclusion on the topic.
The information plaque on the bridge states the bridge was built in 1925. This is the year the bridge was constructed, but the bridge did not open until early 1926.
The current bridge replaced an older structure that was built in 1903-04. This older bridge is probably the source of confusion for the date of the current bridge.
Vista Avenue bridge
LOCATION IS IN MULTNOMAH COUNTY
ORIGINAL NAME: Ford Street Bridge
OPENING DATE: 1904
NOTE: Original bridge parts were used to cross the canyon where present day Interstate highway I-5 is located. (AKA Terwilliger Curves )---This is a notorious location for traffic wrecks due to the curve configurations.
AKA "Suicide Bridge" for obvious reasons--
Several streetcar car wrecks occured on the bridge involving runaway Council Crest streetcars-
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/or/multnomah/vista-avenue/