Sellwood Bridge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sellwood Bridge | |
 |
|
| Crosses | Willamette River |
|---|---|
| Locale | Portland, Oregon |
| Longest span | 2 @ 300 ft |
| Total length | 1,971 |
| Clearance below | 75 ft |
| Opening date | December 15, 1925 |
|
|
The Sellwood Bridge is a truss bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, in the United States. It was Portland's first fixed span bridge and, being the only river crossing for miles in each direction, is the busiest two-lane bridge in Oregon. It links the Sellwood and Westmoreland neighborhoods of Portland on the east side with Oregon Highway 43/Macadam Avenue on the west side.
Designed by Gustav Lindenthal, the bridge opened on December 15, 1925 at a final cost of $541,000.[1] It is 1,971 ft. long with 75 ft. of vertical waterway clearance. There are four continuous spans, the two center spans are 300 ft. long and the two outside spans are 246 ft. each. The girders from the old Burnside Bridge (built in 1894) were reused at each end. It provides a 24 foot roadway and one 4’ 3" (51 inches, 130 cm) sidewalk on the downstream side, shared with street light standards which make the sidewalk width about 3 feet (36 inches, 91 cm).[2] Allowing for safety clearances, there is less than 2 feet (24 inches, 61 cm) usable sidewalk. The Bicycle Transportation Alliance lists the Sellwood Bridge as one of the top ten priorities for improving Portland's bicycling. [3]
[edit] Replacement
Upon discovery of cracks in both concrete approaches in January 2004, the weight limit on the bridge was lowered from 32 tons to 10 tons. This has caused the diversion of 94 daily TriMet bus trips over the bridge. At present there is debate on whether the bridge should be repaired, rebuilt, closed altogether, or closed for automotive traffic (but left open for pedestrians and bicycles). Tacoma Street, which leads east from the bridge, is classified as a district collector street. A replacement is estimated at around $80 million. [4]
In April of 2005, Bechtel gave Multnomah County an unsolicited plan to replace the bridge through a public-private partnership. [5]
[edit] References
- ^ Wood, Sharon (2001). The Portland Bridge Book. Oregon Historical Society. ISBN 0-87595-211-9.
- ^ Sellwood Bridge. Multnomah County. Retrieved on 2006-11-06.
- ^ Bicycle Transportation Alliance. "Blueprint for Better Biking: Selwood Bridge" (PDF). Retrieved on 2006-11-06.
- ^ Hamilton, Don. "Selwood span has new limits", Portland Tribune, June 24, 2004. Retrieved on 2006-11-06.
- ^ Jacklet, Ben. "The Sellwood solution?", Portland Tribune, May 13, 2005. Retrieved on 2006-11-06.
[edit] External links
- Multnomah County: Sellwood Bridge Project Information, announcements, surveys related to addressing Sellwood Bridge users' needs.
- Sellwood Bridge photos at portlandbridges.com
| Bridges in the metropolitan area of Portland, Oregon See also: Transportation in Portland, Oregon | |
| Across the Willamette River (north to south)
St. Johns Bridge - Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge 5.1 - Fremont Bridge - Broadway Bridge - Steel Bridge - Burnside Bridge - Morrison Bridge - Hawthorne Bridge - Marquam Bridge - Ross Island Bridge - Sellwood Bridge - Lake Oswego Railroad Bridge - Abernethy Bridge - Oregon City Bridge |
|
| Across the Columbia River (west to east)
Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge 9.6 - Interstate Bridge - Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge |
| Crossings of the Willamette River | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Upstream Lake Oswego Railroad Bridge |
Sellwood Bridge |
Downstream Ross Island Bridge  |
|
