BRIDGETOWN
INTRO There are 12 bridges that cross the Willamette
(yes, it's "will-AEM-it")-- St. Johns, Fremont, Broadway, Steel, Burnside, Morrison,
Hawthorne, Marquam, Tilikum Crossing, Ross Island, and Sellwood-- which is ten more than
connect us to Washington.
In fact, Bridgetown is widely known as one of Portland's nicknames, because of how
interconnected the city is.
Without its iconic bridges, Portland wouldn't really be Portland anymore, the city would
probably also come to a quick shutdown.
Portland's bridges, however, don't just contribute to the city culture of Portland,
each and every one of them can tell us a unique story of Portland's 20th century, as well
as that of the entire country.
Here on Bridgetown, we will explore each of Portland's most famous bridges, going north
to south, showing off how they've been built, what they offer, what they mean to Portland,
and what story they have to tell, just through how they were designed.
Welcome to Bridgetown.
[Intro sequence]
ST.
JOHNS BRIDGE
The St. Johns Bridge, connecting North Portland to upper Northwest Portland (remember, Portland
has five quadrants, not four), is the only suspension bridge in the Willamette Valley,
and is not a historic city monument, but even a national historic monument.
Built in 1931 with Gothic-inspired towers, which are the actual namesake for the nearby
Cathedral Park, as it isn't anywhere near a Cathedral.
At the time of its construction, six years before the Golden Gate Bridge, it was actually
the longest suspension bridge west of the Mississippi River.
Interestingly, though, the St. Johns Bridge, by being so far away from Portland's other
bridges, shows just how clustered most of them are downtown.
Now, back 100 years ago, neighborhoods like St. Johns were actually their own towns, founded
in the middle of the 19th century, long before Portland expanded to what it became 100 years
later.
What we now think of as downtown Portland was actually what Portland once was, the eastside
was even a separate city for a while.
In 1902, the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company (OR&N) eyed the strategically placed
St. Johns, and its ports and river access, and thus connected it with a major rail line
to the rest of the Portland area.
As the lines became electrified, they were soon also followed by streetcar systems, there
was even a line connecting Oregon and Washington.
However, the history of St. Johns' independent streak ended in 1915, when it was annexed
by the city of Portland.
It's actually because of all this that the original proposal for such an idea was met
with quite a bit of skepticism.
By then, it wasn't like the neighborhoods of St. Johns and Linnton would have had the
most political influence in Multnomah County, anymore.
At the time, the two communities were served by a ferry service carrying 1,000 cars a day.
Imagine that, a ferry service in Portland?
Construction of the bridge did finally start about a month before the Great Depression
started in 1929, but this actually meant that it provided some good work for people in the
area.
After it was completed, its dedication was also intentionally postponed so it could officially
be dedicated during the 23rd annual Rose Festival, and today, it carries a branch of US Route
30 across the river, as it finishes its westward journey toward Astoria, all the way from Philadelphia.
FREMONT BRIDGE Our next bridge is the Fremont Bridge, which
carries I-405 back across the river to catch up with I-5, and should not be confused with
the one in Seattle.
It is a tiered-arch bridge, which means that its main deck is supported by a single, giant
arch; at 382 meters, it has the longest main span of any bridge in Oregon, and at a total
length of 656 meters, is also the second-longest tiered-arch bridge in the world, behind the
800-meter Caiyuanba Bridge over the Yangtze River in Chongqing-- which is either very
impressive, or unremarkably specific, depending on how you think about it.
Its design was inspired off of the original Port Mann Bridge in Vancouver, BC, and interestingly
enough, it was also officially designated as a nesting spot for the Peregrine Falcon
in 1995.
The bridge was built in 1973, to connect the then newly built I-405 to I-5 in the north,
completing an addition to a project from Dwight Eisenhower's project to build a national
system of interstate highways, inspired partially from his service in post-WWII Germany.
Confusingly, though, it also carries a branch of US Route 30.
Unfortunately, though these highways were designed to bring the nation together-- especially
in a time of crisis--, city planning wasn't really a profession at the time, and that's
not a sarcastic remark, it literally wasn't, which is why we have interstate highways going
straight through city centers, and why many attribute Vancouver as being the only major
city in North America without a city-center highway.
Back in the 50's and 60's, the car was asserting itself as the dominant method of
transport in the US.
Why take a streetcar, when you have the bonds and cheap gas to drive freely in your own
car on fresh, new roads, connecting suburbs to the city center?
However, interstate highways take up a lot of space, and give off a lot of pollution,
and these city-center highways also separated neighborhoods, and sliced cities apart.
It also made it easier to commute between the city center and the far-off suburbs, and
city sprawl isn't particularly good for the environment.
Those who live in far off suburbs often have bigger houses, and more and bigger cars, and
have not much more of a choice than to drive them further and more often.
Oh well, all in the sake of personal freedom, I guess.
BROADWAY BRIDGE Next we have the Broadway Bridge, not to be
confused with the Broadway Bridge in Little Rock; Manhattan; Daytona Beach; Saskatoon;
Greenville, OH; St. Peter, MN; Little Falls, MN; or in Kansas City.
It is the first bridge we've so far covered that is a draw bridge-- which is interesting,
because Portland has a lot of those--, and this bridge is the sole reason why NW/SW 7th
Avenue is actually called NW/SW Broadway, since it was now connected with NE Broadway.
Because that's how street names apparently work.
The Broadway Bridge gives us a good insight into the history of the North American streetcar.
While today, there are two sets of tracks for the Portland Streetcar, those have only
existed since 2010, when they were rebuilt after 66 years of non-existence.
In 1913, when the bridge was first built, it was built with streetcar tracks, as the
streetcar was very popular in the turn of the 20th century.
This was especially before the rise of the American middle-class in the 40's and 50's,
when American manufacturing was the most competitive in the world, since it wasn't completely
destroyed in WWII.
Little competition from German, Japanese, French, Chinese or British industries, alongside
affordable mortgages for returning veterans, contributed to what many call "America's
golden age".
Oh, and car and road-related companies won contracts to pave roads, sell cars, and sell
cheap gas, and tear up many streetcar tracks nationwide.
We didn't need those old things, the age of the car was starting!
Of course, as many an Angelino, or a resident of both Washingtons, has found out, the car
has a whole host of problems, notably traffic and pollution, and streetcars have been making
a controversial, yet nationwide comeback.
Actually, more of a continental comeback, because, Toronto, in part from the revenue
they bring to developments in the area.
Ever notice how all the streetcar stations are sponsored?
STEEL BRIDGE The Steel Bridge, opened in 1912 (replacing
an earlier bridge built in 1888), is a mixed-traffic railway/road bridge, operated by Union Pacific
Railroad.
It largely connects Lloyd District almost to the city center, as well as being a common
point of travel for 4 MAX lines.
It also carries Union Pacific and Amtrak trains, and a walkway on the lower deck.
The name of the bridge does stem back to its construction, since steel wasn't exactly
the most popular bridge-building material at the time.
When it originally opened, much like the Broadway Bridge, it was originally built with streetcar
tracks, until they were abandoned in the 40's.
In the 50's, it served as a vital connection to 99W through Harbor Drive.
No, I don't mean Harbor Blvd., Harbor Drive.
If you've never heard of it, that's because it doesn't exist anymore.
Just as its construction required the tearing down of tens of houses and buildings along
the riverfront, it too was paved over and forgotten.
It was replaced by Tom McCall Waterfront Park, now connected by a walkway through the Steel
Bridge's lower deck to the Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade.
This is actually widely cited as one of the first instances of highway removal projects
in the US.
In the 80's, the bridge was closed for two years, while it went through a much needed,
$10 million rehabilitation to catch it up with the times, at least enough to carry a
new light rail line, connecting the city center, the burgeoning Lloyd District, NE Portland
and Gresham-- later making up half of the blue line-- opening in 1986.
Another interesting thing about the Steel Bridge is how it deals with being a double-decker
bridge, with that middle deck being so low.
The lower deck, once again, was built for national and international trains to pass
along the rail lines into NW Portland, but the middle of the lower deck, because it's
so low, can actually raise up into the air for smaller river crafts.
One unfortunate consequence of the low clearance is making the Steel Bridge vulnerable to unforeseeable
immense floods.
This happened in 1948, and again in 1964, and yet again in 1996.
Because severe rains and excess mountain runoff couldn't have ever happened to the Willamette
Valley before, and it's really important for the bridge to at least provide clearance to
Dragon Boat teams.
Though, I suppose the walkway is good if you're really scared of heights.
BURNSIDE BRIDGE The Burnside Bridge was also an early 20th
century replacement for a late 19th century bridge.
The Burnside Bridge was built in the roaring 20's to replace a swing-span truss bridge,
a type of bridge where the middle turns 90 degrees whenever a tall boat wanted to come
through.
This turned out to be very slow, so the new designers opted for a double-leaf bascule
bridge, a type of drawbridge.
The bridge was rebuilt through a $4.5 million bond that also funded the Ross Island and
Sellwood Bridges.
However, the original engineers were soon recalled, after it had been revealed they
had received $500,000 more than the lowest bid, inviting a new company to finish the
job.
The Burnside Bridge was also directly influenced by the City Beautiful Movement of the early
20th century.
This is evident in the bridge's two Italian Renaissance style towers and fences in between
the towers.
The western one actually houses the controls for the bridge.
The Burnside Bridge, only having to open around 40 times a month, does so with the help of
two counterweights, each weighing 1,900 tons, in order to raise the two huge sections of
bridge.
The bridge used to carry three lanes of traffic going each way, but was later upgraded to
add bike lanes in each direction, and now carries only two westbound traffic lanes.
The bridge is now even a designated emergency route, as it has been reinforced in case of
a strong earthquake.
The Burnside Bridge's west side is also home to famous local landmarks, like the White
Stag Sign, the Portland Saturday Market, and Skidmore Fountain and its MAX station.
It's also not too far from the Shanghai Tunnels, showing a glimpse into some of Portland's
less savory past.
Oh, and there's also that place with the donuts with Lucky Charms on them, and that
stuff.
MORRISON BRIDGE The Morrison Bridge goes between SE Morrison
St. to, strangely, not SW Morrison St. Its eastern ends are on SE Morrison and Belmont
streets, while its western ends are on SW Alder and Washington Streets, the latter being
a block north of the MAX tracks on SW Morrison.
I think we can establish that many streets on the eastside don't always line up perfectly
with their westside counterparts.
The Morrison Bridge is described as a "Chicago-style, double leaf bascule" bridge, which does
not mean it's a deep-dish bridge.
The Morrison Bridge, because of its size and location, leading to downtown Portland and
I-5, is perfect for commuters to and from the city center and everywhere to the north.
It epitomizes highways inside of Portland, carrying 50,000 cars a day.
That's almost as many as there are daily maintenance projects, from the view of many
of said commuters.
The original Morrison Bridge, built in 1887, was a wooden, swing-span bridge.
As the first bridge to cross the Willamette River, it was also the longest bridge west
of the Mississippi River at the time.
It was originally a toll bridge, and carried horsecars, which were replaced by electrified
streetcars.
It became free in 1895, and was then replaced by a new one in 1905.
The 1905 bridge, however, was not the one we know today, which was not built until 1958.
Unfortunately, as car ownership skyrocketed, it became obvious that this bridge, not actually
designed for cars, needed to be replaced.
Finally, the current Morrison Bridge was opened in 1958, with a marching band performance
from Wilson and Benson High Schools, organized by Portland Mayor Terry Schrunk, and even
fighter jets flying overhead.
HAWTHORNE BRIDGE The Hawthorne Bridge is a vertical lift bridge,
similar to the Steel Bridge.
In fact, it is the oldest one in the United States that is still running to this day,
having opened in 1910.
The Hawthorne Bridge is a big deal in SE and SW Portland, carrying 30,000 motor vehicles
every day, as well as hundreds of TriMet buses.
Additionally, it carries thousands of bicycles and pedestrians on a nine meter wide, shared
sidewalk on either side.
It has also become a citywide hub for biking and transit, the two ways of commuting Portland
always brags about.
One major downside of its low clearance, though, is that it has to be raised 200 times every
month.
This is of course very inconvenient for one of Portland's busiest bridges.
Good thing there's an app for that (Bridge Alerts).
The bridge was named for Hawthorne Boulevard, which itself was named after the late J.C.
Hawthorne.
Hawthorne was a politician in both Oregon and California in the 1850's, and is also
known for having established the infamous Oregon Hospital for the Insane, on the street
that now bears his name, back when East Portland was its own city.
It was quickly closed, and replaced by the Oregon State Hospital in Salem.
The latter hospital served as the primary filming location for the One Flew Over the
Cuckoo's Nest movie.
The Bridge itself, though, was involved in the 2003 movie The Hunted, featuring a scene
taking place on the MAX on the Hawthorne Bridge.
The only problem was that the MAX only crosses the river on the Steel Bridge and Tilikum
Crossing, so they made two articulating buses that looked like MAX cars, and even installed
fake overhead power lines, proving that it can take serious dedication to intentionally
do something the hard way.
MARQUAM BRIDGE The Marquam Bridge is well known around the
city for being rather ugly, and was built to connect I-5 on the east and west sides
of the Willamette-- remember, the Fremont Bridge wouldn't be built until 1973, so
this was a major piece of infrastructure-- unfortunately for those who have to live here,
that's all it was built for, literally just that.
It's essentially just there.
In function, it's really kind of like a southern Fremont Bridge, but really only in
function.
Perhaps its opening day celebrations wouldn't be too surprising; on the 28th of February,
1966, in place of an all-out celebration with fanfare and parades and the like, the Marquam
Bridge's barriers were simply, quietly removed, with vehicle traffic being opened soon after.
In obvious stark contrast to what the Morrison Bridge got.
The Marquam Bridge carries traffic on two decks, westbound on the bottom, and eastbound
on top, reverse of the Fremont.
It has a beautiful view at night, but only really for passengers, as the person driving
has to navigate all the turns and curves, and all the traffic.
Think of a heavily congested roller coaster.
Additionally, there are no sidewalks, no bike lanes, no rails, no bus lines.
It is just designed for cars.
Unfortunately for those who really, undeniably hate it, tearing it down would actually be
a terrible idea, as this is the single busiest bridge in the entire state of Oregon, and
one of the busiest in the Pacific Northwest.
Carrying Interstate 5, one of the west coast's major lifelines, means it supports nearly
136,000 cars and trucks a day, as of 2008 statistics.
This is nearly twice the daily usage of the Lions Gate Bridge in Vancouver, and can even
rival that of the Golden Gate Bridge.
While this is obviously nowhere near the busiest bridge in the country, it is pretty clear
that the Marquam Bridge can't really be replaced that easily.
TILIKUM CROSSING Tilikum Crossing is Portland's newest bridge,
having opened in September 2015 with the MAX Orange Line, and finally connecting the Streetcar
A/B Loops into actual loops around the city center.
Tilikum Crossing serves the distance between the new South Waterfront district, and OMSI,
providing both areas with a MAX station, and extending the MAX to inner SE Portland.
Tilikum Crossing has also been nicknamed "the bridge of the people", as it doesn't allow
cars across.
The word Tilikum was also chosen for the name of the bridge, as it comes from the indigenous
Chinook Wawa language, and means 'people', or 'tribe'.
Also hence, 'bridge of the people'.
Tilikum Crossing is the only bridge on this list where cars are banned, only allowing
pedestrians, cyclists, the MAX, the Streetcar, and buses, also known as 'everyone else'.
It's essentially the exact opposite of the Marquam Bridge, with beautiful night lights
to go along.
Tilikum Crossing carries the MAX and the streetcar across the river, which is no small thing,
as it allows crucial rail access across the river, south of the city center.
This was the infrastructure that finally made direct, high speed access from the city center
to SE Portland and Milwaukie possible.
The inner southeast of Portland has recently seen a large wave of development projects
and businesses popping up, with the advent of the Orange Line (technically the Yellow
Line, but still).
On the west side, though, is the burgeoning new South Waterfront District, the Dubai of
Portland, since it all sprang up in the last 15 years.
Not very long ago, the whole area was barely more than an empty plot strangely close to
the city center, and right at the foothills of the Marquam Hill, where the Oregon Health
and Science University (OHSU) is.
This meant that they could easily expand, especially with their own Aerial Tram downhill
access, across I-5.
In 2015, Tilikum Crossing and the MAX Orange Line were arguably the last steps in putting
this area truly on the map, as well as finally closing the streetcar loop.
ROSS ISLAND BRIDGE The Ross Island Bridge, named after the nearby,
uninhabited Ross Island, has the task of carrying US Highway 26, known on the eastside as SE
Powell Blvd., and to me as, "wait, I thought this was SE Division?".
US Highway 26 goes all across the state of Oregon, from the Idaho state line, just south
of where I-84 crosses the border, over to Seaside, where it intersects with US Route
101, serving as a common route between Portland and the Oregon coast.
There entire route, though, goes all the way east to Ogallala, in western Nebraska.
The Ross Island Bridge, while passing directly through and over South Waterfront, actually
serves more inland neighborhoods, connecting with 99-W (or SW Naito) in a bit of a weird
configuration, before continuing off west to the coast.
Built in 1922 with cars in mind, it only has one narrow sidewalk, situated on the northern
side.
It was paid for with the same $4.5 million bond that helped build the Burnside Bridge.
Currently, though, the bridge is undergoing a three-year, $30 million repainting that
started back in 2014.
So, any moment now…
Despite the name, the Ross Island Bridge does not actually stop off in Ross Island, it passes
just north of it.
This means that Ross Island, named after Oregon pioneer Sherry Ross, and actually part of
a small archipelago, can only be reached by a boat.
However, those living on Ross Island can simply leave and come back by flapping their wings.
That's because Ross Island serves as a wildlife reserve, ever since Ross Island Sand & Gravel
Co. (RISG) donated use of the archipelago to the city of Portland in the 2000's.
Before this, the archipelago was a big hotspot for underwater dredging, especially after
the US Army Corps of Engineers built an artificial levee, connecting the once separate Ross and
Hardtack Islands.
This made an artificial lagoon that made dredging considerably easier.
Of course, though the company still lives on, the dredging in the area is no more, since
birds and otters don't really spend their time dredging for concrete.
SELLWOOD BRIDGE Our last bridge on our list is the Sellwood
Bridge, located at SW is-this-really-still-Portland?
St., and which recently underwent a huge rebuilding project.
The original Sellwood Bridge was built in 1925 by Gustav Lindenthal, and replaced a
much-complained-about ferry service, kind of like what happened up north.
(Hence Taylor's Ferry Road that starts nearby.)
The bridge was a truss bridge, and was open for 91 years.
However, as time wore on, several problems were noticed with the bridge, mainly the huge
cracks forming at either end.
With the bridge's condition having been deteriorating since the 1960's, the weight
capacity of trucks was lowered from 32 tons to just 10 tons in 2004.
It was also very narrow, even for the 20's, with incredibly narrow sidewalks, one lane
of traffic, and not much thought for bikes.
Additionally, it was not built for huge weights, and was therefore not quite as sturdy.
In 2005, Multnomah County and civil engineering company Bechtel decided enough was enough,
and agreed to partner up to replace the ailing bridge.
After years of construction, the new bridge, built right next to the old one, opened on
the 29th of February, 2016, the old bridge having been closed for only four days.
In the mid-20th century, especially the 50's and 60's, America was building itself up.
Having won WWII without suffering any direct losses, or having any international competition
in the markets, caused American infrastructure to boom.
Interstate highways, suburbs, dams, bridges, airports, and everything other than reliable
railways were built in this massive national building spree.
Of course, any structure that is built will have to be repaired if it doesn't want to
end up like the old Sellwood Bridge.
The problem with that, of course, is the new trend in US politics of thinking of infrastructure
as being somehow 'boring', instead of the life or death issue it really is.
Replacing the Sellwood Bridge, instead of repairing the old one, though, actually turned
out a great idea, as it allowed the bridge to be upgraded for better, higher volume traffic.
Including bikes!
At least we didn't end up like Pittsburgh, with their Greenfield Bridge over I-376, which
has been in such deterioration, that another smaller bridge was built underneath to catch
falling debris.
CONCLUSION All these bridges, regardless of their type,
the type of vehicles they carry, their river clearance, or their location, are absolutely
crucial to our city's economy and development, but also to our city's culture.
From the old to the new, the bustling highways to the suburban roads, the beautiful to the
not-so-much, they are effectively the staples that bind our city together, both literally
and metaphorically, and while there are a lot of cities with a notable amount of bridges
crossing a central river, the bridges of Portland are arguably just as important as arm tattoos
and double-decker bikes in making Portland, the city it is.
For more infomation >> [Português \ Español] What The Duck - The Series - Episódio 12 - Duration: 38:56. 
For more infomation >> Alanyaspor 1 2 Konyaspor geniş maç özeti 11.02.2018 - Duration: 1:38. 
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