Broadway Bridge (Portland)
| Broadway Bridge | |
|---|---|
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| Carries | vehicles and pedestrians |
| Crosses | Willamette River |
| Locale | Portland, Oregon |
| Maintained by | Multnomah County |
| ID number | 06757 |
| Design | Truss with double-leaf Rall-type bascule lift span |
| Total length | 1,742 (531 m) |
| Width | 70 feet |
| Longest span | 304 feet (92.7 m) |
| Vertical clearance | 13 feet (3.9 m) |
| Clearance below | 70 ft closed |
| Opened | April 22, 1913 |
| Coordinates | 45°31′55″N 122°40′26″W / 45.531916°N 122.67387°WCoordinates: 45°31′55″N 122°40′26″W / 45.531916°N 122.67387°W |
The Broadway Bridge is a bascule bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, U.S. It was the first bascule bridge built in Portland and the longest in the world at the time of its completion.[1] It is the longest Rall-type bascule bridge still in existence.
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[edit] History and description
The designer of the bridge was Polish-American engineer Ralph Modjeski.[2] The bridge was opened on April 22, 1913 at a cost of $1.6 million. Because it was to be the world's largest bascule bridge, there was competition between the patent holders of the Strauss, Scherzer, and Rall type bridges.[3] The Rall type was selected for the Broadway Bridge because of cost,[4] but the more complicated rolling lift mechanisms of the Scherzer and Rall types eventually lost favor to the simpler fixed-trunnion bascules such as the Chicago and Strauss.
The bridge carries two lanes of vehicle traffic in each direction and has an 11-foot (3.4 m) wide sidewalk along each side. As of 2001 the bridge carried 27,000 vehicles per day and opened for river traffic around 25 times per month. It is also one of the main bridges for bicycle traffic crossing the Willamette in Portland, with over 2,000 daily bicycle crossings.[5] It is painted Golden Gate red,[6] also known as international orange.[7]
Because it is such a complicated bridge, there have been frequent repairs to the structure and mechanics of the bridge. In 1948, the concrete deck was replaced with steel grating. During 1982, access for bicyclists was improved by an $18,000 signal and sidewalk upgrade. In order to improve access and reduce energy costs, the sidewalks and lighting were replaced in 2000–2001.[8] The Lovejoy Viaduct was removed in 1999 as part of the $10 million construction of the shorter Lovejoy Ramp that opened in September 2001. A $28 million renovation began in February 2003. Included in this was the replacement of steel grating with a fiber-reinforced polymer composite material called DuraSpan, made by Martin Marietta Materials.[9] The renovation was completed in February 2005.
Starting July 6, 2010, the bridge was temporarily closed to all traffic (closure started on July 19 for pedestrians and bikes)[10] for two months, to permit the laying of streetcar tracks for an extension of the Portland Streetcar system.[11] The bridge reopened (two of four lanes) on September 4.[12] Streetcars had previously crossed the bridge, from the time of its opening in 1913 until 1948,[13] but the original tracks and wires had since been removed. The new streetcar line that crosses the bridge is scheduled to open in September 2012.[14]
[edit] In popular culture
The Broadway Bridge is prominently featured in the climax of the 2008 film Untraceable.[15] In the film, FBI agent Jennifer Marsh (Diane Lane) becomes stranded on the east end of the bridge after an online serial killer hacks into her car's computer.[16] The scene was filmed both on the actual bridge as well as on a sound stage.
In the 2001 film, Bandits, Joe Blake (played by Bruce Willis) and Terry Collins (played by Billy Bob Thornton) are driving across the Broadway Bridge when their stolen car runs out of gas. Both men leave the car on the bridge, but when Terry returns with gas, he finds the police surrounding their car. Terry turns around, trying not to draw attention to himself, and descends a set of stairs on the west side of the bridge and walks onto Naito Parkway, where he is hit by Kate Wheeler (Cate Blanchett), who is driving a speeding car.
[edit] Gallery
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Close-up view from river bank
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HAER description
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West leaf bascule span
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Bridge mechanics
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USS Bunker Hill travels through the open bridge, June 2007
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The USS Lake Erie passes through the Broadway Bridge
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Street-level view
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[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Smith, Dwight A. (1989). Historic Highway Bridges of Oregon. Oregon Historical Society Press. p. 116. ISBN 0-87595-205-4.
- ^ Glomb, Jozef; Peter J. Obst (Translator) (2002) (in English). A man who spanned two eras: The story of bridge engineer Ralph Modjeski. Philadelphia: Kosciuszko Foundation. ISBN 978-0917004254.
- ^ Wood, Sharon (2001). The Portland Bridge Book. Oregon Historical Society. ISBN 0-87595-211-9.
- ^ "Willamette River (Broadway) Bridge" (Word). Oregon Department of Transportation. http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/GEOENVIRONMENTAL/docs/Historic_Bridge/Willamette_Broadway_Bridge.doc. Retrieved 2006-11-06.
- ^ "BikePortland.org: bridge bike traffic up in '05". http://bikeportland.org/2005/09/20/bridge-bike-traffic-jumps-15-in-05/. Retrieved 2006-04-09.
- ^ "Broadway Bridge". Light The Bridges. Willamette Light Brigade. http://www.lightthebridges.org/legacy-broadway.htm. Retrieved 2008-12-22.[dead link]
- ^ "Broadway Bridge". The Low/No-Budget Guide to Portland Oregon. Zinester's Guide to Portland. http://pdxguide.org/browse/multiple/bridges/broadway-bridge/. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
- ^ "Broadway Lighting and Sidewalk Project". Multnomah County. http://www2.co.multnomah.or.us/jsp/Public/EntryPoint?ct=122856048e817010VgnVCM5051560ac614acRCRD. Retrieved 2006-11-09.
- ^ "Martin Marietta Composites Completes Landmark Installation Of Broadway Bridge Deck" (Press release). Martin Marietta Materials. August 20, 2004. http://www.martinmarietta.com/Corporate/features.asp?yr=2004&ID=59. Retrieved 2006-11-09.
- ^ Rose, Joseph (July 14, 2010). "Slideshow update: Transportation officials improve Broadway Bridge bike, pedestrian detour". The Oregonian. http://blog.oregonlive.com/commuting/2010/07/slideshow_how_to_maneuver_the.html. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ Rose, Joseph (July 5, 2010 (July 4 online edition)). "Streetcar work shutting down Broadway Bridge". The Oregonian, p. A10. http://blog.oregonlive.com/commuting/2010/07/streetcar_work_shuts_broadway.html. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
- ^ Rose, Joseph (September 2, 2010). "Two lanes, sidewalk of Portland's Broadway Bridge set to reopen Saturday". The Oregonian. http://blog.oregonlive.com/commuting/2010/09/two_lanes_sidewalk_of_portland.html. Retrieved 2010-09-08.
- ^ Thompson, Richard (2006). Portland's Streetcars, pp. 65, 108. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-3115-4.
- ^ "Construction Overview". Portland Streetcar, Inc.. http://www.portlandstreetcar.org/node/11. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
- ^ KATU review: The Broadway Bridge stars in "Untraceable"
- ^ YouTube video: "On the Broadway Bridge"
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Broadway Bridge |
- Multnomah County: Broadway Bridge
- Willamette Light Brigade
- "Broadway Bridge" at Centuries Since the Day
- Broadway Bridge at Structurae
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