Hawthorne Bridge
| Hawthorne Bridge | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Carries | vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists |
| Crosses | Willamette River |
| Locale | Portland, Oregon |
| Maintained by | Multnomah County |
| Design | truss with a vertical-lift span |
| Total length | 1,382 ft (421 m) |
| Width | 72 ft (22 m) |
| Longest span | 244 ft (74 m) |
| Clearance below | 49 ft (15 m) closed, 159 ft (48 m) open |
| Opened | December 19, 1910 |
| Daily traffic | 30,000[1] |
| Coordinates | 45°30′47″N 122°40′14″W / 45.5129738°N 122.6705780°WCoordinates: 45°30′47″N 122°40′14″W / 45.5129738°N 122.6705780°W |
The Hawthorne Bridge is a truss bridge with a vertical lift that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, joining Hawthorne Boulevard and Madison Street. It is the oldest vertical-lift bridge in operation in the United States[1] and the oldest highway bridge in Portland. It is also the busiest bicycle and transit bridge in Oregon, with over 4,800 cyclists[2] and 800 TriMet buses (carrying about 17,400 riders) daily.[1]
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[edit] Size
The bridge consists of five fixed spans and one 244 ft (74 m) long vertical-lift span. It is 1,382 feet (421 m) in total length. The 880,000 pound (400,000 kg) counterweights are suspended from the two 165 ft (50 m) tall towers.[1] While the river is at low level the bridge is 49 feet (15 m) above the water, causing it to be raised an average of 200 times per month. As of 2001, the average daily traffic was 30,500 vehicles. The bridge was designed by John Waddell, inventor of the vertical-lift bridge and also designer of the Steel and Interstate bridges.[1]
[edit] History
The current bridge was built to replace Madison Bridge No. 1 (1891) and Madison Bridge No. 2 (1900), which was destroyed by a fire in 1902. It cost $511,000 to build and was opened on December 19, 1910.[3] Hawthorne Boulevard (and thus the bridge) was named after Dr. J.C. Hawthorne, the cofounder of Oregon's first mental hospital and early proponent for the first Morrison Bridge.[1]
The deck was changed from wood to steel grating in 1945. In 1985 the lift span sheaves, the grooved wheels that guide the counterweight cables, were replaced. The bridge went through a $22 million restoration from 1998–99, which included replacing the steel grated deck and repainting.[4] The original lead-based paint was completely removed and replaced with 3 layers of new paint that is estimated to last 30 years.[5] During this upgrade the sidewalks were widened to 10 feet (3 m), making it a thoroughfare for bicycle commuters. Due to the replacement of the steel deck during this project, the channels which used to carry the rails for streetcars and interurban trains were also removed. In 2001 the sidewalks were connected to the Eastbank Esplanade. The estimated cost to replace the bridge is $189.3 million.[6]
The original color of the bridge was black, lasting until 1964, when it was repainted yellow ochre.[7] During the 1998-99 renovation, the color was changed to green with red trim.[1]
The 2003 film, The Hunted, included a scene set on MAX on the Hawthorne Bridge. Since MAX does not cross the bridge, the movie company connected two articulated buses remodeled to resemble a MAX train, complete with fake overhead lines and a sprinkler system to simulate rain.[8][9] Light-rail (interurban) service did cross the Hawthorne Bridge until 1956.[10] The new deck put in place in the outer lanes during the 1998–99 renovation was designed to be strong enough for possible use by modern, heavier streetcars or light rail trains in the future,[11][12] which was proposed at that time,[11] and TriMet was still considering a Hawthorne Bridge routing for its future MAX Orange Line, to Milwaukie, in 2002.[13] However, following the transit agency's later decision to build a new bridge for the Milwaukie MAX line, which bridge could also be used by the Portland Streetcar,[14] it became unlikely that rail cars will ever again cross the Hawthorne Bridge.
[edit] Pop culture references
- Elliott Smith mentions the Hawthorne Bridge in the song "I Can't Answer You Anymore."[15]
[edit] Gallery
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Panoramic view from south and west
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Panoramic view from the southeast
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From the Eastbank Esplanade
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Seen from the west
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Detail of a span during Bridge Pedal 2006
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The bridge at night
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Hawthorne Bridge at night
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g Wood Wortman, Sharon; Wortman, Ed (2006). The Portland Bridge Book (3rd Edition). Urban Adventure Press. pp. 61–68. ISBN 0-9787365-1-6.
- ^ "Bridge bike traffic up in '05". BikePortland.org. http://bikeportland.org/2005/09/20/bridge-bike-traffic-jumps-15-in-05/. Retrieved 2006-04-09.
- ^ Smith, Dwight A.; Norman, James B.; Dykman, Pieter T. (1989). Historic Highway Bridges of Oregon. Oregon Historical Society Press. pp. 115. ISBN 0-87595-205-4.
- ^ "Hawthorne Bridge Rehabilitation". David Evans and Associates, Inc.. http://www.deainc.com/project.aspx?category=4&service=8&project=35. Retrieved 2009-02-09.
- ^ "Hawthorne Bridge Painting". Multnomah County. http://www2.co.multnomah.or.us/jsp/Public/EntryPoint?ct=2f3856048e817010VgnVCM9174020ac614acRCRD. Retrieved 2006-11-09.
- ^ "Hawthorne Bridge Future Needs". Multnomah County. December 2, 2005 (updated May 14, 2009). http://www2.co.multnomah.or.us/jsp/Public/EntryPoint?ct=984856048e817010VgnVCM1581030ac614acRCRD. Retrieved 2010-07-19.[dead link]
- ^ "Portland Voices: Bridge aficionado has answers about Hawthorne colors" (interview with author Sharon Wood). (April 3, 1997). The Oregonian, p. MP-2.
- ^ Don Hamilton (March 9, 2001). "Lights, camera, traffic jam: Filming and construction mean more delays". Portland Tribune. http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=2097. Retrieved 2007-05-14.
- ^ Jennifer Anderson (January 18, 2002). "Shhh! Explosions foil quiet attempt by ‘The Hunted’ to tiptoe back into town". Portland Tribune. http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=9196. Retrieved 2007-05-14.
- ^ "Work on [Morrison] Bridge Ramps to Bring Street Closure". The Oregonian, September 13, 1956, p. 1.
- ^ a b Stewart, Bill (July 31, 1997). "Streetcars will return to Portland/City will strengthen, repaint Hawthorne Bridge". The Oregonian, p. D1.
- ^ "Welcome to the Rose City & NorthWestern: Only in Hollywood do trains still cross Portland's Hawthorne Bridge". TrainWeb. Archived from the original on 2007-12-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20071216083548/www.trainweb.org/mccann/welcome.htm. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
- ^ Don Hamilton (June 14, 2002). "Tri-Met, Metro study two light rail plans". Portland Tribune. http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story_2nd.php?story_id=12076. Retrieved 2010-07-19.
- ^ "Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project Fact Sheet" (PDF). TriMet. December 2010. http://trimet.org/pdfs/pm/PMLR_Fact_Sheet_December2010.pdf. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
- ^ "sweet adeline". http://www.sweetadeline.net/lcantanswer.html. Retrieved 2011-01-13.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hawthorne Bridge |
- Multnomah County:Hawthorne Bridge
- Photo of the 1910 construction crew
- Hawthorne Bridge at Structurae
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