| Burnside Bridge | |
|---|---|
| Crosses | Willamette River |
| Locale | Portland, Oregon |
| Maintained by | Multnomah County |
| ID number | 02757 |
| Design | double-leaf "Strauss style" bascule |
| Total length | 1,382 ft (421 m) |
| Width | 73.8 ft (22.5 m) |
| Longest span | 251 ft (77 m) |
| Clearance below |
64 ft (20 m) closed |
| Opened | May 28, 1926 (replaced 1894 bridge) |
The Burnside Bridge is a bascule bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon.
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Including approaches, the Burnside has a total length of 2,308 ft (703 m) and a 251 ft (77 m) center span. While lowered this span is normally 64 ft (20 m) above the river. The deck is made of concrete, which contributes to its being one of the heaviest bascule bridges in the United States.[1] The counterweights, housed inside the two piers, weigh 1,700 short tons (1,518 long tons; 1,542 t). The lifting is normally controlled by the Hawthorne Bridge operator, but an operator staffs the west tower during high river levels.
The bridge provides shelter for the initially unauthorized Burnside Skatepark under the east end,[2] and the Portland Saturday Market was formerly held most weekends under the west end.
In 1891, Burnside Street was changed from "B" street to take the name of Dan Burnside, a local businessman who was a proponent of the 1866 dredging of the Willamette River. The original Burnside Bridge was a swing span bridge that opened in 1894.
The replacement was part of a $4.5 million bond that also included the construction of the Ross Island and Sellwood bridges. The public would later learn that the contract was given for $500,000 more than the lowest bid. Three Multnomah County commissioners were recalled as a result of the scandal, and a new engineering company assumed control of the project.
The bridge opened on May 28, 1926 at a final cost of $4.5 million (including approaches). It is the only Willamette River bridge in Portland that was designed with input from an architect.[3] This led to the Italian Renaissance towers and decorative metal railings. The bascule system was designed by Joseph Strauss. The initial principal engineer for the bridge construction was the firm of Hedrick & Kremers. The bridge was then completed by Gustav Lindenthal.[4]
Streetcars crossed the Burnside Bridge until 1950,[5] and electric trolleybuses serving the Sandy Blvd. route did so until 1958.[6] Currently, three TriMet bus routes use the bridge.
In the 1990s the Burnside Bridge was made a Regional Emergency Transportation Route, the one non-freeway bridge to be used by emergency vehicles. In 1995 one of the six lanes was removed to accommodate new bicycle lanes. From March until November 2002 the bridge went through a $2.1 million seismic retrofit, making it the first bridge operated by Multnomah County to receive earthquake protection.
The bridge was recently under construction in order to replace the deck.[7] The electric streetcar tracks, abandoned in 1950, were visible during the construction. This project was budgeted at $9 million and the majority of the work was completed on December 9, 2007.[8][9]
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