Tilikum Crossing

Tilikum Crossing, Bridge of the People is a bridge under construction across the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States. TriMet, the Portland metropolitan area's regional transit authority, is building the bridge, which will carry TriMet's MAX Orange Line light rail trains, the Portland Streetcar, buses, bicycles, pedestrians, and emergency vehicles. Private cars and trucks will not be permitted on the bridge. The crossing is scheduled to open for general use on September 12, 2015 and will be the first new bridge built across the river in the Portland metropolitan area since 1973.^[2][4] The first public access to the bridge will be on August 9, 2015, for the 20th annual Providence Bridge Pedal.^[5] It will then be closed until September 12, 2015, the opening date of the MAX Orange Line.

TriMet selected the name of the bridge in April 2014 from a list of four finalists chosen by the public.^[6] Tilikum is a Chinook Jargon word meaning people, tribe, or family, and the name is intended to honor the Multnomah, Cascade, Clackamas, and other Chinookan peoples who lived in the area as long as 14,000 years ago.^[7] The Tilikum name also references the pervasive use of Chinook Jargon in Portland’s first half century in the frequent trade interactions between pioneers and Native Americans.^[8] Before being named, the still-uncompleted bridge had usually been referred to as the Portland–Milwaukie Light Rail Bridge, or as Caruthers Crossing due to its proximity to Caruthers Street.

Route and function

The bridge is south of, and approximately parallel to, the Marquam Bridge. The west "landing" is mid-way between the Marquam and Ross Island Bridges, and the east landing is just north of Southeast Caruthers Street, with the east approach viaduct reaching the surface at the west end of Sherman Street,^[2] which the tracks will follow to a new Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) MAX station located near an existing Portland Streetcar station and the Oregon Rail Heritage Center.

The alignment was finalized in 2008, after consideration of several alternative alignments.^[9][10] However, some studies and public discussion had taken place more than a decade earlier, when a MAX light rail line to Milwaukie was part of the so-called "South/North MAX" project (Vancouver–Downtown Portland–Milwaukie–Clackamas Town Center) for which voters in the Metro district approved funding in November 1994.^[11] Alternatives had included routing the proposed MAX line across the existing Hawthorne Bridge and, instead, building a new bridge on any of various alternative alignments, one of which was known as the "Caruthers Street bridge" alignment or simply "Caruthers Bridge" because its east end would roughly align with S.E. Caruthers Street.^[12] The "South/North" MAX project was ultimately mothballed after Clark County voters rejected funding their share of the project in 1995 and subsequent efforts by TriMet and Portland officials to secure funding for a scaled-back Vancouver–Portland–Milwaukie MAX line were unsuccessful. However, the planning undertaken during that period included finalizing, by 1998, the choice of a 'Caruthers' alignment for the planned new bridge.^[13][14] After planning for a light rail line to Milwaukie resumed, in the early 2000s, the bridge-alignment question was revisited, with a Hawthorne Bridge routing again among the options (because of its much lower cost)^[15] but with a new bridge having the widest support.^[16] In 2008, the earlier bridge routing choice was reaffirmed, except with the planned west end positioned farther south than previously, so as to better serve the then-new South Waterfront district,^[9] where major redevelopment had occurred in the several years since the "South/North" project's planning was undertaken.

Although the planned MAX Orange Line was the impetus for construction of the bridge, the structure will also carry TriMet buses, the Portland Streetcar (planned) and emergency vehicles, and be open for public use by bicyclists and pedestrians. Use by private motor vehicles (except emergency vehicles) will not be permitted.^[2] Rerouting of TriMet bus routes onto the new bridge from more-congested crossings will shorten the travel time for about 14,000 daily bus riders.^[17] Bike and pedestrian paths will be placed on both sides of the bridge and be 14 feet (4.3 m) wide.^[2] The bridge will connect a planned MAX station at OMSI on the east side of the river with a new OHSU/South Waterfront Campus MAX station on the west side.^[2] OHSU is the city's largest employer,^[18] while OMSI is one of the city's largest tourist and educational venues, and the new bridge will facilitate the connection of both to the regional MAX light rail system. The Orange Line will continue south from OMSI to Milwaukie and northern Oak Grove and north from South Waterfront into downtown Portland.

Design

City planners initially focused on three designs: cable-stayed, wave-frame girder, and through arch,^[19] but the design committee eventually recommended a hybrid suspension/cable-stayed design.^[20] Despite the recommendation, TriMet chose a cable-stayed option in order to reduce cost.^[21]

An aesthetic lighting system will utilize 178 LEDs to illuminate the cables, towers, and underside of the deck. The color and motion of the lighting will change along with the speed, height and water temperature of the Willamette.^[22]

Construction

Portland–Milwaukie Light Rail Bridge construction site in August 2011, when barges were in use in building underwater foundations. In the foreground is the Ross Island Bridge.

Bridge support towers under construction in January 2013.

Construction of the bridge is estimated to cost $134.6 million, to be paid for by federal grants, Oregon Lottery revenue and TriMet. Construction of the bridge began in June 2011, with a slow/no wake zone put in place to ensure the safety of river users and bridge construction workers. Beginning in July 2011, an exclusion area around the in-water bridge construction site went into effect. Construction of the bridge itself is scheduled for completion in 2014, followed by several months of work to install tracks and other infrastructure across the bridge,^[2] with opening for public use in 2015.^[4] The first electrified test train operated over the bridge on January 21, 2015.^[23]

The project received required approval from both the Portland and Milwaukie city councils and Oregon's Metro regional governmental agency in 2008.^[17][24] TriMet approved a $127 million contract to build the bridge in December 2010.^[1]

As part of testing the signaling and overhead catenary systems, MAX and streetcar trains first ran across the bridge under their own power on January 21, 2015.^[25][5]

Naming

The public was invited to suggest names for the bridge in the summer of 2013.^[26][27] In January 2014, four finalists were chosen:^[28]

• Abigail Scott Duniway Transit Bridge: honoring the Oregon pioneer suffragist
• Cascadia Crossing Transit Bridge: in reflection of the bridge's location
• Tillicum Crossing Transit Bridge, Bridge of the People: honoring the indigenous Chinook people; "Tillicum" or "Tilikum" means people, tribe, and relatives in Chinook Jargon
• Wy'east Transit Bridge: Wy'east is the original name of Mount Hood

Public commentary on the names was accepted until March 1 and TriMet chose the final name, Tilikum Crossing, Bridge of the People in April, using the spelling preferred by the Chinookan peoples.^{[6][27][28][29]}

See also

• Gibbs Street Pedestrian Bridge – opened in 2012 and located 600 metres (0.37 mi) south of Tilikum Crossing

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tilikum Crossing.

• Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Bridge at TriMet.org

Crossings of the Willamette River Upstream Ross Island Bridge Tilikum Crossing Downstream Marquam Bridge