Steel Bridge
| Steel Bridge | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Coordinates | 45°31′40″N 122°40′04″W / 45.5277°N 122.6677°WCoordinates: 45°31′40″N 122°40′04″W / 45.5277°N 122.6677°W |
| Carries | Upper: 2 outer lanes for general traffic, 2 inner lanes solely for MAX Light Rail, and sidewalks on both sides Lower: Union Pacific Railroad (incl. Amtrak toward Eugene) and walkway |
| Crosses | Willamette River |
| Locale | Portland, Oregon |
| Owner | Union Pacific Railroad |
| Maintained by | Union Pacific Railroad |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Through truss with a double vertical-lift span |
| Width | 71 feet (22 m) |
| Longest span | 211 feet (64 m) |
| Clearance below | 26 feet (7.9 m) closed, 72 feet (22 m) lower deck raised, 163 feet (50 m) fully raised |
| History | |
| Opened | 1912 (replaced 1888 bridge) |
The Steel Bridge is a through truss, double-deck vertical-lift bridge across the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States, opened in 1912. Its lower deck carries railroad and bicycle/pedestrian traffic, while the upper deck carries road traffic (on the Pacific Highway West No. 1W, former Oregon Route 99W) and light rail (MAX), making the bridge one of the most multimodal in the world. It is the only double-deck bridge with independent lifts in the world and the second oldest vertical-lift bridge in North America, after the nearby Hawthorne Bridge. The bridge links the Rose Quarter and Lloyd District in the east to Old Town Chinatown neighborhood in the west.
The bridge was completed in 1912 and replaced the Steel Bridge that was built in 1888 as a double-deck swing-span bridge. The 1888 structure was the first railroad bridge across the Willamette River in Portland. Its name originated because steel, instead of wrought iron, was used in its construction, very unusual for the time. When the current Steel Bridge opened, it was simply given its predecessor's name.
The bridge was designed by the engineering firm of Waddell & Harrington, which was based in Kansas City, Missouri, but also had an office in Portland. The structure was built by Union Pacific Railroad and the Oregon-Washington Railroad and Navigation Company (OWR&N) at a cost of $1.7 million (equivalent to $42 million in 2016). It opened in July 1912 to rail traffic and on August 9, 1912, to automobiles.
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