Union Street Railroad Bridge
| Union Street Railroad Bridge | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Carries | Pedestrian traffic |
| Crosses | Willamette River |
| Locale |
Salem, Oregon West Salem, Oregon |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Pratt through truss, vertical-lift bridge |
| Total length | 722 feet |
| History | |
| Opened |
March 15, 1913 |
|
Union Street Railroad Bridge and Trestle
|
|
 |
|
| Location | Jct of Union St. NE and Water St. NE, Salem, Oregon |
| Coordinates | 44°56′48.9″N 123°2′28.2″W / 44.946917°N 123.041167°WCoordinates: 44°56′48.9″N 123°2′28.2″W / 44.946917°N 123.041167°W |
| Built | 1913 |
| Architect | Waddell & Harrington |
| NRHP Reference # | 05001520 |
| Added to NRHP | January 11, 2006 |
March 15, 1913
The Union Street Railroad Bridge is a vertical lift, Pratt through truss bridge that spans the Willamette River in Salem, Oregon, United States, built in 1912–13. It was last used by trains in the early 1990s and was sold for one dollar in 2003 to the City of Salem, which converted it to bicycle and pedestrian use in 2008–2009. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.
The bridge was engineered by Waddell & Harrington, and the lift span uses their patented lift bridge design. The bridge was built for the Salem, Falls City and Western Railway (SFC&W), which was incorporated in 1901 as a logging railroad by Louis Gerlinger and Charles K. Spaulding. After the initial construction of a line between Dallas and Falls City in 1903, the line reached the formerly separate city of West Salem in 1909; passenger service across the Willamette to Salem was provided by ferry.Southern Pacific (SP) gained full control of the Salem, Falls City and Western in 1912, and built what was then known as the Salem, Falls City & Western Railway Bridge to connect the line to the Valley Main Line in 1913. The railway was not officially purchased by Southern Pacific until 1915, at which time the SFC&W line was listed in the SP timetable as an SP branch line. Since SP had acquired the Portland, Eugene and Eastern Railway (PE&E) about the same time, and SP had planned to use the PE&E name for an electric interurban network that was to rival the Oregon Electric Railway, the bridge is also known as the Portland, Eugene & Eastern Railroad Bridge.
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