Portland Bridge to Bridge Tour
dates: year round
tour length: aprx. 3-4 hours
departure: contact us for customized group tours
price: $50 per person
Upon departing from the Central Libary, we will head to the Tom McCall Waterfront Park and the River Place Marina, with boutique shops, restaurants and a view of the marina downtown. During the summer there are many events and activities along the waterfront. Allow us to share some of the technical aspect of design, operations and history of the many bridges.
Hawthorne Bridge: Originally constructed in 1910, the Hawthorne Bridge is the oldest operating vertical lift bridge in the United States. Like other vertical lift bridges, the Hawthorne Bridge uses a system of counterweights and cables to move the lift span straight up and down.
Morrison Bridge: The next bridge north of the Hawthorne is the double-leaf “Chicago-Style” bascule system, Morrison Bridge, completed in 1958 to replace an earlier wood version. It is the largest mechanical device in Oregon with its 36 foot tall gears driving two 940 ton counterweights.
Burnside Bridge: Completed in 1926, uses a double-leaf, “Strauss Style” bascule system and is notable for its Italianate towers from which the Bridge Master monitors river traffic and activates the lift mechanism.
Steel Bridge: This span differs from the older Hawthorne Bridge by one unique characteristic, it has a second lower deck for the railroad which lifts telescopically to link the rail lines to Union Station on the west side.
Fremont Bridge: A steel tied arch bridge over the Willamette River located in Portland, Oregon. It has the longest main span of any bridge in Oregon and is the second longest tied arch bridge in the world (after Caiyuanba Bridge across the Yangtze River, China).
Broadway Bridge: The structure totals 1,613 feet in length and consists of three westerly approach Pennsylvania-Petit Through truss spans of 270 feet, 286 feet and 297 feet, a 278-foot double-leaf Rall bascule main channel draw span, and one Pennsylvania-Petit .
Ross Island Bridge: A cantilever truss bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland Oregon across the river between southwest and southeast Portland. Although it looks like a deck arch bridge is the only cantilever deck truss bridge in Oregon.
______________________________________________________________________________
