Steel Bridge, Willamette River

PhotoID: D300CRW00817

Steel Bridge: This is the bridge the Amtrak trains cross when leaving Portland to the south or east. Portland's MAX light rail train crosses on the top deck, also. Cars use it, too!

Finished in 1912, the Steel Bridge is considered unique because it is one of the only known dual-lift bridges in the world. That is, the lower deck (Amtrak and freight trains) can be lifted independently of the upper deck (MAX, automobiles) to allow some clearance.

The current Steel bridge replaced an earlier on at approximately the same spot that was built in 1888. [1]

[1] Smith, Dwight. Historic Highway Bridges of Oregon. Second Edition. Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society, 1989. P. 208.