Ross Island Bridge

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Location: Portland, Oregon

Ross Island Bridge: The Ross Island Bridge was designed by Gustav Lindenthal, a world-famous and veteran bridge designer [1], after a scandal in the 1920's that also involved the Burnside Bridge and Sellwood Bridge, which were constructed at roughly the same time.[2]

Finished in 1926, the Ross Island Bridge connects to Arthur Street directly on the west approach and to Powell Boulevard on the east approach. This is also U.S. Route 26 that becomes the Sunset Highway on the west side and goes out to Mount Hood on the east side.

The Ross Island Bridge has, for vehicles, the most awkward, unusual approaches of all the Portland bridges. Perhaps this is because, prior to the opening of the two modern Interstate highway bridges (the Marquam and Fremont) in the late 60's and early 70's, the Ross Island handled the bulk of the traffic across the river at the south part of downtown Portland. The east side connects to McLaughlin/Hwy 99E and Powell Blvd, while the west allows access to Barbur Blvd, I-5, and I-405.

In any case, to get on to the Ross Island Bridge from either side of the river, you often have to follow signs and follow several turns. You feel like you're driving around in circles just to get on! To give drivers entering the bridge priority, they often can turn right or left without a stop sign, wheras direct traffic has to top. Unaccustomed drivers entering the Ross Island Bridge often expect stop signs at these places and stop.

You can walk across this bridge - there is a walkway but no railing, and the cars go by pretty fast, so be careful! But the bridge does not get nearly the foot traffic as, say, the Hawthorne, does, because the Ross Island is at the south part of downtown, and the complicated west side approaches are not designed well for pedestrians.

References:

[1] Smith, Dwight. Historic Highway Bridges of Oregon. Second Edition. Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society, 1989. P. 78.

[2] Petroski, Henry. Engineers of Dreams: Great Bridge Builders and the Spanning of America. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1995. P. 193..

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Shoot Time/Day: 07/13/2004 - 21:51 PST