Eleanor S

The Marquam Bridge is the busiest bridge in Portland. It is my favorite bridge because it has two decks. It is a double-decker, steel-truss cantilever bridge. The bridge was designed and built by the Oregon Department of Transportation. It cost a total of $14 million dollars. The upper deck carries southbound traffic and the lower deck carries northbound traffic. As of 2008, over 135,900 vehicles a day cross the Willamette River on the Marquam Bridge. At the eastern end of the bridge, on the lower deck is a ramp stub which was intended to connect to the cancelled Mount Hood freeway. The upper northbound deck was opened 14 days after the lower southbound deck, which opened on the 4^th October, 1966.

In the past few years, there has been much talk about replacing the bridge. In the beginning, the bridge was designed with three lanes and a shoulder on each deck. Now there are four narrow lanes and no shoulders on each deck. The main span of the bridge is 440 feet long and the two side spans are 301 feet each. The Marquam bridge is more the then 42 years old, and that’s all I know about the Marquam bridge.

Ms. Luria - You had such great details in this report. It is so interesting that they are thinking of replacing the bridge. Do you think that is a good idea?