Columbia River Bridges

Interstate Bridge

Click on the image to get a larger, higher-quality (jpg) image.

The Interstate bridge will be painted soon - see this page for more information..

This bridge is actually two bridges side by side. The first bridge - the eastern bridge - was finished in 1917, the first highway bridge across the Columbia River to join Oregon and Washington. A second, identical bridge was built much later, in 1958, just to the west of the first bridge.  The older, eastern bridge carries northbound I-5 and the newer, western bridge carries southbound I-5.  The total length of the bridge is 3,538 feet.[1]

The lift bridges go up often and cause frequent backups on I-5.  Motorists can also take I-205 over the Glenn Jackson bridge, which does not lift.

The Interstate Bridge was partially closed for repairs for about a week in September, 1997.  Original estimates were to close the bridge for up to three weeks.  Because this is one of only two bridges across the Columbia in the Portland area, it was feared that closure would wreck havoc on traffic.  Some ODOT computer models predicted traffic backups for twenty miles on I-5 in each direction.  Transportation officials warned motorists for months to seek alternative transportation or not drive if possible.

Traffic during actual closure stunned almost everyone.  For the first few days, traffic was acutally lighter than usual.  Many people carpooled, took public transportation, drove to work at skewed hours, or simply took the first week off.  After the contractor was promised $100,000 a day bonus for each day saved on the schedule, the repairs were magically finished in only one week.

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

All images copyright (c) 1995-1997 by Andrew Hall.