# Abernethy Bridge

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> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Abernethy_Bridge.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abernethy_Bridge
> Source revision: 1271619153
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox bridge
| name      = George Abernethy Bridge
| native_name      = 
| native_name_lang = 
| image            = AbernethyBridge.jpg
| image_size       = 300px
| alt              = 
| caption          = 
| official_name    = 
| other_name       = 
| carries          = {{jct|state=OR|I|205}} (6 lanes)
| crosses          = [Willamette River](/source/Willamette_River)
| locale           = Oregon City, Oregon
| owner            = [Oregon Department of Transportation](/source/Oregon_Department_of_Transportation)
| maint            = 
| id               = 
| architect        = [Moffatt, Nichols & Bonney](/source/Moffatt%2C_Nichols_%26_Bonney)<ref name="Goranson"/>
| designer         = 
| engineering      = 
| design           = Box Girder
| material         = Steel
| length           = {{convert|2,727|ft|m}}<ref name = "wood-wortman"/>
| width            = 
| height           = 
| mainspan         = {{convert|430|ft|m}}<ref name = "wood-wortman"/>
| spans            = 15
| pierswater       = 
| load             = 
| clearance        = 
| below            = {{convert|85|ft|m}}<ref name = "wood-wortman"/>
| life             = 
| builder          = 
| fabricator       = 
| begin            = 
| complete         = 
| cost             = $17.1 million<ref name="Goranson"/>
| open             = May 28, 1970<ref name="Goranson"/>
| inaugurated      = 
| toll             = 
| traffic          = 102,400 (2004);<ref name = "wood-wortman"/> 95,500 (2008)<ref name="2008 counts"/>
| preceded         = 
| followed         = 
| heritage         = 
| collapsed        = 
| closed           =
| replaces         =
| map_cue          = 
| map_image        = 
| map_alt          = 
| map_text         = 
| map_width        = 
<!-- | coordinates      =  {{coord|45.3646|-122.604|type:landmark_region:US-OR_dim:850_source:googlemapssatellite|display=inline,title}}  deprecated -->
| coordinates      = {{coord|45.3645|-122.6039|region:US-OR_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| references       = 
| extra            = 
}}
The '''George Abernethy Bridge''',<ref name="ODOT-2009-project">{{cite web|title=I-205 George Abernethy Bridge Preservation Project|date=2009|publisher=[Oregon Department of Transportation](/source/Oregon_Department_of_Transportation)|url=http://cms.oregon.gov/odot/hwy/region1/pages/i205_gabridge/index.aspx|access-date=November 27, 2012}}</ref> or simply '''Abernethy Bridge''',<ref name = "wood-wortman">{{cite book | last= Wood Wortman | first= Sharon |author2= Wortman, Ed | title = The Portland Bridge Book | edition = 3rd | publisher = Urban Adventure Press | date = 2006 | pages = 5, 13, 89–94, 157, 184 | isbn= 0-9787365-1-6 }}</ref> is a steel plate and box girder [bridge](/source/bridge) that spans the [Willamette River](/source/Willamette_River) between [Oregon City](/source/Oregon_City%2C_Oregon) and [West Linn, Oregon](/source/West_Linn%2C_Oregon), United States, and which carries [Interstate 205](/source/Interstate_205_(Oregon-Washington)).  It is also known as the '''Oregon City Freeway Bridge''' and the '''I-205 Bridge'''.

The bridge was dedicated and opened on May 28, 1970, and cost $17.1 million to construct.<ref name="Goranson">{{cite news |last=Goranson |first=Eric |date=May 29, 1970 |title=First I-205 Link Opened By McCall |page=4 |work=[The Oregon Journal](/source/The_Oregon_Journal)}}</ref> It is named for [George Abernethy](/source/George_Abernethy), who was the governor of the [Provisional Government](/source/Provisional_Government_of_Oregon) of the [Oregon Country](/source/Oregon_Country) from 1845 to 1849 and later an Oregon City businessman.<ref name = "wood-wortman"/> An approximately $7&nbsp;million [seismic retrofit](/source/seismic_retrofit) began in 2000 and was completed in 2002.<ref name = "wood-wortman"/> In 2008, the average traffic was 95,500 vehicles per day.<ref name="2008 counts">{{cite web|url=http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/TD/TDATA/tsm/docs/2008_TVT.pdf |title=2008 Traffic Volumes on State Highways |date=August 27, 2009 |publisher=Oregon Department of Transportation |at=Page 91: East Portland Freeway No. 64 (I-205) |access-date=November 27, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100401053348/http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/TD/TDATA/tsm/docs/2008_TVT.pdf |archive-date=1 April 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Description==
The bridge structure contains 15 spans and 60 girders.<ref name = "wood-wortman"/> The total length is {{convert|2,727|ft|m|abbr=off}}, and the vertical clearance at low river levels is  {{convert|85|ft|m|abbr=on}}. The longest span is  {{convert|430|ft|m}} and is sandwiched by two {{convert|300|ft|m|adj=on}} spans.<ref name = "wood-wortman"/>  The bridge carries six lanes of traffic (three in each direction—two through lanes, and one merging lane).  Interchanges are located at each end of the bridge: On the western end (in [West Linn](/source/West_Linn%2C_Oregon)) is an interchange with [Oregon Route 43](/source/Oregon_Route_43); on the eastern end (in Oregon City) is an interchange with [OR 99E](/source/Oregon_Route_99E).  The bridge is somewhat unusual in that its western approach is located on a bluff overlooking the river, whereas the eastern end is located in a lowland just south of the confluence of the Willamette and [Clackamas](/source/Clackamas_River) rivers; as a result, westbound traffic on I-205 travels uphill the entire length of the bridge, and continues uphill for another half-mile before the freeway summits and heads back downhill, into the lower [Tualatin River](/source/Tualatin_River) basin.

==History==

Construction of a new east–west bridge between West Linn and Oregon City was approved by the Oregon State Highway Commission in January 1964.<ref>{{cite news |date=January 31, 1964 |title=New Span OKd At Oregon City |page=1 |work=The Oregonian}}</ref> The proposed bridge was later incorporated into the plans for I-205 in 1965 after it was relocated away from a routing through [Lake Oswego](/source/Lake_Oswego%2C_Oregon).<ref>{{cite news |last=Federman |first=Stan |date=May 14, 1965 |title=State Eyes West Linn-96th Avenue Freeway Proposal |page=1 |work=The Oregonian}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Federman |first=Stan |date=August 11, 1965 |title=State Switches To West Linn-96th Route For I-205; City Okays Mt. Hood Road Plan |page=1 |work=The Oregonian}}</ref> Construction began in early 1968 and was completed on May 28, 1970, at a cost of $17.1 million; it was originally scheduled to open in December 1969.<ref name="Goranson"/> Several West Linn citizens staged an unofficial "opening" on April 1 to jokingly dedicate the bridge as the "West Linn Bridge".<ref>{{cite news |date=April 9, 1970 |title=Cities Wage War At Span Ceremony |page=ME3 |work=The Oregon Journal}}</ref> The city later changed its seal to include a depiction of the bridge.<ref>{{cite news |date=June 11, 1970 |title=New Symbol |page=ME2 |work=The Oregon Journal}}</ref>

In 2009, the [Oregon Department of Transportation](/source/Oregon_Department_of_Transportation) spent $7&nbsp;million to repave the roadway and replace the expansion joints on the bridge.<ref name="ODOT-2009-project"/>

In 2017, the Oregon Department of Transportation launched a project to widen I-205 to three lanes between the Abernethy Bridge and Stafford Road.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://i205corridor.org|title= I-205 Widening and Seismic Improvements: Stafford Road to OR 213 |website=i205corridor.org |access-date=May 6, 2018}}</ref>  Part of the proposed plan includes removing the Highway 43 to I-205 northbound on{{hyphen}}ramp and widening the Abernethy Bridge.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}} The cost of the project increased to $600&nbsp;million in 2024 and required additional funding to cover a $300&nbsp;million gap created by higher construction costs and the cancellation of tolling on I-205.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dorsey |first=Hilary |date=June 13, 2024 |title=Group OKs plan to cover large projects' cost increases |url=https://djcoregon.com/news/2024/06/13/group-oks-plan-to-cover-large-projects-cost-increases/ |work=[Daily Journal of Commerce](/source/Daily_Journal_of_Commerce) |accessdate=November 13, 2024}}</ref>

==See also==
* {{Portal-inline|Transport}}
* {{Portal-inline|Engineering}}
* {{Portal-inline|Oregon}}
* [List of crossings of the Willamette River](/source/List_of_crossings_of_the_Willamette_River)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Bridges of Portland, Oregon}}

{{Crossings navbox
|structure       = Crossings
|place           = [Willamette River](/source/Willamette_River)
|bridge          = George Abernethy Bridge
|bridge signs    = 25px
|upstream        = [Oregon City Bridge](/source/Oregon_City_Bridge)
|upstream signs  = 20px
|downstream      = [Lake Oswego Railroad Bridge](/source/Lake_Oswego_Railroad_Bridge)
|downstream signs =
}}

Category:Bridges completed in 1970
Category:Buildings and structures in Oregon City, Oregon
Category:West Linn, Oregon
Category:Bridges in Clackamas County, Oregon
Category:Bridges over the Willamette River
Category:Plate girder bridges in the United States
Category:Box girder bridges in the United States
Category:Road bridges in Oregon
Category:Interstate 5
Category:Bridges on the Interstate Highway System
Category:1970 establishments in Oregon
Category:Steel bridges in the United States

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Abernethy Bridge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abernethy_Bridge) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abernethy_Bridge?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.