Abernethy Bridge

{{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 | locale = Oregon City, Oregon | owner = Oregon Department of Transportation | maint = | id = | architect = Moffatt, Nichols & 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|45.3645|-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|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 that spans the Willamette River between Oregon City and West Linn, Oregon, United States, and which carries Interstate 205. 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}}</ref> It is named for George Abernethy, who was the governor of the Provisional Government of the Oregon Country from 1845 to 1849 and later an Oregon City businessman.<ref name = "wood-wortman"/> An approximately $7 million 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) is an interchange with Oregon Route 43; on the eastern end (in Oregon City) is an interchange with OR 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 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 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.<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 spent $7 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 million in 2024 and required additional funding to cover a $300 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 |accessdate=November 13, 2024}}</ref>

==See also== * {{Portal-inline|Transport}} * {{Portal-inline|Engineering}} * {{Portal-inline|Oregon}} * List of crossings of the Willamette River

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{Crossings navbox |structure = Crossings |place = Willamette River |bridge = George Abernethy Bridge |bridge signs = 25px |upstream = Oregon City Bridge |upstream signs = 20px |downstream = 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