{{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox bridge |fetchwikidata=coordinates |name = Oregon City Bridge |image = Oregon City Bridge wide view from fishing dock (2013) - 1.jpg |carries = {{jct|state=OR|OR|43}} |crosses = Willamette River |locale = Oregon City to<br>West Linn, Oregon,<br>United States |maint = Oregon DOT |design = through arch of hollow<br>box girder construction |mainspan = 360 ft (110 m) |length = 745 ft (227 m) |open = December 28, 1922 {{Infobox NRHP | embed = yes | name = Willamette River Bridge (No. 357) | nrhp_type = | location = Oregon City, Oregon; Willamette River at river mile 26.0 | locmapin = USA Oregon Oregon City#USA Oregon#USA | area = | built = 1922 | architect = Conde B. McCullough | architecture = | added = July 1, 2005<ref name=nrhp-weekly/> | mpsub = | refnum = 05000639<ref name=nrhp-weekly/> }} }} The '''Oregon City Bridge''', also known as the '''Arch Bridge''', is a steel through arch bridge spanning the Willamette River between Oregon City and West Linn, Oregon, United States. Completed in 1922, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.<ref name="NRHP_APP"> {{cite web |url= {{NRHP url|id=05000639}} |title= National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Willamette River (Oregon City) Bridge (No. 357) |author= James A. McNett |date= June 4, 2004 |publisher= National Park Service |access-date= September 30, 2013 }}</ref> It was built and is owned by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) as part of Oregon Route 43 and is the third{{hyphen}}southernmost Willamette bridge in the Portland metropolitan area, after the Boone Bridge in Wilsonville and the Oregon 219 bridge near Newberg.
The bridge is 745 ft (227 m) in length and 28 ft (8½ m) wide with a 360 ft (110 m) long main span that provides 49 ft (15 m) of vertical clearance at low river levels. The narrow width causes problems for large vehicles that cross it, often requiring traffic going in the other direction to stop. TriMet buses ceased using the bridge in 2009.
This bridge is the only Oregon bridge to be encased in gunite, which protects it from corrosive sulfur dioxide emissions from paper mills south of the bridge. The concrete look was favored by bridge designer Conde McCullough, designer of 500 Oregon bridges. His signature detailing is evident in the obelisk pylons with sconced light fixtures, ornate railings, and Art Deco piers.<ref>{{cite book|first=Dwight A.|last=Smith|author2=Norman, James B.|author2-link=Norman, James B.|author3=Dykman, Pieter T. |title=Historic Highway Bridges of Oregon|publisher=Oregon Historical Society Press|year=1989|isbn=0-87595-205-4|page=96}}</ref>
The Oregon City Bridge is just downstream from the {{convert|40|ft|m|abbr=on}} tall Willamette Falls and the Willamette Falls Locks, the oldest navigational locks in the United States. Downstream from this bridge is the George Abernethy Bridge, which carries Interstate 205.
==History== [[File:Oregon City from Atlantis Arisen.png|thumb|left|Original bridge as depicted in Frances Fuller Victor's ''Atlantis Arisen'' (1891).]] [[File:Oregon City Bridge Under Construction.JPG|thumb|left|Construction workers using the old suspension bridge to support the arch of the new bridge while under construction.<br>{{small|Credit:''Popular Science'', November 1922}}]] The bridge was built to replace a pedestrian cable{{hyphen}}suspension bridge completed in 1888. This existing bridge was utilized continuously during the construction process of the replacement, not only as access to the site for men and materials{{spaced ndash}}assembling the box steel frames and pouring the reinforced concrete from its walkway{{spaced ndash}}but also as the main support system during the completion of the arch itself.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hadlow|first=Robert W.|title=Elegant Arches, Soaring Spans: C.B. McCullough, Oregon's Master Bridge Builder|publisher=Oregon State University Press|year=2001|pages=51–53|isbn=0-87071-534-8}}</ref> Construction was made difficult by the engineering challenges posed by the great depth of the river at the site and worse from the need to manage and accommodate the frequent and ever increasing water traffic on its surface.<ref>{{cite news|title=Old Bridge, Doomed, Helps to Build Successor|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pSkDAAAAMBAJ&q=%22popular+science%22+1922&pg=PA2|work=Popular Science Monthly|date=November 1922|page=39}}</ref> The completed bridge was opened to the public on December 28, 1922, with the cost of construction reported as $300,000.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wood|first=Sharon|title=The Portland Bridge Book|publisher=Oregon Historical Society|year=2001|isbn=0-87595-211-9}}</ref>
The piers were designed to accommodate public restrooms. The deck widens at the piers to provide room for the stairways – one on each side of the deck – that once descended to the restrooms. Repeated vandalism led to the closure of the restrooms in 1937, and the stairway entrances were covered over with concrete. Windows for "observation balconies" that were originally included in the piers, at the tops on both sides, were also sealed in concrete after closure.<ref name="NRHP_APP"/> The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places (as the '''Willamette River (Oregon City) Bridge (No. 357''')) on July 1, 2005.<ref name=nrhp-weekly>{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/upload/weekly-list-2005-national-register-of-historic-places.pdf |title=National Register of Historic Places: Weekly list of actions taken on properties: 7/25/05 through 7/29/05 |date=August 5, 2005|publisher=National Park Service |access-date=April 24, 2013}}</ref><ref name="OPRD list">{{cite web|title=Oregon National Register List|publisher=Oregon Parks and Recreation Department|url=http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/HCD/NATREG/docs/oregon_nr_list.pdf|page=4|date=June 6, 2011|access-date=April 24, 2013|archive-date=July 16, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060716084142/http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/HCD/NATREG/docs/oregon_nr_list.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In March 2009, ODOT imposed new weight limits for vehicles crossing the bridge, after inspections revealed damage to some of the structure's floor beams. Large commercial vehicles, or any vehicle weighing more than 14 tons, were banned from using the bridge.<ref name=odot-2009mar>{{cite web |url= http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/REGION1/news/hwy43archbridgerestriction_030209.pdf |title= Traffic Advisory: New Restrictions on Oregon City Arch Bridge |date= March 2, 2009 |publisher= Oregon Department of Transportation |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150924075010/http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/REGION1/news/hwy43archbridgerestriction_030209.pdf |archive-date= September 24, 2015 |access-date= April 23, 2018}}</ref> Among other impacts, the restriction meant the rerouting of all TriMet buses. The two routes using the bridge at that time, 35-Macadam and 154-Willamette, were rerouted across the Abernethy Bridge (I-205 bridge).<ref name=odot-2009mar/><ref name=trib-2009mar>{{cite news|last=Roberts|first=Anthony|title=Damaged beams force weight limits on historic OC bridge|newspaper=Portland Tribune|date=March 3, 2009|url=http://portlandtribune.com/component/content/article?id=45604 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131202114855/http://portlandtribune.com/component/content/article?id=45604 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 2, 2013 |access-date=June 6, 2013}}</ref>
In 2010–2012, the Oregon City Bridge was given an extensive rehabilitation, overseen by ODOT. Work began in July 2010,<ref name=odot-2013jan>{{cite web|title=OR 43: Oregon City–West Linn Arch Bridge Rehabilitation Project|publisher=Oregon Department of Transportation|date=January 2013 |url=http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/REGION1/pages/OR43_Willamette_River_Br/index.aspx |access-date=June 6, 2013}}</ref> and the bridge was temporarily closed to all traffic starting in January 2011.<ref name=oreg-2011jan>{{cite news|last=Mayes|first=Steve|title=Historic Oregon City-West Linn bridge closes Jan. 15 for 2-year upgrade|newspaper=The Oregonian|date=January 7, 2011|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-city/index.ssf/2011/01/historic_oregon_city-west_linn_bridge_across_willamette_closes_jan_15_for_two-year_upgrade.html|access-date=June 6, 2013}}</ref><ref name=odot-2012aug>{{cite web|title=OR 43: Oregon City–West Linn Arch Bridge Rehabilitation Project|url=http://cms.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/REGION1/pages/or43_willamette_river_br/index.aspx|publisher=Oregon Department of Transportation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120821140939/http://cms.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/REGION1/pages/or43_willamette_river_br/index.aspx|archive-date=August 21, 2012|date=July 2012|access-date=June 6, 2013}}</ref> The bridge reopened on October 15, 2012,<ref>{{cite news|last=Hottman|first=Sara|title=Long-awaited Arch Bridge re-opening marked with three-day festival, vow renewal|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/clackamascounty/index.ssf/2012/10/long-awaited_arch_bridge_re-op.html#incart_river_default|access-date=15 October 2012|newspaper=The Oregonian|date=October 14, 2012}}</ref> with the $15 million restoration project nearly completed. The final items of work were completed in early 2013.<ref name=odot-2013jan/> According to ODOT, one of the "intentions" of the project was to "restore [the bridge's] original load-carrying capacity",<ref name=odot-reopening2012>{{cite web|title=Media Advisory: Ceremonial re-opening Sunday of the Arch Bridge|page=2|publisher=ODOT|url=http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/REGION1/news/Arch%20Bridge%20Reopening.pdf |access-date=June 6, 2013}}</ref> which would permit TriMet buses to resume using the bridge. However, as of September 2013 TriMet service had not returned to the bridge, and it is unknown whether the transit agency is planning to restore the former routings, or whether ODOT actually has restored the old (higher) load limits.
==Current use== As of 2000, the bridge carried 12,800 vehicles per day, which represents only a 40% growth in traffic since 1953, when a public debate was held about building a parallel bridge next to the existing bridge. While the Oregon City Bridge did not get twinned, the George Abernethy Bridge (I-205 Bridge) opened in 1970 and has since become the major route through the area. TriMet buses crossed the bridge until March 2009, when a new weight limit temporarily banned buses and heavy commercial vehicles from using the bridge.<ref name=trib-2009mar/>
==Gallery== <gallery> File:Oregon City Arch Bridge, 1922 (32864398296).jpg|The bridge in 1922 File:Oregon City Arch Bridge (32524685390).jpg|Colorized slide, 1920s Image:Oregon City bridge from cliff P1335.jpeg|Oregon City bridge as seen from McLoughlin Promenade File:Oregon City Bridge surface view from sidewalk towards OC.jpg|Surface view looking toward Oregon City File:Oregon City Br - viewpoint and former restroom entrance.jpg|Former restroom stairway entrance, flanked by art-deco lighting fixtures File:OregonCityBridge.jpg|View from northeast, with Willamette Falls in background Image:Oregon City Bridge interior view of elevator P1360.jpeg|Interior of bridge with bottom of Oregon City Municipal Elevator visible Image:Oregon City Bridge.jpg|Looking up at Oregon City Bridge from Frontier Street in West Linn, in 2007, before lights were reinstalled on the obelisks File:Oregon City Arch Bridge by Gary Weber (8273187502).jpg|Fireworks in celebration of the bridge's reopening in 2012 after a two-year rehabilitation </gallery>
==See also== *List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Oregon *List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon *List of crossings of the Willamette River
==References== {{Reflist|30em}} *{{Cite web |url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/or/or0200/or0216/data/or0216data.pdf |title=Grave Creek Bridge |last1=Schwab |first1=Leslie |date=January 2003 |website=Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey |publisher=Library of Congress}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} *[http://egov.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/GEOENVIRONMENTAL/historic_bridges_Portland.shtml#Oregon_City_Bridge Oregon City Bridge]{{Dead link|date=December 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} (with a link to a [http://egov.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/GEOENVIRONMENTAL/docs/Historic_Bridge/Willamette_Oregon_City_Bridge.doc Microsoft Word document about the bridge]), from the website of the state of Oregon *[http://www.bridgemeister.com/pic.php?pid=703 Photo of 1888 suspension bridge], from a bridge fan's website *{{HAER |survey=OR-31 |id=or0298 |title=Willamette River Bridge, Spanning Willamette River on Oswego Highway 3, Oregon City, Clackamas County, OR |photos=20 |color=2 |dwgs=30 |data=9 |cap=4}}
{{Bridges of Portland, Oregon}} {{Crossings navbox |structure = Crossings |place = Willamette River |bridge = Oregon City Bridge |bridge signs = 20px |upstream = Canby Ferry |upstream signs = |downstream = Abernethy Bridge |downstream signs = 25px}} {{National Register of Historic Places Oregon}}
Category:Through arch bridges in the United States Category:Bridges completed in 1922 Category:Buildings and structures in Oregon City, Oregon Category:West Linn, Oregon Category:Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon Category:National Register of Historic Places in Clackamas County, Oregon Category:U.S. Route 99 Category:Bridges in Clackamas County, Oregon Category:Bridges over the Willamette River Category:Historic American Engineering Record in Oregon Category:Bridges by Conde McCullough Category:1922 establishments in Oregon Category:Steel bridges in the United States Category:Box girder bridges in the United States