Marquam Bridge
connects I-5 on both sides of the river
Opened in 1966, the Marquam opened Portland to through driving on I-5 between BC to Mexico. The double deckered cantilever bridge sits high above the river, dominating the scenery around. The bridge itself is boring, a victim of the Vanilla School of Engineering that built the nation’s Interstate Highway System, where economy of design and cost trumped aestectics. It infuriated many Portlanders at the time of completion, and led to the Portland Art Commission helping with the design of the next freeway bridge (Fremont-1973). Great views of the city and Mt Hood abound from the bridge, for the half-a-minute commuter traffic zips across it at least. If you’re a pedestrian or bicyclist, you’re out of luck (at least until BridgePedal).
USERS: Automotive traffic ONLY
OWNER: State of Oregon
BICYCLES PROHIBITED.
TECHNICAL INFO: Length of main span 440 ft (134m), length of two side spans 301 ft (92m) each, vertical clearance of the lower deck is 130 ft (40m) above the river, upper deck 15 ft (5m) above the lower
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