Bridge Stats
- Mile: 12.4
- Opened: May 28, 1926; 1894
- Type: Double-Leaf Strauss Bascule
- Engineers/Designers: Joseph B. Strauss (Chicago) & Gustav Lindenthal (NY); Hedrick & Kremeers (OR) with J. Waddell
- Owner: Multnomah County
- Total Length: 2,307′ 3″
- Main strong Length: 252′
- Counterweights: 2 each 1,900 tons (3,800,000 pounds)
- GPS Coordinates: 45.523027, -122.667395
ABOUT THE BURNSIDE
This bridge spans the narrowest portion of the Willamette River in the Portland area. It permits Burnside Street to stretch virtually from the eastern edge to the western edge of the city and serve as the city’s north/south divider. The bridge’s style and long approaches emphasize this east/west extension. Its most notable, appealing architectural features are the ornate spindle-type balustrade railings (wrought iron on the bascule sections) and two turreted operator houses which are cantilevered from upriver edge of the main piers.
Joseph B. Strauss (who later designed San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge) designed its bascule system: two leaves, each 126-feet long, in the center of the bridge. The solid concrete decks of the lift span weigh nearly 5,000 tons and require 1,700-ton counterweights to tip them up and return them safely in place (River traffic has right-of-way.). The counterweights are housed with the gears that move them in each pier and are controlled by an operator in one of the bridge towers atop the piers . The piers in turn are supported by pile “clusters” made of 40-foot-tall Douglas fir tree trunks.
Designers Robert Kremers and Ira G. Hedrick partnered with John Waddell, who was also the designer of neighboring Hawthorne, Steel and Interstate bridges. To resolve some local turmoil affecting the bridge, Gustav Lindenthal, of New York, was brought in as consulting engineer and then hired to complete the engineering and to supervise the bridge’s entire construction. This bridge replaced a wrought iron truss swing-span structure at the same site and was completed in 1926 for $2,964,647.
Earthquake Ready Burnside Bridge
Multnomah County is leading an effort to replace the current Burnside Bridge with one that can withstand a Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquake. It’s one of the largest earthquake resilience projects in Oregon. More information can be found on the Multnomah County Earthquake Ready Burnside Bridge page: https://www.multco.us/earthquake-ready-burnside-bridge
The Willamette Light Brigade is advocating for artful lighting to be included.
