Dear Liza,
Since Portland is built on both sides of the Willamette River, we have lots of bridges. There are ten traffic bridges, one railroad-only bridge, and one just for pedestrians and public transit, within the city limits.
And within a few years, we will be down to nine. Starting in 2027, the Burnside Bridge, which has spanned the Willamette since 1926, will be closed and replaced by a modern, “earthquake ready” bridge.
This is important because Burnside Street and the Bridge are a major transportation artery through the city, running 18 miles east to west. Three bus routes cross it, and 45,000 cars, 2,000 pedestrians and 4,000 bicycles are estimated to cross it every day. It is predicted by geologists and engineers that if a magnitude 8 earthquake happens along the Cascadia subduction zone, none of the current bridges will survive, cutting off much of the population from water, help, and supplies.
We went to McMenamin’s History Pub to hear Sharon Wortman tell us about it. Sharon gave a wonderfully educational talk on the history and future of the Burnside Bridge.
The new bridge is estimated to cost 900 million dollars and take four years to complete, re-opening in 2031. It is an inverted Y designed to withstand an 8.0 earthquake. With good fortune and good healthcare, Grandpa Nelson and I will live to see it finished.
Here is a still shot I grabbed from the video on the website, showing how the new bridge should look.
Sharon’s talk was part history, part engineering, and part personal memoir. She is a great speaker with a real emotional and intellectual connection to her subject, and the audience enjoyed every minute of it.
I know this blog has only scratched the surface of this enormous subject. If you want to know more and get all the nitty-gritty information, a good place to start is the website https:// http://www.multco.us/earthquake-ready-burnside-bridge.
Always learning stuff, here in Portland.
Love,
Grandma Judy
Dear Liza 