Hawthorne Bridge

Infobox_Bridge
bridge_name=Hawthorne Bridge

---

official_name=Hawthorne Bridge
carries=vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists
crosses=Willamette River
locale=Portland, Oregon
maint=Multnomah County
design=truss with a vertical lift span
mainspan=224 ft (68 m)
length=1,382 ft (421 m)
width=72 ft (22 m)
below=49 ft (15 m) closed, ? open
open=December 19th, 1910
lat=45.5129738
long=-122.6705780

The Hawthorne Bridge is a truss bridge with a vertical lift that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, joining Hawthorne Boulevard and Madison Street. It is the oldest vertical lift bridge in operation in the United States [cite web | publisher = Portland Department of Transportation | title= Regional Traffic Report | url= http://www.portlandtransportation.org/trafficreports/trafficreportregional.htm | accessdate = 2006-11-05 ] and the oldest highway bridge in Portland. It is also the busiest bicycle and transit bridge in Oregon, with over 4,800 cyclists [cite web | url=http://bikeportland.org/2005/09/20/bridge-bike-traffic-jumps-15-in-05/ | publisher = BikePortland.org | title=Bridge bike traffic up in '05| accessdate=2006-04-09 ] and 750 TriMet buses daily.cite web | publisher= Multnomah County | title = Hawthorne Bridge Future Needs | url= http://www2.co.multnomah.or.us/jsp/Public/EntryPoint?ct=984856048e817010VgnVCM1581030ac614acRCRD | accessdate = 2006-11-05 ]

The bridge consists of five fixed spans and one 244 ft (75 m) long vertical lift span. It is 1,382 feet (421 m) in total length. The 880,000 pound (400,000 kg) counterweights are suspended from the two 165 ft (50 m) tall towers. While the river is at low level the bridge is 49 feet (15 m) above the water, causing it to be raised an average of 200 times per month. As of 2001 the average daily traffic is 30,500 vehicles. The bridge was designed by John Waddell, inventor of the vertical lift bridge and also designer of the Steel and Interstate bridges.

The current bridge was built to replace Madison Bridge No. 1 (1891) and Madison Bridge No. 2 (1900), which was destroyed by a fire in 1902. It cost $511,000 to build and was opened on December 19 1910. [cite book | first = Dwight A. | last= Smith| coauthors = Norman, James B.; Dykman, Pieter T. | title = Historic Highway Bridges of Oregon | publisher = Oregon Historical Society Press | date = 1989 | pages = 115 | id = ISBN 0-87595-205-4 ]

The deck was changed from wood to steel grating in 1945. In 1985 the lift span sheaves, the grooved wheels that guide the counterweight cables, were replaced. The bridge went through a $21 million restoration from 1998-99, which included replacing the steel grated deck and repainting. [cite web | publisher = David Evans and Associates, Inc. | title = Hawthorne Bridge Rehabilitation | url= http://www.deainc.com/projects/hawthorne.html | accessdate = 2006-11-05 ] The original lead-based paint was completely removed and replaced with 3 layers of new paint that is estimated to last 30 years. [cite web | title = Hawthorne Bridge Painting | publisher = Multnomah County | url = http://www2.co.multnomah.or.us/jsp/Public/EntryPoint?ct=2f3856048e817010VgnVCM9174020ac614acRCRD | accessdate = 2006-11-09] During this upgrade the sidewalks were widened to 10 feet (3 m), making it a thoroughfare for bicycle commuters. Due to the replacement of the steel deck during this project, the channels which used to carry the rails for streetcars and interurban trains were also removed. In 2001 the sidewalks were connected to the Eastbank Esplanade. The estimated cost to replace the bridge is $189.3 million.

Hawthorne Boulevard (and thus the bridge) was named after Dr. J.C. Hawthorne, the cofounder of Oregon's first mental hospital and early proponent for the first Morrison Bridge.cite book | last= Wood | first= Sharon | coauthors = Wortman, Ed | title = The Portland Bridge Book (3rd Edition) | publisher = Urban Adventure Press | date = 2006 | pages = 61-68 | id= ISBN 0-9787365-1-6 ]

The 2003 film The Hunted had a scene set on MAX on the Hawthorne Bridge. Since MAX does not cross the bridge, the movie company connected articulated buses dressed as a MAX train, complete with fake overhead lines and a sprinkler system to simulate rain. [ cite web
url = http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=2097
title = Lights, camera, traffic jam: Filming and construction mean more delays
author = Don Hamilton
publisher = Portland Tribune
date = March 92001
accessdate = 2007-05-14 ] [ cite web
url = http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=9196
title = Shhh! Explosions foil quiet attempt by ‘The Hunted’ to tiptoe back into town
author = Jennifer Anderson
publisher = Portland Tribune
date = January 182002
accessdate = 2007-05-14 ]

Light-rail (interurban) service did cross the Hawthorne Bridge up until 1956. Reinforcements put in place during the 1999 restoration make it possible that light rail could appear sometime in the future as well. [ cite web
url = http://www.trainweb.org/mccann/welcome.htm
title = Welcome to the Rose City & NorthWestern: Only in Hollywood do trains still cross Portland's Hawthorne Bridge
publisher = TrainWeb
accessdate = 2007-05-14 ]

Gallery

ee also

* List of crossings of the Willamette River

References

External links

* [http://www2.co.multnomah.or.us/jsp/Public/EntryPoint?ch=2df4f35a679b7010VgnVCM1000003bc614acRCRD&ct=b84856048e817010VgnVCM5592640ac614acRCRD Multnomah County:Hawthorne Bridge]
* [http://www.portlandonline.com/auditor/index.cfm?&a=23887&c=27928 Photo of the 1910 construction crew]
*

Crossings navbox
structure = Crossings
place = Willamette River
bridge = Hawthorne Bridge
bridge signs =
upstream = Marquam Bridge
upstream signs =
downstream = Morrison Bridge
downstream signs =