(Bridge Hunter broke on Mar 22, 2023; Historic Bridges; Satellite, 1,213 photos)
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| Street View, Oct 2018 |
HistoricBridges explains why this is a continuous truss bridge instead of a cantilever truss.
"The bridge's main span is 1,232 feet in length, the longest 'continuous truss' in the nation." This was the last gap in the coastal highway from Mexico to Candada. [TravelAstoria]
When completed, it was the longest continuous-truss bridge in the world. Building the bridge was controversial. Critics called it the "bridge to nowhere." But when it opened, the critics shut up because the volume of traffic that it carried exceeded expectations. [britannia]
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| Street View |
The bridge is so long that you can hardly see the other end. They have these trusses on the Washington (northern) end so that smaller boats don't have to cross the river to go under the bridge.
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| Street View, Aug 2018 |
This is a good view of the concrete causeway that makes up most of the length. It also shows why I read some comments complaining about the steep grade when crossing from Washington.
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| 34th of 51 photos in OregonLive The lower Columbia River is filled in 1980 with gillnet boats to reap as many salmon as possible in one-day season. Fleet ranged from Tongue Point to Jetty A off Ilwaco, with one favored spot being along the Astoria Bridge on the Washington side. (Oregonian File Photo) 1980 Press Photo Boats along Columbia River fishing for salmon |
Steven is far enough away that he captured a good overview of the bridge.
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| Steven J. Brown posted Lewis & Clark Explorer former BC Rail RDC’s departing Astoria, Oregon - September 26, 2005. Soon after these RDC’s would go to the Eagle Cap Railroad in eastern Oregon and then to the Idaho Northern. Not sure where they are now. Dennis DeBruler: Also, a nice overview of the bridge. Steven J. Brown shared Brian Kemp: The RDCs are still on the Idaho Northern & Pacific, stored out of service. |
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| Ryan Lamont Photography posted Saw this container ship and I raced up to this viewpoint! Caught it just in time. Astoria Megler Bridge. Astoria, Oregon. Not bad 😉 Brian Sells: That ship is actually full of about 4000 cars. They unload in Portland and Vancouver. Merlin E. Rick Nygren: Not a container ship. It's a RoRo car carrier. Bridges Now and Then shared |
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| LC-DIG-highsm-50642, West Virginia Collection within the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. "Sunset beyond the Astoria-Megler Bridge, a steel cantilever through truss bridge that spans the mouth of the Columbia River, between Astoria, Oregon, and Point Ellice, near Megler, Washington. Opened in 1966, it is (as of 2018) the longest continuous truss bridge in North America." [More of Carol's photos in this area] |
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| Martin Halliwell posted Astoria-Megler Bridge Oregon in the foreground, Washington on the other side of the Columbia River. |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted "Vintage photo from Astoria, Oregon, showing construction of the Astoria Megler Bridge that now spans the mouth of the Columbia River linking Oregon and Washington. Photo taken in 1964." (John R. Foster) |
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| Eric Schoenbeck posted Astoria bridge at night connecting Oregon with Washington Eric also commented on Martins post above Amazing at night also |
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| Highway Engineering Discoveries posted bridge (Megler) in Oregon. Dean Moran: Astoria is in Oregon, this is the Oregon side. Megler is the Washington side. Michael L. Dawkins: Astoria bridge is one of many that were built by Conde B.McCullough, state bridge Engineer. Notice the beautiful architecture in his bridges. Highway Engineering Discoveries posted The Astoria Bridge.. Mark Irick: On what were you standing on to take this shot? Expressway Explorers posted The majestic Astoria Bridge, whose grass-green beams span 4.1 miles across the mouth of the Columbia River. See More: nickeyscircle.com/incredible-bridges/ |
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| Dennis DeBruler commented on Mark's comment The road makes a sharp turn because the river has a tall bluff. https://goo.gl/maps/E71SaHPMdFKXdSyz8 |
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| Alan Davenport posted The Astoria-Megler Bridge, seen from an Astoria neighborhood. The 3-section continuous truss section, 2,468 feet long, is the longest such span in the world. The entire bridge is 21,474 feet long (just over 4 miles.) |
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| ThatOregonLife, photo by Victor Solanoy (Flickr) "At 4.1 miles..., the pale green structure is the longest continuous truss bridge in North America. In fact, even being from Oregon I did not realize how far this massive construction stretched until doing more research." It replaced a ferry that could take up to an hour to make the crossing. It stands against winds up to 150mph and a river current of 9mph during floods. |
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| Martin Halliwell posted Astoria-Megler Bridge. Astoria, Oregon |
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| Martin Halliwell posted The Astoria-Megler Bridge. Oregon in the foreground Washington in the background. |
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| Janet Piippo posted Good night from the Astoria Megler bridge, the Columbia River...and the setting sun... Saturday, June 8th, 2024. Bridges Now and Then shared |
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| Phil Block posted Astoria-Megler Bridge Viewed from the Washington side. The rise in the bridge is about four miles away from where I’m standing. Maria Schur: I crossed it from north to south one time on a bicycle. The northern (Washington) side was rainy and cloudy. The southern (Oregon) side was sunny and covered in rainbows. On the bridge itself, we were hailed on! It was quite a dramatic bridge crossing!! |
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| Martin Halliwell posted Astoria-Megler Bridge. Astoria, Oregon |
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| Sara's Old Photos posted We've crossed the Astoria-Megler bridge several times in the last week, and I marvel at the engineering and builders that allowed this to be! This photo from 1965 shows the last section being placed. It was assembled in Portland, barged down and then set during high tide. Rivets and metal had only 1/4" error base, and the men on the barge and tugs and on the bridge had to coordinate all sorts of possibilities. Don Cramer: The Bridge was built by DeLong Corp. It was the jack up barges owned by Mr DeLong that were the key to it's construction. For a man with only a 6th. grade education, He did very well. |
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| Arten Easty commented on Sara's post Got to watch it from start to finish.. |
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| 4th of 51 photos in OregonLive A ship passes by the Astoria-Megler Bridge under construction in 1965. (Photo courtesy of the Clatsop County Historical Society) |
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| 19th of 51 photos in OregonLive Crews work on the construction of the Astoria-Megler Bridge. (Photo courtesy of the Clatsop County Historical Society) |
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| 21st of 51 photos in OregonLive Crews work on the construction of the Astoria-Megler Bridge. (Photo courtesy of the Clatsop County Historical Society) |
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| 35th of 51 photos in OregonLive The M. R. Chessman, the biggest of the three ferries at Astoria, was taken out of service at the 1966 opening of the Astoria-Megler Bridge, photographed here on her second to last run, loaded with passenger cars, tourists and ferry devotees. (Oregonian File Photo) 1966 Press Photo Ferry-Oregon-M. R. Chessman |
It appears the Columbia River is a busy shipping lane.
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| Street View |
John Regan posted four photos with the comment: "Astoria-Megler Bridge pics from recent visits."
Dennis DeBruler: I've seen quite a few photos of the bridge, but this is the first time I've seen the north end of the bridge.
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| 4 Kevin Weissman: This is the terminus of US-30, as far as I know. |
The second photo made me realize that I'd never seen a photo of the north side of the bridge. This street view verifies that the north end has a few trusses to provide some clearance for boats. You can barely see the big truss at the far end of the bridge.
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| Street View, Aug 2018 |
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