1887+1905+1958 Morrison Bridges over Willamette River in Portland, OR

(Bridge Hunter broke Mar 22, 2023; Historic Bridges; HAER; Satellite, 392 photos)

Street View, Aug 2023

multco
"Chicago-type double-leaf bascule"
"The 1887 bridge was Portland's first Willamette River bridge." It is 3,700' (1128m) long and handles 50,000 vehicles/day. "The Morrison Bridge main river structure consists of two 237’-9" [72m] steel deck truss side spans and a 284' 6" [87m] double-leaf Chicago-type bascule draw span, for a total bridge length of 760 feet. The bridge accommodates six lanes of traffic. Vertical clearance of the closed bascule span is adequate for the majority of river traffic, with openings necessary only about 30 times per month."

HAER OR-100-27 (CT)
27. General view of Morrison Bridge, looking northeast. - Morrison Bridge, Spanning Willamette River on Morrison & Alder Streets, Portland, Multnomah County, OR

Significance: The Morrison Bridge embodies the mid-twentieth century transition in bridge engineering. The last bascule bridge built on the Willamette in Portland, it replaced the last of the earlier swing spans to carry vehicular traffic. The Morrison had been on the drawing board since 1927; thirty years later it essentially embodied the 1920s consensus. But it was also the first local Willamette span to emerge from corporate design rather than from a small consulting firm led by a nationally prominent individual engineer. Innovative open bascule piers permit the river to flow through, minimizing the hydraulic effects of their exceptional size. It is the only non-freeway bridge integrated with Portland's freeway system. [HAER_data]

 

Bridges Now and Then posted
Portland, Oregon's Morrison Bridge, c. 1957. (Oregon State Archives)
Jim Wood: Never saw that circular WB ramp before. Odd they built it when they were already planning I-5.

Alex Hill, Dec 2010
It looks like this photo: wikimedia

BridgeStories, this web site covers other bridges in the area.
Center Height to Water: 69 feet

The piers have programmable light displays.

That random Kitty, Jul 2023

 

kxi
Morrison Bridge Lights Up In Support Of Ukraine

 

PortlandBridges, image 67 of 88 photos of this bridge

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This must be the original 1887 bridge since the second bridge was not built until 1905.

Bridges Now and Then posted
A view of the first Morrison Bridge, Portland, Oregon, looking east during the 1894 flood. The river is sitting at a high level not far from the bridge’s deck. (City of Portland Archives)

VintagePortland
When this bridge was built in 1887, it was the longest bridge west of the Mississippi River.

 

OregonHistoryProject, 1889

This is the 1905 bridge.

PortlandOregon
Bridges Now and Then posted
Portland, Oregon's, Morrison Bridge, c. 1910s. (Portland City Archives)

 

Bridges Now and Then posted
"The second Morrison Bridge, (Portland, Oregon) built in 1905, was a swing bridge that opened by rotating on a central pinion. On February 15, 1948, the sternwheeler Jean, a Willamette River paddlewheel steamboat, was moving down the river through the Morrison Bridge. Before the Jean could clear the bridge it swung to close and knocked the wheel house off the boat. The bridge was replaced with the present Morrison bridge in 1958." (Historic Photo Archive)

Michael Johnson: Finally some awesome history about the Jean! I worked at Diversified Marine in Portland, back in 2003-2007 Jean was moored down river, I've been all over it, except for inside the engine room, was locked.. Such a cool old sternwheeler, wish I still had pictures of it. A couple years ago I seen it for sale. So who knows where it went. I'm pretty sure it was the same boat, looks the same

HAER_data, p40 (They interchanged the captions for Figures 5 and 7.)
Morrison Bridge Construction, Aerial View West: Old Bridge, Left. Angled East Span near East Bank; Water ave. Off Ramp near River to Left of Left Approaches, Water Ave. On Ramp near River to Right of Right Approaches; Temporary Approach Emerges on Right from beneath Left Approach.
[Note the John Deere Plow Co. building.]

pinterest
1958 picture of Morrison Bridge construction from Oregon State Archives.
Kirk: Bridge was open to the public in 1958. This is from 1956 or very early 1957.

HAER_data, p43