1887: (
Bridge Hunter)
Goff, OR, is basically a label on a map where the John Day River joins the Columbia River. New bridges were built in the 1960s because the John Day Dam was going to inundate them. Also, the road bridge went from a 2-lane US-30 road to a 4-lane I-84 road.
1887 Railroad Bridge
Back then the railroad was the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Co. (OR&N). When retired, parts of this bridge was used to build the
Armitage Bridge.
1907 Railroad Bridge
This looks like this is a pin-connected truss.
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| Photo from Worthpoint via BridgeHunter_1907 |
This shows the replacement bridge on the right because of the dam.
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| Press Photo via BridgeHunter_1907 |
1967 Railroad Bridge
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Photo by R. W. Rynerson on 1967 UP excursion via BridgeHunter_1967
[The caption says the I-84 bridge is to the right of the locomotive.] |
This view is after the dam became operational. We can see the
John Day Dam in the background.
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UP Photo via postcard via BridgeHunter_1967
The two truss spans are 300' (91m). |
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Union Pacific Railroad posted
📆 Flip the page on your Union Pacific calendar and check out May’s calendar photo, featuring #UP8057 leading a manifest train along the Columbia River near Goff, Oregon. Union Pacific transports a broad array of commodities and products important to Oregon and the national economy, including Hood River Valley pears, plant nursery products and Oregon lumber products vital to construction projects across the country. 📸 Photo by David Honan. |
US-30 Bridge
See also some of the above photos.
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1958 view via postcard via BridgeHunter_US-30
"Destroyed by flooding in 1971 with construction of the John Day Dam"
[I disagree with the terminology of "destroyed by flooding." I prefer "inundated" to distinguish between sudden acts of nature and gradual acts of mankind. (I can't think of a gender neutral term for "mankind.")] |
1963 I-84 Bridge
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2010 photo by Richard Doody via BridgeHunter_1963
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| 2010 photo by Michael Goff via BridgeHunter_1963 |
In this case, the t
erminology of "destroyed by flooding" is very appropriate."Built 1963; one span destroyed in 1964 flood; rehabilitated 1965." [BridgeHunter_1963]
I tried to imagine how the flood waters could have gotten high enough to take out the new bridge. Then I remembered that if a flood destroys a pier, the bridge is coming down. These piers might have been fine after the pool was full because the flow through here would be low. The bridge would have been over a lake instead of a wild river. (I'm wrong, see below.)
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OregonLive, 18th of 23 photos
The person in the car was one of the three people who died because of the collapse. [sites] |
I was wrong about the piers being OK for a lake instead of a river.
"In a nutshell, miscommunication and assumptions led to one of the bridge pier specs being changed from being sunk into solid bedrock to be placed on existing sand and gravel. The flood of 1964 undermined the pier and the bridge collapsed. Deaths were involved."
Brian Colburn, June 10, 2020Past and Present Views Along the Columbia River HighwayPermalink: https://www.facebook.com/groups/483015922488601/permalink/755044375285753 [I'm not a member of that group][
sites]
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sites, ArmChairEngineer credit link is broken
[The piers for the railroad bridge look much more substantial.] |
The piers still look rather spindly.
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