The Astoria–Megler Bridge is a steel

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...

through-

truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements, typically straight, may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

region of the United States that spans the lower

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

. It carries a section of

U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a major north–south highway that traverses the states of California, Oregon, and Washington on the West Coast of the United States. It is part of the United States Numbered Highway Syst ...

from

Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a Port, port city in and the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the ...

, to Point Ellice near Megler, Washington. Opened in 1966, it is the longest continuous

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. Lying from the

river mouth A river mouth is where a river flows into a larger body of water, such as another river, a lake/reservoir, a bay/gulf, a sea, or an ocean. At the river mouth, sediments are often deposited due to the slowing of the current, reducing the carryin ...

at the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

, the bridge is in length, and was the final segment of U.S. Route 101 to be completed between Olympia, Washington, and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California.

History

Ferry service between Astoria and the

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

side of the

began in 1926.Astoria–Megler Bridge.
Astoria & Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved on May 14, 2008. The

Oregon Department of Transportation The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is a department of the state government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for systems of transportation. It was first established in 1969. It had been preceded by the Oregon State Highway De ...

purchased the ferry service in 1946. This ferry service did not operate during inclement weather and the half-hour travel time caused delays. In order to allow faster and more reliable crossings near the mouth of the river, a bridge was planned. The bridge was built jointly by the Oregon Department of Transportation and

Washington State Department of Transportation The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT or WashDOT, both ) is a governmental agency that constructs, maintains, and regulates the use of transportation infrastructure in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. Establi ...

. Following construction, the Oregon Department of Transportation became the lead agency responsible for maintenance and operating the structure. Construction on the structure began on November 5, 1962, and the concrete piers were cast at Tongue Point, upriver. The steel structure was built in segments at

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver ( ) is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190, ...

, upriver, then barged downstream where hydraulic jacks lifted them into place. The bridge opened to traffic on July 29, 1966, marking the completion of U.S. Route 101 and becoming the seventh major bridge built by Oregon in the 1950s–1960s; ferry service ended the night before. On August 27, 1966, Governors

Mark Hatfield Mark Odom Hatfield (July 12, 1922 – August 7, 2011) was an American politician and educator from the state of Oregon. A Factions in the Republican Party (United States)#Moderates, moderate Republican Party (United States), Republican, he se ...

of Oregon and Dan Evans of Washington dedicated the bridge by cutting a ceremonial ribbon. The four-day ceremony was celebrated by 30,000 attendees who participated in parades, drives, and a marathon boat race from Portland to Astoria. The cost of the project was $24 million, equivalent to $ million in dollars, and was paid for by tolls that were removed on December 24, 1993, more than two years early.

Details

The bridge is in length and carries one lane of traffic in each direction. The elevated section, which is closest to the Oregon side and composed of three spans, is long, with the cantilevered central main span measuring .Astoria Bridge.
Structurae. Retrieved on July 5, 2015. It was built to withstand wind gusts and river water speeds of . As of 2004, an average of 7,100 vehicles per day crossed the bridge. Designed by William Adair Bugge construction of the cantilever truss bridge was completed by the DeLong Corporation, the

American Bridge Company The American Bridge Company is a heavy/civil construction firm that specializes in building and renovating bridges and other large, complex structures. Founded in 1900, the company is headquartered in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsb ...

, and

Pomeroy Gerwick Pomeroy may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Pomeroy, County Tyrone, a village, civil parish and town land in Northern Ireland * Pomeroy, Derbyshire, a place in Derbyshire, England * Berry Pomeroy, a village and civil parish in the South H ...

. The south end has the former toll plaza, at the end of a inclined ramp which forms a

spiral bridge A spiral bridge, loop bridge, helix bridge, or pigtail bridge is a road bridge which loops over its own road, allowing the road to climb rapidly. This is useful in steep terrain, or where the approach road to a bridge would terminate too far fro ...

, going through a full 360-degree loop while gaining elevation over land to provide almost of clearance over the shipping channel (similarly to the

Lincoln Tunnel Helix The Lincoln Tunnel Helix, known commonly as The Helix or the Route 495 Helix, is an elevated spiral bridge controlled-access highway, freeway that carries New Jersey Route 495 to and from the Lincoln Tunnel in Weehawken, New Jersey. It is an ov ...

Weehawken, New Jersey Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located on the Hudson Waterfront and Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's po ...

). The north end is an at-grade intersection with State Route 401. Since most of the northern portion of the bridge is over shallow, non-navigable water, it is low to the water. Repainting the bridge was planned for May 2009 through 2011 and budgeted at $20 million, to be shared by the states of Oregon and Washington. A four-year planned paint stripping and repainting project was planned for March 2012 through December 2016. In 2016, a colony of

double-crested cormorant The double-crested cormorant (''Nannopterum auritum'') is a member of the cormorant family of water birds. It is found near rivers and lakes and in coastal areas and is widely distributed across North America, from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska ...

s moved from nearby East Sand Island to the bridge, where they began nesting. Their presence caused issues with bridge inspections, as bird droppings and

guano Guano (Spanish from ) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. Guano is a highly effective fertiliser due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a le ...

covered visual cracks, and nests obscured navigational lights used by ship traffic. The population of cormorants increased to 5,000 breeding pairs in 2020, prompting efforts by the Army Corps of Engineers to scare the birds from the bridge and relocate them back to East Sand Island.

Pedestrians

Normally, pedestrians are prohibited on the bridge - only motor vehicles and bicycles are allowed. There is no sidewalk and the shoulders are too narrow for pedestrians adjacent to traffic. However, one day a year—usually in October—the bridge is host to the Great Columbia Crossing. Participants are taken by shuttle to the Washington side, from where they run or walk to the Oregon side on a route across the bridge. Motor traffic is allowed to use only one lane (of two lanes) and is advised to expect delays during the two-hour event. For the first time, during the 2018 event, the Oregon Department of Transportation announced that the bridge would be closed to motor traffic.Bridge closure for Great Columbia Crossing: Daily Astorian
/ref>

Popular culture

The bridge itself is featured prominently in the movies ''

Short Circuit A short circuit (sometimes abbreviated to short or s/c) is an electrical circuit that allows a current to travel along an unintended path with no or very low electrical impedance. This results in an excessive current flowing through the circuit ...

'', ''

Kindergarten Cop ''Kindergarten Cop'' is a 1990 American action comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and distributed by Universal Pictures. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as John Kimble, a tough Los Angeles police detective working undercover as a kindergarten teac ...

'', '' Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home'', ''

The Goonies ''The Goonies'' is a 1985 American adventure comedy film directed and co-produced by Richard Donner from a screenplay by Chris Columbus based on a story by Steven Spielberg and starring Sean Astin, Josh Brolin (in his film debut), Jeff Cohen ...

'', and '' Sometimes I Think About Dying''. It stands in for the doomed fictional Madison Bridge in

Irwin Allen Irwin Allen (born Irwin O. Cohen; June 12, 1916 – November 2, 1991) was an American film and television producer and director, known for his work in science fiction, then later as the "Master of Disaster" for his work in the disaster film genr ...

's 1979 made-for-TV disaster movie ''

The Night the Bridge Fell Down ''The Night the Bridge Fell Down'' is an American disaster film starring James MacArthur, Desi Arnaz Jr., and Leslie Nielsen. The movie was produced by Irwin Allen in 1979 in association with Warner Bros. Television for NBC but was not aired in ...

''.

Images

File:Astoria - Megler Bridge in 2009.jpg, View of the bridge from Astoria neighborhood File:Astoria-Megler Bridge heading north 01.JPG, On the bridge, heading north File:Astoria-Megler Bridge heading north 02.JPG, On the bridge, heading north File:Astoria bridge through truss.JPG, Astoria Bridge. Close up view of the through-truss section of the bridge File:US Route 101 - Astoria-Megler Bridge.jpg, A close up view of the through-truss section of the bridge File:Astoria bridge flat truss.JPG, A view of the flat, continuous truss section of the bridge File:Astoria-Megler Bridge, Tony Owens (5351960117).jpg, A workman's view from high on the bridge File:Washington End of Astoria Megler Bridge.JPG, Washington end of the bridge File:Astoria-Megler.JPG, A view of the bridge from the

Astoria Column The Astoria Column is a tower in the Pacific Northwest, northwest United States, overlooking the mouth of the Columbia River on Coxcomb Hill in Astoria, Oregon. Built in 1926, the concrete and steel structure is part of a city park called Astor Pa ...

File:Astoria Megler Bridge; Astoria Oregon.jpg, A cargo ship passing under the bridge File:Astoria-Megler Bridge, Oregon.JPG, Looking up from beneath the bridge File:Astoria - Megler Bridge and bulk carriers.jpg, Multiple cargo ships with the bridge in the background File:Astoria-Megler Bridge 8 25 2024 837PM.jpg, Bridge at twilight

References

External links

*
funbeach.com: Astoria–Megler Bridgeoldoregon.com: Astoria–Megler BridgeGreat Columbia Crossing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Astoria-Megler Bridge Bridges over the Columbia River Road bridges in Oregon Road bridges in Washington (state) Bridges completed in 1966 Continuous truss bridges in the United States Buildings and structures in Astoria, Oregon Transportation buildings and structures in Pacific County, Washington U.S. Route 101 1966 establishments in Oregon Former toll bridges in Oregon Former toll bridges in Washington (state) Historic American Engineering Record in Oregon Historic American Engineering Record in Washington (state) Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System 1966 establishments in Washington (state) Steel bridges in the United States Cantilever bridges in the United States Transportation buildings and structures in Clatsop County, Oregon