Hayden Bridge (Springfield, Oregon)
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The Hayden RR Bridge, is a
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 ...
located in
Springfield, Oregon Springfield is a city in Lane County, Oregon, Lane County, Oregon, United States. Located in the Willamette Valley, Southern Willamette Valley, it is within the Eugene-Springfield, OR MSA, Eugene-Springfield metropolitan statistical area. Separ ...
, spanning over the McKenzie River. It initially served as a traditional railroad bridge, starting as part of the
first transcontinental railroad America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the "Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad), Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line built between 1863 and 1869 that connected the exis ...
in Utah, before moving to its current location as part of the Marcola line, whose primary use was the distribution of
lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...
. It later closed alongside the area's lumber mills, and became a pedestrian bridge in 2019. It is one of the few remaining
wrought-iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.05%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4.5%), or 0.25 for low carbon "mild" steel. Wrought iron is manufactured by heating and melting high carbon cast iron in an ...
, Phoenixville bridges still standing, and the oldest intact bridge in the state of Oregon.


Location

Hayden Bridge is located in Springfield, Oregon, near the intersection of the Marcola, Old Mohawk and Camp Creek roads. Its milepost was 649.50 on the Southern Pacific Railroad when it comprised part of the railroad during its use as a railroad bridge. The bridge spans the McKenzie river, where it runs parallel to a road bridge comprising part of Marcola road, which is also named Hayden Bridge. Nearby the bridge are the Eugene Water & Electric Board's (EWEB) water collection facilities.


Craftsmanship and design

Hayden Bridge is a fabricated truss bridge constructed of
wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.05%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4.5%), or 0.25 for low carbon "mild" steel. Wrought iron is manufactured by heating and melting high carbon cast iron in an ...
. Today, fewer than 75 of such bridges exist. The bridge is also a Phoenix bridge, being a creation of Phoenix Bridge Works, and as such also incorporates Phoenix columns, a rare design where the bridge is composed of hollow wrought iron columns. Such a design was an innovation in wrought iron bridge technology, created before steel bridges came to effectively replace wrought iron bridges. The bridge is one of only two Phoenixville bridges still in existence 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 ...
. In terms of its truss, the bridge employs a through-truss design; more specifically, it uses a double-intersection
Pratt truss 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 ...
, or a
Whipple Whipple may refer to: People * Whipple (surname), a list of people with the surname * Whip Jones (1909–2001), American ski industry pioneer, founder, developer and original operator of the Aspen Highlands ski area in Aspen, Colorado * Whipple Va ...
-Murphy truss, also a rare design. The truss is pin-connected, with the columns riveted together at their phalanges to form hollow beams. Because of the multiple web systems employed by this design, this causes the structure to be
statically indeterminate In statics and structural mechanics, a structure is statically indeterminate when the equilibrium equations force and moment equilibrium conditions are insufficient for determining the internal forces and reactions on that structure. Mathemati ...
. It is also the first bridge design to be calculated to support its intended load using scientific processes. The bridge also incorporates
cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...
connections and decorative pieces, including ornamental medallions and railroad brake-wheel designs. The brake-wheel designs are located on the corner portal brackets, whilst the medallions are located at the crossings of the diagonal portal bracings. These elements, along with the nameplates, compose the only cast-iron parts of the bridge. The bridge currently sits atop granite slabs, which are in turn set in concrete
abutment An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end that provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...
s.


History

In 1882, the bridge was fabricated by Clarke, Reeves & Company, Phoenixville Bridge Works in
Phoenixville, Pennsylvania Phoenixville is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia at the junction of French Creek (Schuylkill River tributary), French Creek an ...
. It was then bought and constructed by
Central Pacific Railroad The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was a rail company chartered by U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from Sacramento, California, to complete most of the western part of the "First transcontinental railroad" in North Americ ...
with the intent for it to span over the Bear River near
Corinne, Utah } Corinne ( ) is a city in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 809 at the 2020 census, up from the 2010 figure of 685. History For almost ten years from its founding on 25 March 1869, the town of Corinne prospered as th ...
, where it was erected as a
trestle bridge A trestle bridge is a bridge composed of a number of short spans supported by closely spaced frames usually carrying a railroad line. A trestle (sometimes tressel) is a rigid frame used as a support, historically a tripod used to support a st ...
in 1882, replacing an older wooden bridge as part of the first transcontinental railroad. During the
turn of the century The turn of the century is the transition from one century to another, or the time period before or after that change in centuries. Usage The phrase "turn of the century" is generally understood to mean the change (whether upcoming or past) clo ...
, the bridge was bought and shipped over 1,000 miles away to be re-erected in its current location over the McKenzie River in Springfield, Oregon by
Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...
. It was moved to Springfield and reassembled in its current location along the Southern Pacific Railroad line in 1901. The bridge was then leased to the
Oregon and California Railroad The Oregon and California Railroad was formed from the Oregon Central Railroad when it was the first to operate a stretch south of Portland in 1869. This qualified the railroad for land grants in California, whereupon the name of the railroad ...
as part of its branch line (which became known as the Marcola Branch), and used as part of a logging railroad from then until 1979. Traffic increased in 1912 due to the prohibition of log driving down the McKenzie River, which forced all traffic to go through the railroad. During the bridge's time as a route for logging and railroad tie shipments, the operations of the rail line supported by the bridge slowed down as the operations of its client mills ceased. This was caused by the shutting down of the Booth-Kelly Lumber Company mill at
Wendling, Oregon Wendling is an unincorporated community in Lane County, Oregon, United States, located northeast of Marcola. Wendling's post office operated from 1899 to 1952. The town was named for George X. Wendling, a San Francisco investor, who was the lar ...
in 1946, which was the only location that the line served until that point, which led traffic across the bridge to dwindle. This can mostly be attributed to the practice of cutting down trees too quickly, more than they were replaced via replanting. In 1960,
Weyerhaeuser The Weyerhaeuser Company ( ) is an American timberland company which owns nearly of timberlands in the U.S., and manages an additional of timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. The company has manufactured wood products for over a c ...
bought the Marcola Branch, extending it to reach its Calapooya Tree Farm, allowing for it to make shipments between there and Springfield mill by 1962. In 1967 the company feared the bridge could completely collapse due to failures in its truss and its below-standard vertical clearance and load limit. As trucks became cheaper to ship lumber than by rail and as the timber surrounding the Marcola line vanished, the use of the bridge ground to a halt as the last train traveled over it on September 3, 1987. The bridge was abandoned on September 3, 1987, when the rail line that it supported closed down, and retired from service in 1989.


Ownership

The bridge was owned by Central and then Southern Pacific Railroad from 1882 until 1960, when it was bought by Weyerhaeuser. Weyerhaeuser owned the bridge, until they sold it to Workin' Bridges, an Iowa-based non-profit organization under the North Skunk River Greenbelt Association, for $1 in June 2016. The reason for the transaction was that Weyerhaeuser wanted to avoid liability for the increasing number of bridge jumpers frequenting the location. Weyerhaeuser considered moving the bridge to another location at a cost of over a million dollars, but when that proved infeasible they considered its outright demolition. A 2014 press statement that they planned to destroy the bridge caught the attention of Julie Bowers, a member of Workin' Bridges and executive director of the North Skunk River Greenbelt Association, who contacted the company and arranged the sale.


Renovation and preservation

Hayden bridge remains as one of the best-preserved iron bridges in the United States, and is the oldest standing bridge in Oregon. The bridge was nominated for inclusion in the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1981. The owner (Weyerhaeuser) successfully objected the following year, though it remains eligible. The bridge was also the subject of a
Historic American Engineering Record Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS). It administers three programs established to document historic places in the United States: Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American E ...
survey in 1990. The survey was conducted at the request of 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 ...
due to the bridge's historic importance. After selling the bridge to Workin' Bridges, Weyerhaeuser donated an additional $25,000 to the group to help turn the area into a park. After that, the organization worked with both Lane County and the city of Springfield to seek approval for improvements to the bridge, due to Springfield's
urban growth boundary An urban growth boundary (UGB) is a regional boundary, set in an attempt to control urban sprawl by, in its simplest form, mandating that the area inside the boundary be used for urban development and the area outside be preserved in its natural s ...
falling in the center of the McKenzie River. By 2018, wood floors were installed in order to turn the track into a
rail trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...
, with future plans to install side railing and security gates. With an anonymous donation of $100,000, the organization installed railings on the bridge and pedestrianized it in 2019. Over 40 people attended the opening ceremony. Bowers, the North Skunk River Greenbelt Association executive director, then stepped down and left it up to the surrounding community to raise an additional $100,000 to fully convert the area into a park.


Search for new owners

Since its closure the bridge has been a popular place for swimmers to dive into the water of the underlying river. This has caused liability problems for Workin' Bridges, which is unable to afford the cost of someone becoming seriously injured while jumping from the bridge. Because of this, the organization tried to donate the bridge to someone who will take it. This has included asking Lane County and the city of Springfield to turn it and 3.73 acres of the surrounding area into a park. The county refused the offer, as it did not have the resources to add another park. The bridge is also in the middle of multiple right-of-ways, which include those of Lane County, the city of Springfield and EWEB. This, liability issues and other factors increase the difficulty of finding new owners.


See also

*
List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Oregon __NOTOC__ This is a list of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in the US state of Oregon. Bridges See also * List of tunnels documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Oregon Notes References {{ ...
*
Nels Roney Lord Nelson "Nels" Roney (September 2, 1853 – November 24, 1944) was a building contractor and carpenter working primarily in the U.S. state of Oregon. He designed and built many of Oregon's early covered bridges, often using the Howe truss. Ro ...
– engineer who erected the bridges of Lane County. He also repaired Hayden Bridge's approach when it was damaged in 1907. *
Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge The Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge (), formerly known as South Branch Bridge or Romney Bridge, is a historic Truss bridge#Whipple truss, Whipple truss bridge in Capon Lake, West Virginia. It is located off Carpers Pike (West Virginia Route 25 ...
– another example of a Whipple-Murphy truss bridge


Notes


References


Further reading

* * * * * * Kariel, David (June 1980). "National Register Nomination Form for the Booth-Kelly (Hayden) Bridge". University of Oregon, Eugene, items 7 & 8. * ''Records of the Southern Pacific Railroad''. "Bridge Index", p. 139.


External links

* *Listing at th
Oregon Historic Sites Database
{{Authority control Bridges in Lane County, Oregon Pedestrian bridges in Oregon Historic American Engineering Record in Oregon Rail trail bridges in the United States Railroad bridges in Oregon Wrought iron bridges in the United States Pratt truss bridges in the United States Whipple truss bridges in the United States Springfield, Oregon Bridges completed in 1882 Relocated buildings and structures in Oregon Portable bridges Bridges over the McKenzie River (Oregon)