"The Fremont Bridge is a steel tied arch bridge over the Willamette River located in Portland, Oregon. It carries Interstate 405 and US 30 traffic between downtown and North Portland where it intersects with I-5. It has the longest main span of any bridge in Oregon and is the second longest tied arch bridge in the world (after Caiyuanba Bridge across the Yangtze River, China)." wikipedia
Peregrine falcons have been using the bridge structure as a nest site since 1994.
A crew was working at the west end of the bridge where I was taking pictures. One of the workers asked me if I had heard that the area was over-due for a big quake, and that the city's bridges would not likely survive the event. He seemed to be experiencing some genuine anxiety over the prospect.
Sure enough:
"Scientists and geologists said Portland is not ready for a massive 9.0 earthquake and our bridges would likely collapse. The Cascadia Subduction Zone is one of the most dangerous fault lines in the United States, running 600 miles long from northern California, along the Oregon and Washington coast, into Canada. Scientists didn't know it was there until the 1980s..." http://www.koinlocal6.com
There were three reader comments at the end of the article, all of them moronic.
Good luck, Portland.
3 comments:
If you've visited my blog at all you know I love bridges. This is a great one, especially given that it was built in 1973, well into the era of the plain slab bridge.
Photographically, I like your first shot very much, because of all the detail it captures in the decking and in the chairs.
Yes, I was thinking while I was there that it is a place you would really enjoy. One bridge to go from my cameras.
Nice subject and writing. I like the last portrait.
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