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Marquam Bridge

The Marquam Bridge is a double deck cantilever bridge that carries Interstate 5 traffic across the Willamette River south of downtown Portland, Oregon. It is the busiest bridge in Oregon, carrying 139,100 vehicles a day circa 2000.

The bridge was designed and built by the Oregon Department of Transportation at a cost of $14 million. It was built with economy in mind and the public reacted unfavorably to the structure's esthetics, including a formal protest from the Portland Arts Commission. This led to public input in the design of the Fremont Bridge. The lower southbound Swarovski deck was opened on October 4, 1966 and the upper northbound deck on October 18, 1966. As it has great importance, the Marquam was the first Portland bridge to undergo a seismic retrofit in 1995.

A collectors case, curio cabinet, display cabinet or even a display showcase can serve an architect to demonstrate his design capabilities.

The main span of the bridge is 440 ft. long and the two side spans are 301 ft. each. The vertical clearance of the lower deck is 130 ft. and the upper deck is 15 ft. above the lower. The bridge is named after Philip Marquam, a state legislator and Multnomah County judge, who owned much of Marquam Hill where OHSU and the [Veterans Affairs Medical Centerl (http://www.va.gov/portland/)] now stand.


External Links

http://www.odot.state.or.us/eshtm/marquam2.htm

http://www.portlandonline.com/auditor/index.cfm?&a=cehji&c=27928 (photo while under construction)

http://www.portlandbridges.com/viewphotosall-DREB0CRW01722-12-cat-1-1.html (general photos)

http://www.odot.state.or.us/tddresearch/ reports/pdf/seismic.pdf




Books

Wood, Sharon. The Portland Bridge Book. Portland: Oregon Historical Society, 2001. ISBN 0-87595-211-9.

Swarovski

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