Hawthorne Bridge
Hawthorne Bridge in Portland, Oregon
Hawthorne Bridge is a truss bridge with a vertical lift. It was built in 1910 to replace the Madison Bridge when it burnt down. The deck was changed from wood to steel in 1945,
probably so it wouldn’t burn like the Madison Bridge did. Today it is the busiest bicycle bridge in Oregon and the oldest vertical lift bridge still used in the United States.
The bridge, 880,000-pound counterweights and cables move the deck straight up and down. The bridge is 49 feet above the water when it’s closed, and it raises 110 feet for boats to come through.
There is a guy in the control booth that watches for boats, stops traffic, and raises the bridge about 200 times per month. It stays open for about 8 minutes each time so that
means it’s open around 26 hours a month!
Since it’s the busiest bicycle bridge in Oregon with over 7,000 bicycles crossing the Hawthorne everyday, Mark and Dave on the radio even made an April Fools joke about it.
They said that it was going to be changed to a bike-only bridge. Some people were really upset, but luckily, it was April Fools day!
Next time you’re crossing the Hawthorne Bridge, try to count how many bicycles you see.
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Portland, Oregon facts
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