Fremont Bridge | |
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| Coordinates | 45°32′16″N122°40′57″W / 45.5377083°N 122.6825027°W /45.5377083; -122.6825027 |
| Carries | Four lanes, two decks  I-405 /US 30 |
| Crosses | Willamette River and surface streets |
| Locale | Portland, Oregon |
| Official name | Fremont Bridge |
| Maintained by | Oregon Department of Transportation |
| ID number | 02529 |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Tied-arch bridge |
| Total length | 2,154 feet (657 m) |
| Height | 381 feet (116 m) |
| Longest span | 1,255 feet (383 m) longest in Oregon |
| Clearance above | 18.3 feet (5.6 m) |
| Clearance below | 175 feet (53 m) |
| History | |
| Opened | November 15, 1973[1] |
| Location | |
 Interactive map of Fremont Bridge | |
TheFremont Bridge is a steeltied-arch bridge[citation needed] over theWillamette River located inPortland, Oregon, United States. It carriesInterstate 405 andUS 30 traffic between downtown and North Portland where it intersects withInterstate 5. It has the longest main span of any bridge inOregon and is the second longest tied-arch bridge in the world (afterCaiyuanba Bridge across theYangtze River,China).[2] The bridge was designed byParsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade and Douglas, and built by Murphy Pacific Corporation.[3] In 2006, Sharon Wood Wortman published the third and latest version of The Portland Bridge Book. This book provides even more detail about the Fremont Bridge than covered here.[2]
The bridge has two decks carrying vehicular traffic, each with four lanes. The upper deck is signed westbound on US 30 and southbound on I-405. The lower deck is signed eastbound on US 30 and northbound on I-405.
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Due to the public's dissatisfaction with the appearance of theMarquam Bridge opened in 1966, the Portland Art Commission was invited to participate in the design process of the Fremont. The improvement in visual quality resulted in a bridge that was nearly six times as expensive as the purposely economical Marquam Bridge. Designers modeled the bridge after the original 1964Port Mann Bridge inVancouver,British Columbia.
The steel tie-girder (I-beam) is 18 feet (5.5 m) tall and 50 inches (130 cm) wide. On October 28, 1971, while still under construction, a six-foot-long (1.8 m) crack was found on the west span of this girder that required a $5.5 million redesign and repair. The ramps and approaches are steelbox girders. If the lanes of the bridge were placed end-to-end, there are 3.27 lane-miles (5.26 lane-km) on the arch bridge and 14.12 lane-miles (22.72 lane-km) on the ramps and approaches.[3]
The center span of the bridge, where the rib of the arch is above the deck, is 902 feet (275 m) long.[3] It was fabricated inCalifornia then assembled atSwan Island Industrial Park, 1.7 miles (2.7 km) downstream.[2] After assembly it was floated on abarge the 1.7-mile (2.7 km) trip to the construction site.[3] On March 16, 1973, the 6,000 short tons (5,400 t) steel arch span was lifted 170 ft (52 m) using 32hydraulic jacks. At the time, it was listed in theGuinness Book of World Records as the heaviest lift ever completed.[4]
The bridge was opened on November 15, 1973,[1][2] at a final cost of $82 million (equivalent to $637 million in 2024),[2] most of which was financed by theFederal Highway Administration. In 1976, an American flag and anOregon flag were added atop the structure as part of the bicentennial celebration for the United States.[5] The flags were installed with the use of ahelicopter.[3] The 15-by-25-foot (4.6 m × 7.6 m) flags are attached to 50-foot (15 m) tall flagpoles at the crest of the arches.[5]
The Fremont Bridge was also the 26thPeregrine falcon nest site designated in Oregon in 1995 after the raptor was placed on the U.S. Threatened andEndangered Species list in 1970.[6]
The falcon has since been removed from the list and is now listed as least concern.[7]
The bridge as well as Portland's associated Fremont Street were named forJohn C. Frémont (1813–1890), an early explorer ofLas Californias and theOregon Country. He served in theUnited States Army at the time as a Captain and was later promoted to General. In 1856, he ran for president, but was defeated byJames Buchanan.[8]
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