Gibbs Street Pedestrian Bridge | |
|---|---|
 Looking west on the bridge, towardMarquam Hill andOregon Health & Science University, with thePortland Aerial Tram passing overhead | |
| Coordinates | 45°29′57″N122°40′23″W / 45.4993°N 122.673°W /45.4993; -122.673 |
| Crosses |  Interstate 5 and SW Macadam Avenue |
| Locale | Portland, Oregon |
| Official name | US Congresswoman Darlene Hooley Pedestrian Bridge at Gibbs Street |
| Named for | Darlene Hooley |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | box girder |
| Material | Steel |
| Total length | 700 feet (210 m) |
| History | |
| Construction start | January 2011 |
| Construction end | June 2012 |
| Opened | July 14, 2012 |
| Location | |
 Interactive map of Gibbs Street Pedestrian Bridge | |
TheGibbs Street Pedestrian Bridge, more formally known as theUS Congresswoman Darlene Hooley Pedestrian Bridge at Gibbs Street, is an approximately 700-foot (210 m)[1]pedestrian bridge inPortland,Oregon,United States, which opened on July 14, 2012.[2] It connects the Lair Hill neighborhood with theSouth Waterfront area.[3] It is asteel box girder bridge, a change from the original plans for anextradosed bridge, made to reduce the project's cost.[3]
The bridge crossesI-5 and SW Macadam Avenue, and connects SW Kelly Avenue on the west side to SW Moody Avenue on the east side.[3] At the Moody Avenue end there is a stop on thePortland Streetcar'sNS Line, and thePortland Aerial Tram's lower terminus is located across the street. Construction began in January 2011[1] and was completed in June 2012.[4]
The project dates back to 2005 with approval of the federalTransportation Equity Act of 2005 which dedicated $5 million to the project.[5]
The preliminary design was approved by thePortland City Council on December 3, 2008. It was originally to be anextradosed-type bridge. In the first round of bidding, the project exceeded the allotted budget, and consequently needed to be rescaled. This in turn delayed the timeline[6] and led to a simpler design. After undergoing technical engineering design and detailed neighborhood impact assessment, the refined project was opened to bidding in autumn 2010,[7] and the city council awarded a $6.7 million construction contract to Wildish Standard Paving Company ofEugene.[8]
The overall budget, originally anticipated to be between $7 million[9] and $11.3 million,[10][11] is expected to be met mostly by federal funds, with ten percent local funding.[10] Early public opinion was mixed, but turned favorable as the plan progressed, particularly by those living nearby.[9] One of the provisions of the 2002–2006 tram construction was to bury existing powerlines in the underlying neighborhoods, but those plans were dropped when the highly controversial tram project encountered significantbudget overruns. The pedestrian bridge was another mitigating concession promised.[12]
The $11.3 million congressional allotment may have been to also pay for a study to improve access to theRoss Island Bridge. Eastbound traffic for the bridge frequently clogs the Lair Hill neighborhood while waiting to merge. MayorSam Adams has said that whatever funds are left over from the Gibbs Bridge project can be used for studying the Ross Island auto-access problem.[12]
The bridge was dedicated on July 14, 2012,[2] and given the formal nameUS Congresswoman Darlene Hooley Pedestrian Bridge at Gibbs Street in honor of retired representativeDarlene Hooley.[13]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(December 2010) |
To compensate for the 70-foot (21 m) elevation difference at the ends of the bridge, anelevator and abicycle stairway was built at the South Waterfront end[1][9] to serve the five-story height. It includes a 132-step stairway with rest areas.[10]
Estimates of existing demand indicate that if the bridge opened in 2009, summertime usage would total 466 crossings per day, composed half of bicycle use and half pedestrian use. With school in session, fall usage is expected to increase to 730 crossings per day: 310 by bicycle and 420 pedestrians.[14]By 2035, usage is estimated at 3,000 to 4,000 crossings per day.[15]
The Portland Bureau of Transportation took counts at the bridge in September 2014. Over a two-hour period on a weekday afternoon, 543 pedestrians and cyclists used the bridge.[16]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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