GLENN L. JACKSON MEMORIAL BRIDGE

The 'Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge', or 'I-205 bridge', is a segmental bridge that spans the Columbia River between Vancouver, Washington and Portland, Oregon.
Planning for the structure began in earnest in 1964 when it was designated as part of the East Portland Freeway (later renamed Veteran's Memorial Freeway), formally Interstate 205. Construction began in August of 1977. In order to avoid disrupting river traffic, the bridge was built one segment at a time. The segments, weighing upwards of 200 tons, were cast four miles downstream and barged into place. The bridge was opened on December 15, 1982. The final cost of $175 million was shared by the states of Washington and Oregon. Three men died during its construction.
It is a twin structure with four lanes in each direction and a 9 ft. wide bicycle and pedestrian path in between. The bridge is 7,460 ft. long from the Washington side of the river to Government Island and another 3,120 ft. in length from Government Island to the Oregon side of the river. The main span, near the Washington side, is 600 ft. long with 144 ft. of vertical clearance at low river levels. The bridge was named for Glenn Jackson, the chairman of the Oregon State Highway Commission and later the Oregon Economic Development Commission.^[1] As of 2004 the average daily traffic was 137,000 vehicles.^[2]

Contents

References

References

1. A Recent History of Oregon's Citizen Boards and Commissions
2. Average Daily Traffic on Oregon’s Interstate Highways 1954–2004

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