The Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge, or I-205 Bridge, is a
segmental bridge
A segmental bridge is a bridge built in short sections (called segments), i.e., one piece at a time, as opposed to traditional methods that build a bridge in very large sections. The bridge is made of concrete that is either cast-in-place (constru ...
that spans the
Columbia River
The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...
between
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
,
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
and
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
. It carries
Interstate 205
Interstate 205 may refer to either of two unconnected Interstate Highways in the United States, both of which are related to Interstate 5
* Interstate 205 (California), a connector in the San Francisco Bay Area
* Interstate 205 (Oregon–Washingt ...
, a freeway
bypass of Portland, Oregon.
![The Glenn L](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/The_Glenn_L._Jackson_Memorial_Bridge_from_Columbia_River_Looking_West.JPG)
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), Interstate 205. Construction began in August 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 downstream and
barge
Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...
d into place. The bridge was opened on December 15, 1982. The finished project cost was $169.6 million: $155.7 million from Federal funds, $4 million from
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
state funds and $9.9 million from
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
state funds. Three men died during its construction. The bridge was closed to traffic on May 15, 1983, for a one-day festival named "People's Day", where 125,000 pedestrians crossed the bridge.
It is a twin structure with four lanes in each direction and a bicycle and pedestrian path in between. The bridge is long from the Washington side of the river to
Government Island and another in length from Government Island to the Oregon side of the river. The main span, near the Washington side, is long with of vertical clearance at low river levels. The bridge was named for
Glenn Jackson
Glenn L. Jackson (nickname "Mr. Oregon") (April 27, 1902 – June 20, 1980)Mosey, Ed (June 21, 1980). "Respected entrepreneur: Jackson guided industry, state leaders". ''The Oregonian'', p. A8. was a businessman in the U.S. state of Oregon, an ...
, the chairman of the
Oregon State Highway Commission
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is a department of the state government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for systems of transportation. It was first established in 1969. It had been preceded by the Oregon State Highway Depart ...
and later the
Oregon Economic Development Commission.
The average weekday traffic during 2019 was 166,152 vehicles.
In 2020, ODOT and WSDOT began a one-year pilot project to allow
C-Tran buses to use the shoulders of I-205 over the bridge in order to bypass congestion.
No vehicle, bicycle or pedestrian access to Government Island is available from the bridge.
Multi-use path
A
multi-use path
A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is 'designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists'. Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, bridleways and rail trails. A ...
for pedestrians and cyclists runs along the center of the bridge. This multi-use path connects to two
trailhead
A trailhead is the point at which a trail begins, where the trail is often intended for hiking, biking, horseback riding, or off-road vehicles. Modern trailheads often contain rest rooms, maps, sign posts and distribution centers for information ...
s at each end of the bridge as well as the I-205 Trail through Portland.
The path lacks access to Government Island.
See also
*
*
*
*
References
:*
External links
*
{{Crossings navbox
, structure =
Crossings
Crossings may refer to:
* ''Crossings'' (Buffy novel), a 2002 original novel based on the U.S. television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''
* Crossings (game), a two-player abstract strategy board game invented by Robert Abbott
* ''Crossings'' ...
, place =
Columbia River
The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...
, bridge = Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge
, bridge signs =
, upstream =
Bonneville Dam
Bonneville Lock and Dam consists of several run-of-the-river dam structures that together complete a span of the Columbia River between the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington at River Mile 146.1. The dam is located east of Portland, Oregon, ...
, upstream signs =
, downstream =
Interstate Bridge
The Interstate Bridge (also Columbia River Interstate Bridge, I-5 Bridge, Portland-Vancouver Interstate Bridge, Vancouver-Portland Bridge) is a pair of nearly identical steel vertical-lift, Parker through-truss bridges that carry Interstate 5 ...
, downstream signs =
Bridges completed in 1982
Jackson
Jackson may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name
Places
Australia
* Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson North, Q ...
Bridges over the Columbia River
Bridges in Vancouver, Washington
Monuments and memorials in Oregon
Monuments and memorials in Washington (state)
Road bridges in Oregon
Road bridges in Washington (state)
Interstate 5
Bridges on the Interstate Highway System
1982 establishments in Oregon
1982 establishments in Washington (state)
Concrete bridges in the United States
Northeast Portland, Oregon