The John McLoughlin Bridge is a

tied-arch bridge A tied-arch bridge is an arch bridge in which the outward horizontal forces of the arch(es) caused by tension at the arch ends to a foundation are countered by equal tension of its own gravity plus any element of the total deck structure such grea ...

that spans the

Clackamas River The Clackamas River is an approximately tributary of the Willamette River in northwestern Oregon, in the United States. Draining an area of about , the Clackamas flows through mostly forested and rugged mountainous terrain in its upper reaches, a ...

between Oregon City and

Gladstone, Oregon Gladstone is a city located in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. The population was 11,491 at the 2010 census. Gladstone is an approximately suburban community, south of Portland, the largest city in Oregon, and located at the conflue ...

, in the northwest

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It was designed by

Conde McCullough Conde Balcom McCullough (May 30, 1887 – May 6, 1946) was an American civil engineer who is primarily known for designing many of Oregon's coastal bridges on U.S. Route 101. The native of South Dakota worked for the Oregon Department of Tr ...

, and named for Dr.

John McLoughlin John McLoughlin, baptized Jean-Baptiste McLoughlin, (October 19, 1784 – September 3, 1857) was a French-Canadian, later American, Chief Factor and Superintendent of the Columbia District of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver fro ...

. It is long, with a main span of . The deck carries four lanes (two in each direction) of

Oregon Route 99E Oregon Route 99E is an Oregon state highway that runs between Junction City, Oregon and an interchange with I-5 just south of the Oregon/Washington border, in Portland. It, along with OR 99W, makes up a split of OR 99 in the northern part of th ...

, also known locally as McLoughlin Boulevard. The bridge won the American Institute of Steel Construction's title of "Most Beautiful Steel Bridge" constructed in 1933. Originally painted black, it was painted "ODOT Green" soon after, the first time that specific color was used on a bridge.

Sources

*''Elegant Arches, Soaring Spans: C.B. McCulough, Oregon's Master Bridge Builder'', Robert W. Hadlow, Oregon State University Press, 2001. .

External links

* Buildings and structures in Oregon City, Oregon Bridges completed in 1933 U.S. Route 99 Bridges in Clackamas County, Oregon Tied arch bridges in the United States Road bridges in Oregon Bridges by Conde McCullough 1933 establishments in Oregon Gladstone, Oregon Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System Steel bridges in the United States {{UShighway-stub