Blue Bridge (Oregon)

The Blue Bridge (known as the Cross Canyon Bridge until fall 2001) is a curved pedestrian and bicycle bridge. The bridge connects the north and south halves of the Reed College campus in Portland, Oregon, United States. It crosses the west end of Reed Lake, which is part of the course of Crystal Springs Creek, a tributary of Johnson Creek. [ See topographic map [http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=45.48219,-122.63255&z=16&t=T here] ]

It is made of concrete and crosses the Reed College Canyon, sloping downwards from south to north; because of the unusual shape of the bridge, it received the "Excellence in Concrete" award from the American Concrete and Aggregate Producers Association. [ [http://web.reed.edu/facilities_and_grounds/buildings/canyonbridge.html Reed College | Facilities & Grounds | Cross Canyon Bridge ] ] The name refers to the blue lights which illuminate it at night. Originally, the lights were white, but would be switched out to other colors for Renn Fayre. In April 2001 Robin Loehrke (2002), who was a student employee of the Reed Physical Plant at the time, was given blue bulbs and the task by his employer. No one bothered to change them back to white bulbs. In 2004, students changed the blue lights to green for Renn Fayre. They were changed back to blue shortly thereafter.

Before the Blue Bridge was built in 1992, access to the Cross Canyon dormitories was via the first [http://web.reed.edu/facilities_and_grounds/buildings/canyonbridge.html cross canyon bridge] . The first cross canyon bridge was constructed in 1959. The unusual design of this bridge, the only one of its kind in the world, was the result of more than a year’s research by the architect and a plywood company. The bridge was supported by two cantilevers of prestressed plywood and covered with a thin canvas membrane. The other route across the canyon is a land bridge.

References