- Lake Oswego Railroad Bridge
Infobox_Bridge
bridge_name=Lake Oswego Railroad Bridge
locale=Lake Oswego, Oregon toMilwaukie, Oregon
carries=rail traffic (1 track)
crosses=Willamette River
maint=Union Pacific Railroad
open=1910
length=convert|1378|ft|m
mainspan=convert|298|ft|m
lat=45.4251
long=-122.6547The Lake Oswego Railroad Bridge (also known as the "Union Pacific Railroad Bridge at Lake Oswego" and formerly as the "Southern Pacific Railroad Bridge at Lake Oswego") is a truss railroad bridge that spans the
Willamette River betweenLake Oswego, Oregon andMilwaukie, Oregon . Owned by theUnion Pacific Railroad , it is currently used by thePortland and Western Railroad .History
The bridge was built in 1910 by the
Southern Pacific Railroad , in response to the desires of Portland city planners for an eastside railway bypass to keep rail traffic out of downtown Portland.cite book | last= Wood | first= Sharon | title = The Portland Bridge Book | publisher =Oregon Historical Society | date = 2001| id= ISBN 0-87595-211-9 ] With its acquisition of Southern Pacific in 1996,Union Pacific Railroad assumed ownership of the bridge. Currently, the bridge is operated by thePortland and Western Railroad under a lease from Union Pacific.cite web|url=http://www.trainweb.org/aorta/shuttle.htm|title=The Forgotten Bridge|publisher=Trainweb.org|accessdate=2008-04-03]Description
The entire bridge is convert|1378|ft|m in length. On the west (Lake Oswego) side, there is a convert|50|foot|m|0|adj=on deck plate girder approach span that was built in 1900 and moved to this location in 1931. In 1934, a convert|60|foot|m|0|adj=on open-deck
trestle was built on this side of the river. Holding the railway deck across the river are two convert|298|ft|m|0|adj=on through truss spans. Completing the bridge on the east side in Milwaukie is a convert|668|foot|m|0|adj=on open-deck trestle.Usage
Though the bridge is now used exclusively for active freight rail transport, some Portland-area commuters have urged that the bridge be modified to allow
commuter rail or bicycle traffic.cite web|url=http://www.bta4bikes.org/docs/19LOtoMilwaukie.pdf|title=Lake Oswego to Milwaukie Crossing|publisher=Bicycle Transportation Alliance |accessdate=2008-04-03]References
ee also
*
List of crossings of the Willamette River Crossings navbox
structure = Crossings
place =Willamette River
bridge = Lake Oswego Railroad Bridge
bridge signs = "Portland & Western Railroad"
upstream =Abernethy Bridge
upstream signs =
downstream =Sellwood Bridge
downstream signs =
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