Morrison Bridge
between SW Washington/Alder on the west, SE Morrison/Belmont on the east
Its current version opened in 1958, the Morrison is a busy workhorse bridge spanning downtown with the Central Eastside. It’s yet another Portland drawbridge, a “Chicago Style” bascule bridge (see drawing for how it opens). Built during the “we need to build a lot of stuff fast” period of bridge engineering, the Morrison is not much to look at. The “air traffic control tower” styled bridge towers (with slanted windows) are the bridge’s most distinctive feature. The bridge is one of the largest mechanical structures in Oregon, due to its 940 ton (!) counterweights with 36 ft. tall gears located inside each of the piers.
USERS: Automotive traffic, pedestrians, bicycles.
OWNER: Multnomah County
BICYCLE INFO: While its central location would be great for a bicycle crossing, it really sucks to have to use a bicycle this bridge. For one, bicycles are prohibited from the roadway and must stay on the sidewalk. And using the sidewalk means using three separate series of stairs (up and down) to go around all the highway on-ramps. This sucks for pedestrians also Sometime in the near future the Morrison will become more bicycle and pedestrian friendly, until then, use one of the other bridges instead.
TECHNICAL INFO: Total length of bridge 760 ft (232m), draw span 284 ft (87m)
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