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The Union Street Bridge in Salem has a history almost as long as its span.

The bridge, built in 1913, features five riveted, steel spans that cross the Willamette River. An 850-foot timber trestle crosses a flood plain area that’s now Wallace Marine Park on the west side.

The lift span has not functioned since the early 1980s. A few years before that, in the mid-1970s, the timber trestle caught on fire and burned to a point that most of the timber stringers and ties had to be replaced. As a testament to its long survival, the bridge in early 2006 earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.

Since the city purchased the bridge from Union Pacific in 2004, Salem officials have pictured the structure as a trail of sorts, connecting businesses and parks and people on both sides of the river.

The city brought together a project team that included Barney & Worth, GRI, Heritage Research Associates, HLB & Associates and Vigil-Agrimis Inc. HDR Engineering was the team member tasked with actually designing the trail connection across the bridge.

One of the biggest challenges for HDR was to find a way to link the past with the present while creating a structure that would serve users into the future. The project team focused on a multiuse trail design. Unique pier overlooks were added to provide scenic resting spots for bridge users. Railings were crafted in short lengths to make it easier to replace them in the future.

Now open and being actively used, the bridge has become a key component in a larger plan to connect 1,300 acres of park land and 26 miles of trails and a picturesque part of the Salem skyline. Citing other cities where similar bridge projects have been undertaken, Salem officials predict the bridge will help spur economic development on both the west and east sides of the Willamette River.