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One of Portland’s most well-known bridge historians is working to publish a book for students on the city’s bridges.

Sharon Wood Wortman, commonly referred to as the 鈥渂ridge lady,鈥� and her husband Ed Wortmanare leading a campaign to finance the publishing of the 鈥淭he Big and Awesome Bridges of Portland and Vancouver: A Book for Young Readers.鈥�

The book would include 100 pages of photos and drawings of more than 25 highways and pedestrian bridges in the area. Members of the Portland Community College Graphic Design Program will provide the book’s colorful, children-focused layout, Wortman said.

It would also include interviews with bridge operators, bridge engineers and others, including the Oregon Poet Laureate Paulann Petersen, who will explain how bridges have become some of the world’s oldest metaphors.

Wortman’s hope is to publish 4,000 copies of the book and give them to Portland Public Schools and Vancouver Public Schools for free.

鈥淏ridges have been taught as part of PPS third grade social studies since at least the 1950s, but there has never been a book just for them, nor for Vancouver students,鈥� Wortman said. 鈥淭he idea is that youngsters who grow up understanding and appreciating the built environment around them will be better informed when it comes time for them to take care of it.鈥�

With a group of more than 20 volunteers, Wortman has been fundraising for the project for almost two years. At this point, the group is halfway to its goal, but more funds are needed to cover the publishing costs, Wortman said.

To learn more about the fundraising effort, visit or . The group hopes to gain the funding by summer 2013.