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An elegant and unique bridge linking Oregon City and West Linn was built across the Willamette River in 1922 with an expected 50-year life span.

The bridge exceeded expectations by 40 additional years, but recently the need for rehabilitation became apparent. City officials, community residents and the Oregon Department of Transportation all agreed on one thing: any upgrades done to the bridge would need to be handled in a way that would retain the original, definitive art deco style.

The project’s general contractor, Wildish Standard Paving, upgraded the bridge to modern standards while maintaining its original character.聽In the face of a tight deadline, Wildish crews removed several hundred tons of old gunite and rusted steel, prevented demolition debris from polluting the environmentally sensitive river, and kept shipping lanes between the Willamette Locks and Portland open for river traffic.

The original bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. To ensure the updated bridge would retain that status, Wildish paid close attention to every step in reconstruction. The project was supervised by a full-time quality control manager on-site, as part of a team that included an ODOT-assigned lead bridge engineer.聽Engineers strove to preserve details like the cast sconce-style light fixtures installed on ornamental obelisks that light the raised pedestrian walk, all in complement to art deco style railings and piers inherent in the bridge’s original design.

Other efforts focused on keeping commerce flowing in and between Oregon City and West Linn. The bridge serves as a main connection between Portland and Route 99E, and the project affected the area for two years. A public relations agent worked with businesses on both sides of the river, and city officials, community residents and ODOT held meetings to settle concerns and issues even before the project started.

With the rehabilitation finished and traffic now flowing smoothly 鈥� and safely 鈥� over the bridge, Wildish project manager Tim Hendrix and others who worked on the project can finally sit back and see the result of their efforts in action.

鈥淚 drive over that bridge and know I had a hand in bringing it back to life, and know that it’ll be here long after I’m gone,鈥� Hendrix said.聽鈥淭hat’s a really good feeling.聽I smile every time I go over it.鈥�