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Sharon Wood Wortman and her husband, Ed Wortman, celebrated 2014 by releasing a children’s book about the Portland area’s bridges. But their love affair with the local structures began long before that.

鈥淚 was a clerk at Union Pacific and had a chance to write about Portland’s big river bridges for The Oregonian,鈥� Wood Wortman said. 鈥淚t ended up being an 11-week, 20,000-word series published in the spring of 1984.鈥�

As more people turned to Wood Wortman to learn about the city structures, she decided to write 鈥淭he Portland Bridge Book,鈥澛爓hich was published in 1989 by the Oregon Historical Society Press.

By 1993, she was teaching classes about the local bridges and leading bridge walks. While doing research for a story about the 20th anniversary of the Fremont Bridge, she met Ed Wortman, an engineer who helped construct the big arch in the 1970s. The couple married in 1998, and in 2001 co-wrote the second edition of 鈥淭he Portland Bridge Book.鈥�

A third edition of the book was printed in 2006. All three editions of the book were essentially for adults, but they found their way into the hands of children and teachers. From teachers’ inquiries, she and Ed decided to create a book about bridges specifically for young readers.

They found plenty of people willing to help make the book a reality. Five students in the graphic design program at Portland Community College created the layout. More than 150 artists and organizations contributed to the publication, which includes artwork and poetry from adults and kids, interviews with experts, and even a section on bridge building and load testing. The book’s publishing cost was covered, in part, via contributions from about 75 firms and individuals.

鈥淭he Big & Awesome Bridges of Portland & Vancouver 鈥� a Book for Young Readers and Their Teachers鈥� was published in late 2014 by PDX Bridge Festival Inc., and Urban Adventure Press, in cooperation with Portland Public Schools. Nearly 4,500 copies were聽delivered聽to聽both PPS and Vancouver School District in December 2014.

鈥淚 led walks and taught about bridges for 20 years; Ed is now working on the Sellwood Bridge,鈥� Wood Wortman said. 鈥淏ig & Awesome was something we really loved doing.聽I’d call it a legacy project.聽You could say that for (us), it’s a book of gratitude.鈥�