91视频

At times, being a contractor can be a thankless job. So it was a pleasant change of pace when Cascade Bridge LLC learned that the Balch Gulch Bridge at Northwest Thurman Street Rehabilitation project had won the American Public Works Association Project of the Year Award for historical restoration and preservation projects under $5 million.

鈥淎s a contractor, there’s not a lot of, 鈥榓ttaboys’ out there,鈥� said Shad Huber, project manager with Cascade Bridge LLC, which served as general contractor for the bridge renovation. 鈥淚t makes us feel good to be a part of that project.鈥�

The restoration of the bridge, a project for the Portland Bureau of Transportation, began in April 2014 and the bridge was reopened to the public in October 2014. The project cost $4 million.

The 400-foot-long bridge was originally built during the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition and World’s Trade Fair as a gateway to Portland’s developing Willamette Heights neighborhood. 聽The bridge, which is Oregon’s oldest intact bridge, originally carried an electric trolley line.

Bridges that are 110 years old can be a bit like 110-year-old spaghetti 鈥� very rare, but not particularly useful. Before the restoration, uneven wooden sidewalks caused pedestrians to trip or slip during rainy days, according to PBOT. Structural deck elements that included wood stringers and deteriorating steel floor beams caused potholes and cracks along the bridge deck surface, making for an unsafe and uncomfortable ride.

It was a complicated process to make the bridge functional, while also keeping its aesthetic integrity.

鈥淭he challenge with the project was you’re dealing with a truss that was built over 100 years ago and how that truss has reacted to the environment and the climate,鈥� Huber said. 鈥淚t had shifted and sagged and things weren’t exactly where they (should be). The project required that we remove the deck, replace it with new floor-beam stringers and a new deck. We had to realign the bridge and keep it one straight line across that little gulch there. Every floor-beam stringer had to be custom built to fit into that truss so it stayed true and on line.

鈥淲e were able to preserve the bridge and return it back to its original condition, or very similar to its original condition as far as the aesthetics go.鈥�

The bridge becoming functional again is more important than simply having another pretty bridge in Portland. Before the renovation, city engineers were forced to place restrictions on the bridge to slow its deterioration. That meant that fire trucks were prohibited from using it, so Portland’s Fire & Rescue emergency responders had to take a longer route to enter the neighborhood. The completion of the renovation has now reopened the bridge to fire trucks, shaving over four minutes off response time in many areas of the neighborhood.

鈥淓very minute counts,鈥� said Dylan Rivera, public information officer for the Portland Bureau of Transportation. 鈥淔or them to get large fire trucks to the neighborhood four minutes faster is a huge improvement for fire and life safety.鈥�