Baltimore bridge collapse highlights Portland bridge safety problems

Following the March 26 bridge collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland, transportation officials in Oregon have been quick to reassure the public they are aware of the danger and prepared to deal with it.

The Key bridge broke into pieces and fell into the Patapsco River after being hit by a massive, out of control cargo ship. At least six people were killed.

People in the Portland metro area have worried for decades about the state of the region’s bridges, many of which are very old. According to a recent Federal Highway Administration report, 87% of bridges in Multnomah County are in poor or fair condition.

“We have workers 24/7 on the Interstate Bridge that are watching the river at all times to see if there are any problems out there on the river that we need to be careful about, to see if there are any ships that are in danger out there on the river,” said Oregon Department of Transportation spokesperson Don Hamilton, referring to the freeway bridge between Oregon and Washington.

“In the event that a (Multnomah) County bridge is significantly damaged, traffic is moved off the bridge as soon as possible. The County has disaster response plans that mobilize all bridge staff and engineers to inspect and evaluate the safety of the bridge before it can be repaired and safely reopened to the public,” said Jon Henrichsen, Multnomah County Transportation Division Director/County Engineer.

The officials were also quick to say the Baltimore-style disaster is very unlikely here. According to experts, the only two bridges anywhere near Portland at similar risk are in Astoria and Longview, Washington. Ships the size of the one that collapsed that bridge cannot navigate the Columbia River east of the I-5 bridge. Bridges in the Portland area have different designs than the one in Baltimore. Most of the support structures in the rivers are protected from collisions, while the one in Baltimore was not.

“None of (Multnomah) County’s bridges have a similar construction to the bridge that collapsed in Baltimore,” Henrichsen said.

But as everyone in the Portland region should know, our bridges face an even greater threat — the potentially catastrophic Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake that could strike at any moment.

In fact, video of the Baltimore bridge collapse looked like computer-generated images of the I-5 and Burnside bridges failing during the predicted quake. That is why work is well underway to replace them with bridges that will survive.

Senators from Oregon and Washington announced Dec. 15, 2023, that the area would receive a $600 million federal grant for the proposed replacement of the I-5 bridge spanning the Columbia River. The grant is the first sizable federal commitment to replacement of the I-5 bridge, whose northbound span dates to 1917 and southbound span to 1958.

Multnomah County’s Earthquake Ready Burnside Bridge Project moved into its next phase after receiving federal approval in February. The project will replace the span over the Willamette River in downtown Portland. After reviewing the project’s environmental impact statement, the Federal Highway Administration gave its approval — marking the end of the project’s environmental review phase, which began in 2019. and the start of the design phase.

The Oregon Transportation Commission also has plans in the works for a first phase of construction on the Abernethy Bridge, which carries Interstate 205 across the Willamette near Oregon City and West Linn. That work — potentially delayed while funding options are debated — is designed to address safety and congestion issues. The goal, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation, is to create a “safer, more reliable access to work and critical services, even after an earthquake or other major disaster.”

Even if those bridges are replaced, others in the region require ongoing maintenance to remain open. ODOT confirmed the situation in its recent 2023 Bridge Condition Report . According to ODOT, all four its bridges in Portland are only rated fair. They are the Fremont (completed in 1973), Marquam (1966), Ross Island (1926) and St. Johns (1931) bridges. They are also all rated “vulnerable” to seismic activity.Four of the Multnomah County-owned bridges in Portland are also expected to fail during an earthquake. In addition to the Burnside (1926), they are the Broadway (1912), Hawthorne (1910) and Morrison (1958) bridges.

The Steel Bridge, built in 1912, is privately owned by the Union Pacific Railroad.

The good news? In addition to the upgrades being planned for the I-5 and Burnside bridges, the county-owned Sellwood and Wapato (formerly Sauvie Island) bridges are new. And so is the TriMet-owned Tilikum Crossing, which can carry emergency vehicles across the Willamette River in a disaster.

“New bridges, like the Wapato, Sellwood and the future Burnside Bridge are required to be designed to not collapse after impact from the largest vessel that can operate on the river,” Henrichsen said.

“Efforts to maintain and preserve existing bridges are critical, as an average of just three bridges are replaced each year. With adequate funding, approximately 27 state highway bridges could be replaced annually which is consistent with a 100-year service life,” the ODOT report said.