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by stock_toaster 3234 days ago
From what I heard, the old bridge was pretty much falling apart (it had temporary girder braces and such), so it seemed like it needed to be replaced. Oregon in general has lots of aged bridges in need of repair or replacement.

Regarding Sellwood, I have heard that the new bike lanes on the bridge are an improvement. That is just second hand information though -- I don't ride on it.
1 comments
steveax 3234 days ago
The bike and pedestrian improvements are huge. The old bridge had no shoulders (death trap to ride) and one ~3' sidewalk on the North side that was shared between pedestrians and bikes heading West and East.

Edit to add photo...

You can see the old span alongside the new bridge here:

http://www.sellwoodbridge.org/files/12-15-15.jpg

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valuearb 3233 days ago
The bike/ped improvements haven't done anything for the massive traffic jam the bridge causes. Even at non peak hours, such as 2pm in the afternoon there can be a quarter mile of cars lined up waiting to get on it from the west side.
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JumpCrisscross 3234 days ago
What's all the space in the middle for?
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steveax 3234 days ago
You're seeing both the old span (moved North from its original location) and the new bridge under construction in that photo. Once the new bridge was finished, the old span was torn down.

More photos here:

http://www.sellwoodbridge.org/?e=518

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