Stark Street Bridge

The Stark Street Bridge is a 277-foot (84 m) steel truss bridge spanning the Sandy River two miles east of Troutdale, Oregon. The bridge connects Southeast Stark Street with the Historic Columbia River Highway and is one of only two western entrances to the highway.^[1] Karl Billner, who was awarded the Frank P. Brown Medal by the Franklin Institute in 1947, designed the bridge, supervised by State Bridge Engineer Charles H. Purcell. Samuel C. Lancaster provided overall supervision during construction.

The Warren pony, the Pratt truss, and the pedestrian crossing are visible in this south side view of the Stark Street Bridge

Stark Street Bridge
Coordinates	45.51533°N 122.36137°W / 45.51533; -122.36137
Crosses	Sandy River
Locale	Troutdale, Oregon
Maintained by	Multnomah County
Characteristics
Design	Pratt truss
Total length	277 ft (84 m)
Width	20 ft (6.1 m)
Longest span	200 ft (61 m)
Clearance above	20 ft (6.1 m)
Clearance below	35 ft (11 m)
History
Opened	January 10, 1915
Location

Description

In his 1914 report, Oregon State Highway Engineer Henry Bowlby described the new bridge as follows:

Located two miles from Troutdale, Oregon, over Sandy River, near the Portland Automobile Club House. This bridge replaces an old wooden structure which fell on Good Roads' Day, April 25, 1914, dropping a 5-ton auto truck into the river. Consists of one 200-foot riveted, through, Pratt, camel back steel span, and one 77-foot Warren pony, riveted steel span, with reinforced concrete slab floor, and creosoted wood block pavement. Clearance above low water, 35 feet. Bitumen-filled expansion joints are provided in concrete slab over each floor beam. Clear roadway, 20 feet. Live load, four 20-ton trucks in line, with two 20-ton trucks passing. River pier, 36 feet high above base, of the diamond shaft, solid web type, of reinforced concrete...

Price of bridge, completed, $21,042.40. George H. Griffin, contractor. Will be completed, January 10, 1915.^[2]

See also

• List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Oregon
• List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon

References

1. "Stark Street Bridge (OR)". Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
2. Bowlby, Henry (December 1, 1914). First Annual Report of the Highway Engineer for the Period Ending November 30, 1914 (Report). Oregon State Printing Department. pp. 172–175. Retrieved June 13, 2013.

Further reading

• Smith, Dwight; Norman, James; Dykman, Pieter (2000). Historic Highway Bridges of Oregon (2nd revised ed.). Oregon Historical Society Press. ISBN 978-0875952055.

External links

• Transport portal
• Engineering portal
• Oregon portal

• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. OR-36-B, "Historic Columbia River Highway, Stark Street Bridge, Spanning Sandy River, Troutdale, Multnomah County, OR", 5 photos, 15 data pages, 1 photo caption page
• Stark Street Bridge on the Historic Columbia River Highway
• Bridgehunter.com – Stark Street Bridge
• Multnomah County Weight Restricted Bridges – Stark Street Bridge