Twin bridges, but not identical

From ODOT-

Soon, you will see the piers and foundations poured for the new northbound Interstate 5 Willamette River Bridge.



When finished, the northbound span will appear identical to the southbound bridge, but up close, you'll see a few significant differences.



What's the same:

The main arch spans crossing the river will be identical and both bridges touch down only once in the river, in stark contrast to the old bridge's numerous piers.



What's different:

The new bridges will be noticeably different on the south end where they connect to the roadway.



The southbound bridge has nine spans and a total length of 1,759 feet. The northbound bridge will have 10 spans and a total length of 1,985 feet. the additional northbound span will pass over the I-5 northbound off-ramp to Franklin Boulevard.



For the majority of their length, the two bridges will have a gap of 16 feet between them. But the gap will narrow as the two bridges meet the roadway at the south end.



Because of the small difference in the twin bridges, we save time and money by using the same design on both and incorporating lessons learned from building the first into the second bridge.