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The Baltimore Bridge Collapse & Astoria, Oregon
The Francis Scott Key truss bridge was the third longest span of any continuous truss in the world, and the total length was 8,636 feet long. It was the second-longest bridge in the Baltimore metropolitan area, after the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
The Astoria-Megler bridge in the Pacific Northwest is the longest continuous truss bridge in North America and the second longest in the world. It is four miles in length and carries traffic from Astoria, OR to Point Ellis near Megler, WA.
The bridge is located about 14 miles away from Columbia River Bar where the Pacific Ocean meets the Columbia River.
The bridge is 21,474 feet (4 miles) in length and carries one lane of traffic in each direction. The cantilever-span section, which is closest to the Oregon side, is 2,468 feet long, and its main (central) span measures 1,233 feet. It was built to withstand 150 mph wind gusts and river water speeds of 9 mph.
ODOT (Oregon Department of Transportation) maintains the entire length of the bridge. One of the most interesting maintenance stories about the bridge involves the Army Corps of Engineers:
In 2016, a colony of double-crested cormorants moved from nearby East Sand Island to the bridge, where they began nesting. Their presence caused issues with bridge inspections, as bird droppings and guano covered visual cracks, and nests obscured navigational lights used by ship traffic. The population of cormorants increased to 5,000 breeding pairs in 2020, prompting efforts by the Army Corps of Engineers to scare the birds from the bridge and relocate them back to East Sand Island.
One of the largest ships to cross the bar to make the trip to Portland is 1200 feet long. It can carry 12,400 stacked 20-foot shipping containers. Larger empty oil tankers have made the trip to Portland shipyards for repair.
The cormorants moved to the bridge in the first place because the government shooed them away from East Sand Island to keep them from eating so many salmon smolts headed out to sea. Last I heard the cormorants have taken a liking to their new home. Apparently the bridge structure prevents depredation by bald eagles.
I have lived about a 1/3 of my life within 5 miles of US 101. I have always wanted to travel the entire length in a single trip. Along with the various sights and wonders are the Astoria-Megler bridge and the Golden Gate bridge. If you are not from the west coast, perhaps following US 20 from Boston to Newport, OR would be the trip for you.
The Lincoln Highway, one of the first transconinental highways from NYC to San Francisco. Or Route 66, where kicks may be gotten, from Chicago to
Los AngelesSanta Monica.Either way, honk when you go by.
The USNS Mercy heading to Portland for maintenance passing under the Astoria-Megler bridge.
Also, I have lived about a 1/3 of my life within 5 miles of US 20.
My parents’ home is two miles from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. It’s a pretty darned expensive bridge so we almost never go that way. I’d say it’s bizarre to say the bridge is in the Baltimore metropolitan area except that people around there also say that Harpers Ferry, WV is in the DC metropolitan area.
Using 20-20 hindsight, it’s clear that the FSK bridge was a stupid design. I heard that when it was built many engineers begged them to build a tunnel instead. They were right (if it is a true story).
I suspect the difference in cost is significant. Tunnels have their own vulnerabilities.
Elon Musk, white courtesy telephone please!