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Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Transportation Sellwood Bridge: Choosing the Prettiest Bridge.

Posted by Sarah Mirk on Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 10:29 AM

The refrain I heard last night at the meeting to rate the designs for the new Sellwood Bridge was, "Anything is better than what's there now." The current bridge, with cracked cement and overburdened steel, is so close to collapse that it ranks a two out the federal infrastructure ratings that span 1-100. The two-lane bridge with a tiny four-foot wide sidewalk for bikes and pedestrians is doubling its width no matter which final design is chosen. Though it's keeping only two lanes for car travel, when the bridge breaks ground in July 2012, engineers will be laying down cement for shoulders (what a novelty!) as well as bike lanes on both sides of the bridge and 12-foot-wide sidewalks. The pricetag for all this is $330 million, with Multnomah County picking up its share of the tab beginning this week with a new $19 vehicle registration fee increase. If you're looking for someone to shake your fist at, drivers, it's Clackamas County commuters who will be paying only a $5 registration fee increase to fund the bridge.

Architect Ricardo Rabines sat in on the discussion last night where the bridge's citizen committee scored the 12 proposed designs for the bridge, using input from a 2400-person city-wide survey. The possible designs range from the cheap and strictly functional "Concrete Box Girder" to the iconic, highly-modern (and expensive) "Steel Extradosed." Though Rabines' has designed several very modern bridges in the past, the most screamingly contemporary bridge design went down in flames in the vote last night. Here's the design that scored the title of ugliest:

Bridge-Type-Deck-Extrad.jpg

In the end, the design that ranked highest is a solid middle-of-the-road option. Not the cheapest, but within the budget constraints. Not the design that stands out the most, but the one most people liked. Here it is, the steel deck tied arch:
Bridge-Type-Profile-TiedArch.jpg

Update! Just as a refresher, here's a picture of the current bridge.
6879_19991019_Total_Span_from_SE_02.jpg

 

Comments (11) RSS

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1
Man, that's what I thought would happen. This looks like the Ross Island Bridge. IMO when you design by consensus you just get a reflection of what people are all ready comfortable with- the familiar.
Posted by Corneliusaurus on August 31, 2010 at 11:10 AM · Report
2
Doesn't that final choice look similar to the current design?
Posted by Reymont on August 31, 2010 at 11:10 AM · Report
3
@Corneliusaurus: Good point, and amply illustrated. Of the two renderings above and the pictures on the site, I think the one that ranks "ugliest" on their list is my favorite. It's a new bridge type! Plus it's "extradosed", and having extra is always good, right?
Posted by tk. on August 31, 2010 at 11:21 AM · Report
4
@Reymont: Nah, the current bridge isn't arched and it has much denser support columns. Here's a picture as a refresher: http://bit.ly/cofIWo
Posted by s.mirk on August 31, 2010 at 11:43 AM · Report
5
Oh! Thanks, Smirk!
Posted by Reymont on August 31, 2010 at 12:38 PM · Report
6
In the first picture all the cars kind of look like Doloreans. I vote for moar Doloreans.
Posted by BlackedOut on August 31, 2010 at 1:45 PM · Report
7
Build a bridge that will last as long as possible (i.e. adapt to the West side's shitty surfacing) so we don't have to keep paying for bridges every few decades? Build it as earthquake proof as possible because this bridge in particular is quite vulnerable to seismic issues.

I don't give a shit what it looks like, we can't predict the architectural requirements of the future.
Posted by NIG GER on August 31, 2010 at 2:38 PM · Report
8
I like the launching platforms in the new design.
Posted by scrappers on August 31, 2010 at 4:15 PM · Report
9
*DeLoreans
Posted by Reymont on September 1, 2010 at 9:34 AM · Report
10
i think we should go with the one that has a rope swing
Posted by Carls on September 1, 2010 at 12:20 PM · Report
11
If any citizens' input at all were able to punch through the Multco/Mike Pullen fog machine you would see pictures of my self-anchoring suspension design, which not only best accommodates the constraints of the site but also reflects the aesthetics of the Saint Johns bridge.

Only one-third the cost, too.

Of course, I am a much better designer than anyone involved with the project to date. Not saying much, but just saying.
Posted by Jim Lee on September 1, 2010 at 1:22 PM · Report

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