Union Street Railroad Bridge - Salem, Oregon - Wikipedia Entries on Waymarking.com

The bridge was built in 1912 and was historically known as the Salem, Falls City and Western Railway, although it has also been called the P. E. & E. Bridge (Portland, Eugene, and Eastern). Today it is simply referred to as the Union Street Railroad Bridge as the eastern terminus aligns with Union Street. It is a truss bridge with a vertical lift span designed to accommodate larger ship traffic beneath. A curved wooden trestle connects to the western edge of the bridge deck.

By 1907, rail lines were established on both sides of the river, but passengers and freight could only cross at Salem over a highway bridge or by ferry. Begun in May 1912, the completion of the bridge in March 1913 allowed rail traffic to continue on its way over the river without need to unload and reload, making the bridge opening a celebrated event.

Into the 1970s, the bridge continued to carry traffic for the Southern Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads. During the 1970s, the wooden trestle caught fire - it was then repaired and the wood treated with creosote to prevent future incidents, although charring on some of the wooden supports is still visible.

At some point during the 1980s, the "Operator's House," a 15' x 27' building designed to shelter the lift span operator, was removed from the bridge after Southern Pacific Railroad obtained permission from the Coast Guard to fix the lift span permanently in the down position. The operator's house was formerly fixed atop the lift span.

In 2004, Union Pacific donated the abandoned bridge to the City of Salem. In Spring 2009, after an extensive rehabilitation effort, the bridge opened to carrying pedestrian and bicycle crossing over the Willamette River, one of the more celebrated public works projects in Salem in recent memory.

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Date Logged Log User Rating   12/16/2014 shadow101 visited it