This was what was left of the Van Buren Bridge in Corvallis Wednesday. It is being dismantled so a new one can be built in its place.
Watching the dismantling of the Van Buren Bridge in Corvallis may give some people the idea or hope that Albany’s Ellsworth Bridge may some day be replaced as well. But that’s not likely unless a huge earthquake levels Albany’s downtown first.
On Wednesday I found myself on the Corvallis end of what’s left of the steel skeleton of the Van Buren Bridge. ODOT’s contractor is in the middle of taking down this historic relic, dating from 1913.
The one-lane bridge will be replaced with a wider one in the same spot. It will have two eastbound travel lanes, a buffered bike lane, plus a protected path for pedestrians and bikes.
The project is costing about $85 million for design and construction. ODOT hopes the job can be completed in 2026.
Until then, eastbound traffic from downtown Corvallis gets across the river on a temporary one-lane bridge with a protected bike and walking path on its side.
Why can’t ODOT do something similar with the 1925 Ellsworth Bridge in Albany to relieve congestion, which has been getting worse in recent years? Because it has two lanes already and there’s no room for more on the downtown side.
(Also, there’s no money for an Albany bridge replacement in ODOT’s plans. But even if there were, there still would be no room.)
So instead, Albany last April contracted for a $250,000 study of how to relieve congestion on Highway 20 (Lyon and Ellsworth streets, including the Albany bridges) from Ninth Avenue to North Albany Road.
It was to be a six-month study, but apparently it’s taking longer. The last anyone heard of it was in September, when the Albany Transportation Advisory Commission got an update.
According to the panel’s minutes, Transportation Systems Analyst Ron Irish told the group the study “is setting the stage for actual construction and [he] hopes to see some projects started in the next couple of years.”
What those projects might be, the minutes don’t say. But they have nothing to do with building a new bridge. (hh)
Eastbound traffic is using the temporary bridge between the old Van Buren span and the westbound Harrison Boulevard Bridge Wednesday.
I’m sad to see the bridge taken out it has a lot of memories for my family since the 1940s. I wish there was some way to have saved it for a walking bridge but was impossible ..
Does anyone remember the kids toy “Erector Set.” from the same era as this bridge? Of course this one is more complicated due to its size, traffic, and the fact that it’s built over water. But the dismantling process remains much the same. Then again, dismantling the erector set bridges and building a new one didn’t cost $85 million.
10 minutes pragmatic but not practical.
The congestion we see from 3:30 to 5:30 results from the traffic red lights in Albany. Suggest the lights on Ellsworth remain green for Southbound traffic for longer times; perhaps 10minute periods. It’s a flow problem–not a bridge problem.
No actually they need a trucking route that preserves our heirloom bridges!
I drive over the Van Buren bridge often for my commute. This is long overdue replacement. This bridge was originally constructed as a swing span bridge to accommodate river traffic (boats and barges). It hasn’t rotated in many decades. It was also constructed to be lightweight hence beneath the frequently pot-holed asphalt was a wooden deck. Recent years, ODOT imposed a weight restriction on the bridge for safety reasons (no semis, buses, garbage trucks, etc.) could legally cross. That was necessary, but pushed more traffic onto Hwy 20 for eastbound traffic. It meant that Linn-Benton Loop routes were altered. School buses had to use the Hwy. 34 bypass to get over the Willamette to Peoria/Colorado Lake/Riverside roads.
The new Van Buren bridge will reduce congestion in North Albany when complete.
In downtown Albany, the city should consider altering the traffic signals at Ellsworth and First, Ellsworth and Second, and allow for more vehicles to move off of the bridge. I assume these signals are controlled by ODOT. Perhaps Albany could explore a pedestrian/bike only bridge between downtown and N. Albany. Imagine parking at Takena Landing and walking to the Carousel within a few minutes. Or overflow parking for River Rhythms.
Gonna miss that bridge. I remember when it was the only bridge—one lane each way. That was slightly terrifying.
I am no engineer and I put up with the same frustrations as everyone else with the congestion and two bridges. However, as Hasso has said there are only two streets once you reach the south side of the river.
The problem isn’t so much with the bridges, as I see it but with commuters and a new bridge, or bridges, would not solve the problem. Just look at Portland, I-5 was built and in a few years was packed to capacity. Solution? Build I-205 and another bridge. Problem solved, for a few years now both are jammed and they are looking for a solution.
The problem is us folks. We are too tied to our car and the convenience of going where we want with the least interference. I’m just as guilty as the next person. Change has to start with us as users of the roads to change our habits. Mass transit, car pool, change start and end of shifts?
What Albany needs is a direct route to the freeway from Highway 20. It would completely bypass downtown Albany. That would help a ton!!!
Addition of a left turn lane at 2nd and Ellsworth would help. It would require the loss of a few parking spaces on the East side of Ellsworth. Count the number of left turns on 2nd next time traffic is backed up.
While I applaud a new Van Buren St bridge as it has been long overdue, it won’t necessarily solve the issue of a long back up. Yes, the one lane bridge would back up but the bigger issue is the signal at the Hwy34 bypass. When that turns red, traffic backs up and on to the bridge. Now you’ll have two lanes that back up onto the bridge. ODOT had a plan to make the right turn from the bypass onto eastbound 34 a direct flow (no signal) but the bicyclists demanded ODOT put in a protected light. I don’t see very many bicycles out there using the intersection, but it is what it is. Frankly, if ODOT had completed the bypass north of 34, this wouldn’t be an issue. Oh well… I doubt that will ever happen now.