The Santiam Canal cascades into the Calapooia River below the Third Avenue Bridge on July 1, 2026.
Albany’s Third Avenue Bridge over the Calapooia River is getting attention again. The question is: Can it be fixed or should it be replaced?
This gateway from downtown to Bryant Park is unusual in that the bridge has two distinct sections, a memo to the city council pointed out last month.
The upper section was built in 1960 with a concrete deck and piers. The lower and formerly wooden section was rebuilt several times, and in 2008 the wooden structure was replaced with steel.
The Santiam Canal empties into the Calapooia below the upper section, and the lower section ends under a railroad trestle.
In 2013, inspections prompted concern about the condition of the supports, and since then the bridge has been restricted to loads below 30 tons. City engineers say the bridge has a “sufficiency rating of 3 out of 100,” which sounds almost as low as a bridge can get.
Last month the city staff proposed, and the council agreed, to accept a grant under the Local Bridge Program of the Oregon Department of Transportation for a $1.6 million preliminary engineering study. The ODOT grant will be nearly $1.5 million, and the city will pay the rest, or about $168,000.
From the staff memo to the council:
“As part of preliminary engineering, ODOT will evaluate both replacement and rehabilitation options. Completing preliminary engineering will position the city to pursue future LBP funding or other grant opportunities for final design and construction.”
The staff memo says the grant funds are for the 2027-2030 funding cycle. So don’t expect anything to be done about that bridge any time soon. (hh)
From the Third Avenue bridge you have a nice view under the nearby railroad bridge toward the mouth of the Calapooia River.
I can vaguely remember the covered bridge that was there over 60 years ago. Here is a photo of that old bridge. https://www.salemhistory.net/digital/api/singleitem/image/max/4826/default.jpg
Thanks for the great photo of the old “Bryant Park” covered bridge. Too bad the City didn’t rebuild the covered bridge like the County did the Shimanek Bridge on what I call Gap Road east of Scio. The county rebuilt the Shimanek bridge in the 1960s, I think. I’m not sure of the date.
Wow. Thanks for sharing. How did this bridge account for the change in elevation down to the park?
It seems like only yesterday that the covered bridge was replaced with the present structure.
Cool picture, thanks for sharing,
Hasso: Forgot to comment that your picture of the view under the railroad trestle of the kids fishing and of the river and the foliage is just great!! Thank you.
Instead of 1.6 Million to study, why not just 1.6 million in repairs and call it done?
Because that’s how ODOT works. Spend the money on white collar jobs so you don’t have any left to do the actual work.
Would be pretty cool if they could use lower part of bridge to continue bike path from Monteith park to Bryant park
My family moved here from Roseburg in June of 1960. We lived on Calapooia St. between 3rd. and 4th. I remember the covered bridge but it was replaced just after we moved here. Great picture of the covered bridge. I agree, It would have been nice to have made repairs and upgrades to keep it there.