With a series of trucks crashing into the top of the Ellsworth Street Bridge over the Willamette River in Albany, the Oregon Department of Transportation has decided to take action by giving vehicles a little more headroom.
ODOT workers began preliminary work last week in an effort to increase the clearance to 16 feet from its current 14 feet, 11 inches.
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Contractors measured the bridge’s steel members for fabrication purposes, but according to ODOT public information officer Mindy McCartt, actual construction has been delayed until spring 2024.
For nearly 100 years, the bridge has featured the shortest clearance, according to ODOT’s website for the project, which identifies the Ellsworth Street Bridge as “historically significant.”
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Trucks that are too tall have found themselves stuck on Albany’s Ellsworth Street Bridge too many times, so now the Oregon Department of Transportation plans to increase its clearance from the current 14 feet, 11 inches to 16 feet.
Jess Hume-Pantuso, Mid-Valley Media
In October 2021, an excavator got stuck on the bridge, clpuncture armor as it stretched east on Highway 20 and backed up for 2 miles.
Two years earlier in a similar incident, but at night, a backhoe snarled on the stretch. Albany police cited the driver for failure to perform the duties of a driver.
A close-up of some of the damage caused by vehicles not complying with the maximum clearance for the bridge.
Jess Hume-Pantuso, Mid-Valley Media
By increasing the permit, ODOT expects maintenance costs to decrease, and takes the weight off drivers who have faced the consequences of driving over the bridge with a truck that’s too tall.
McCartt said among the items on the to-do list ODOT workers must tackle before construction begins in earnest,placement of elements and rivets, dust removal under the light, electrical work, lighting and coating.
As drivers enter the bridge there are three signs, two of which indicate the 14’6″ and 14’8″ clear heights of the right and left lanes, and a third for bicycle traffic crossing the bridge.
Jess Hume-Pantuso, Mid-Valley Media
The design cost of the bridge, according to ODOT’s website, is about $736,000, leaving the total construction cost at $5.1 million.
The agency plans a series of closings for the spring, including from 8 a.m. to 6 a.m. each night, with most of the traffic being diverted towards the Carrer de Lió bridge with signs and signals. Larger vehicles will have a longer detour for them.
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The project will also affect parking during full closures. Parking will be reduced on First Avenue between Lyon and Ellsworth streets, and one lane of Lyon Street between First and Third avenues will be closed, following the nighttime traffic pattern.
