Fremont Bridge

For a while several years ago now, I lived in an apartment with views of this bridge, during the day looking across NW Portland at the bridge was nice. At night however it was much better. I could lay and bed and watch the lights on the bridge and the headlights of vehicles crossing the bridge.
It is as attractive of a bridge as it is huge. It has traffic stacked on two levels each going a different direction. It is fairly long but with the onramps and off ramps feels even longer.
I usually am the one driving so I am focused on the driving skills (or lack of) of the other drivers on the bridge, it seems they all are trying to change lanes. The bridge even has left hand exits which are rare in Portland. So it is all to often, a big mess.
Far better is the rare times I am a passenger. Because this bridge has some great views, that is always a treat! It has the best views of the Pearl I have seen anywhere.
Tip if you are into biking, once a year they close most of the bridges in Portland for the Bridge Pedal when you can ride your bike over the bridge and really see the views.

This is a fun bridge for me. I like that you can see everything south of it, including all of downtown, going west. And can spot St. Helens and Mt. Hood going east, on a clear day.
I’ve hit traffic going west from time to time, but that’s usually getting to the bridge, not actually on it.
This one is a fun one to take pictures of and is pretty normal looking! Yay for arches!

No pedestrian walkway. I am thus not allowed to experience this stunning bridge. Looks great from ground level.

Great spot to commit suicide. Those long drops are fabulous! It’s definitely «kewl» and «zany» so hipsters, listen up! Commiting suicide is the most hip and weird piece of performance art, so go out there and get to it! Your friends will love you for doing some thing so «edgy» and «hip», you will be known as the most hippest person around! Us born and raised locals will enjoy it too! So if your new mixtape of indie rock isn’t doing too well, and you need a new schtick to be «hip», come jump off the Fremont Bridge! Did I mention it was also artisanally crafted by GMO-​free organic workers who made it out of gluten-​free, vegan steel?

The Fremont Bridge is the least weird of Portland’s bridges. It goes from North Portland to Northwest Portland, near Goose Hollow. It undertakes a conventional route of dividing the road into lots of freeways, but the zig zag of the bridge sets it apart as far as design.
The construction is glowing white with several bows as the look of the bridge. It looks adorable and adds some normalcy.
When you are on it, you can see much of Portland. You won’t see many skyscrappers but below isn’t exactly just ants. You can see our people on the ground.
This bridge is something great to embark across.

Growing up in Southern Oregon, Portland was ‘the big city’. I have fond memories of driving over the bridges and staring at the buildings thinking: ‘Someday I’m going to live in a city like this’. And now I do. Same one in fact.
Driving into Portland over the Fremont bridge gives me the same feeling. I particularly like driving towards the city during sunsets. It’s just the best.

The Fremont Bridge is a steel tied-​arch bridge over the Willamette River located in Portland, Oregon. It carries Interstate 405 and US 30 traffic between downtown and North Portland where it intersects with I-​5. It has the longest main span of any bridge in Oregon and is the second longest tied-​arch bridge in the world. The bridge has two decks carrying vehicular traffic, each with four lanes. The upper deck is signed westbound on US 30 and southbound on I-​405. The lower deck is signed eastbound on US 30 and northbound on I-​405.
This is a very tricky bridge. It’s hard to notice it’s beauty when you’re so busy screaming at the car that just cut you off from the left (not even a lane) to get to the I-​5 (because it’s sketchy).
I take this bridge twice a day to get from my home in Camas, WA to school in Portland, OR. From the top deck which is where you get into Portland, you can really see the beauty of the city. On clear days, Mt Hood is especially visible. But this is also where people jump off, so there is often an accident or police barricade. Yes. It’s very sad.
Enough with the sadness though. This is a huge bridge. Again, it’s hard to tell or take in it’s magnificence when your on it, but if you see it in photos it’s very breathtaking.

I drive across this bridge twice a day for work. Not much to say other than its gets me across the river and where I need to be! Weekday evenings are normally pretty awful, but that’s what you get when you’re a commuter, like me. This is one of Portland’s biggest landmarks, not to mention focal point when looking at the city from different locations.
When its windy or crowded and your stuck on top of it in traffic, you can feel it bouncing and moving with the traffic of other cars and its kind of freaky! Also, when there is fog in the evenings or mornings, its pretty cool to drive on.
That’s about as good as it gets for a bridge review.

This has always been my favorite bridge to cross over to the west side of PDX ever since I was a wee lad. The view from atop this tall bridge is quite lovely, unfortunately you cannot cross by bike or foot as this is a vehicle only bridge.
Traffic during rush hour is bad on the double decker bridge and the east bound crossing is the lower deck so the view is not as nice however — during the daytime or at sunrise or sunset on a weekend I encourage you to traverse the Willamette westbound and enjoy the view of downtown from atop this puppy. Do it with little to no traffic so you can sort of go at your own old lady Sunday driver pace to have more time to take in the view.

My favorite bridge in all of Portland!
Although the Fremont bridge it is not open for any foot traffic or cycling it sure is a favorite one to be stalled on– when someone else is driving of course!

Drive over it twice a day and love it each time. The nighttime views of downtown are amazing!

Fremont Bridge (1973)
The Fremont Bridge is easily identified by the flags atop its rainbow arch which is 381 feet above water level. The Fremont is impressive because of its size: It is both the longest bridge in Oregon and the longest tied-​arch bridge in the world.
Even its design and construction processes were remarkable. The Oregon Dept. of Transportation hoped to avoid the negative public reaction its Marquam Bridge had received in 1966, so ODOT invited the Portland Art Commission to give conceptual input on this bridge. Various public and private firm engineers collaborated on its high tech, computer-​aided design. Engineers from all over the world came to watch the completion of its assembly which was a record-​setting bridge lift: Over a 50-​hour period 8 hydraulic jacks at each corner hoisted the 902 foot-​long, 6,000-ton center span arch up into place 175 feet above the river.
The Fremont opened in 1973. Its concrete lower deck (for eastbound traffic) is suspended from its upper (westbound) deck. The latter is made of steel plate and was designed with strengthening properties in two directions («orthotropic»).
The bridge is named for the street which was to have been its eastside approach; the street is named for John Charles Fremont who was paid to survey the Oregon Trail.

The Fremont Bridge is the longest bridge in Portland!
PERKS
If you’re sitting in traffic during rush hour, you do have a wonderful view of the city! (rain or shine). What’s nice about the tied arch bridge is that it’s quite unique and quite eye-​catching if you’re driving around Portland itself. Consider it a valuable landmark of the city.
DIRTS
— traffic during rush hour heading I-​5 N is busy from 3:30 — 6:30 PM
— traffic during rush hour heading I-​5 S is busy from 3:30 — 6:30 PM as well and bottlenecks as it merges with the I-​405
— beware some of the four lanes will fork into either an exit or another freeway
FYI =
*There are several suicide hotline signs on each side of the bridge
*Connects you to the I-​5 and I-​405 (vice versa)
*Has two decks (for each way of traffic) with four lanes
*Upper Deck leads you to US-​30 West and I-​405 South
*Lower Deck leads you to US-​30 East and I-​405 North
*Longest bridge in Portland, OR
*2^nd Longest tied arch bridge in the world!
*Named after James Charles Fremont (an early Oregon explorer)
*Established Nov. 15, 1973
PDX 30 Day Unilocal Challenge #24 of 30

this is obviously a great bridge. it provides a great function which is the crossing of said bridge. I think the only way for a bridge to get one star is if it is impossible to cross or if it collapses when you’re trying to cross it. That would be a shity bridge. thank you Unilocal for allowing me to review this fantastic fully functioning awe inspiring monstrosity of architecture.
now i’m going to go give the oakland bay bridge one star.

It’s Huge!
It has suicide hot-​line numbers posted everywhere.
It is scary high.
It’s very loud to be near, anywhere near.
They store the streetcars under it.
It has no walkway or ways for pedestrians to enjoy it.
It is scary high.
It is a nice looking bridge, it gets the job done quite well, but it lacks the character required for a 5 star Portland bridge review.

Dear readers, I am here today to tell you that the Fremont Bridge is one of the oldest and most important urban habitats for the endangered Peregrine Falcon in the Pacific Northwest. In fact, it was at this site that the first Peregrine was sited in Oregon after it was believed to have disappeared from this part of its range.
This is just one of the many things I love about the Fremont Bridge. I love how quickly it gets me from the eastside to downtown, and I love the line of its iconic arch.
Extra points for local flavor since this bridge was also the site where monitoring biologists once stopped a homeless man who was trying to walk off with a live Peregrine.

I do love the Fremont bridge. When I was a kid, we’d visit Portland and I’d crane my head back and look up through the rear window of the car and watch the crossbeams pass overhead. That, and the «Old Stag» sign, are among my earliest Portland memories.
Now, I love the Fremont for the way it dominates the northern skyline in my part of town. When I’m driving home I can take the car out of gear as I pass over the apex and coast all the way to the light at Couch (or as far as Alder, if I hit green lights) and feel like some sort of super hero.
I have to dock a star because it’s impossible to get the view of the bridge I want. I know, it’s not the bridge’s fault, but something so majestic should be able to be photographed in the most idea setting…

The Fremont (a steel tied arch or through arch bridge) got its lovely curves as a reaction to the butt ugly Marquam Bridge.
Where the Marquam’s clearly a self scratching dude, the Fremont’s a real woman.
Six times more expensive, but easily six times as lovely.
I wonder if in the thirty years since its completion, if it’s become now possible to build affordable bridges that have both form and function. You’d think.
Unrelated note: It’s funny and sad, but I still mess up the I-​5 South, head left to go right, connection when traveling east on the bridge. Let’s just say sometimes drastic multiple lane changes occur.
Anyway, I like big curves and the photos don’t lie, The Fremont’s banging. Checkout the gallery to see how I got lucky with this one.
(edit: ugh, this «review» is just another example of why 4am is for sleeping not writing)

The «Big Bridge» as I call the Fremont Bridge is one of the largest bridges that spans the Willamette River. Located to the North of Portland and breaking off of I-​5 into Portland, this two tiered span provides excellent views of the city for any passenger. I enjoy driving it because once on it, it has plenty of lanes to navigate and it’s always bright when driving South on it for some reason. The views of downtown Portland are excellent. Going North, you get a darker more industrial view of Portland with the rail yards and opposite bank.
It can get very congested on both ends of the span during peak commuting hours, so I would try to avoid those times at all costs.

Fremont Bridge is literally one of Portland’s biggest landmarks. It’s the big, arched, white bridge that spans the Willamette River and connects I-​5 to I-​405 on the north end of town. It has 2 giant flags up at the top of the arch, and can be seen from just about anywhere in town. This double-​decker is large and in charge of the skyline. If you haven’t seen it or don’t know what I’m talking about, then you’ve never been to Portland.
The bridge itself gets a solid 4 stars from me for not ever having collapsed into the Willamette below, especially while I’ve been driving on it. The bridge itself can get very clogged during rush hour, especially evening rush hour heading North, but I feel that this is more a factor of the always-​clogged I-​5 to which it connects, rather than the result of the bridge design itself. Coming southbound on the bridge is the fun part, because you get to enjoy one hell of a view from the upper deck.
Now rumor has it the guy who designed the bridge refuses to drive over it himself. I was told by a local engineer that, in legend, the designer used some form of steel that is particularly likely to shear under some random force of pressure, and therefore he’s deigned never to drive over it himself. This of course doesn’t make any sense to me… why would you design a bridge using a product that could fail at any time, unless you’re looking to go down in the history books on the page opposite GWB? It does, however, make for a great story any time you’re stuck in traffic on the bottom deck (north-​bound) of the bridge in a car full of people in rush hour traffic.
Once a year, the bridge is closed to traffic for the bridge pedal, which looks like a lot of fun, but to date something my lazy ass has never participated in. Seems like it would be fun to be up on that huge span on foot/​bike.
Overall, it’s a much nicer looking, taller, and more grand version of it’s bastard stepbrother the Marquam Bridge (the other Interstate Highway connector at the south end of town). If it ever does come tumbling down, it will be one hell of a show (as long as I’m not on there when it comes down).