It does it's job and I always did like it's unique look. For the most part, traffic moves pretty steady and all the lead ins on both sides feed in pretty well so you do not get a whole lot of dangerous situations or accidents. They have been promising, threatening and suggesting it's replacement for as long as I can remember.... read more

Interstate Bridge - 10/1/2024 - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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This is my second in my suite of bridge reviews. The first was the Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge which earned a ROTD. This is probably my second favorite bridge too, if I'm being candid. Traffic is always terrible no matter what time of day you're traveling. If you're really unlucky you'll get stuck in one of those raised bridge situations. Your day is completely fucked if that happens. The aesthetic of the bridge isn't bad. It's a dual truss design with vertical lifts. It's 3,538 ft. long and carries Interstate 5 over the Columbia River. Opened on Valentine's Day 1914 for the northbound span and southbound opened in 1958. I guess with the two world wars going on, that slowed down the project. The bridge has 3 north and 3 southbound lanes carrying well over 150,000 vehicles daily. In 1982 the bridge was placed on The National Register of Historic Places. There has been debate and proposals since 2005 about replacing the bridge and adding light rail to the new bridge. Of course nobody can agree on anything and it's been going on 20 years so I don't see anything happening soon. Ridiculous politicians. 2025 -Review #1 read more

Lift bridges are quite rare and a crossing that features a pair of them is even more so. The Interstate Bridge carries I-5 over the Columbia river and joins Portland Oregon with Vancouver Washington. It opened originally in 1917 as a single three-lane bridge and the second one (also three lanes) was added in 1958. The bridges are a dual-truss design and feature a vertical lift. When the lift is down, the bridge has a clearance of 72 feet above the river. When the lift is open (it's a different span that lifts), it has 176 feet. When the first bridge was opened, it had a toll until 1929. And then when the second bridge was opened, a toll was reinstated until it was removed in 1966 when the construction costs were paid. (You hear that, PANYNJ?) A replacement for the bridges is being explored but the costs are very high and if completed, might include a lane for the light rail. I guess we'll see. Meanwhile, enjoy crossing between Oregon and Washington! [Review 20924 overall - 14 in Oregon - 1908 of 2023.] read more

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Its a bridge. It got me over the Columbian River w/ no issues. 10/10 would drive over it again.

Actually a pair of twin bridges (northbound circa 1917, southbound 1958), the Interstate Bridge was the first designed for automobiles to span the Columbia River between Washington and Oregon States. Originally a toll bridge (5¢ per car or horse), the crossing also serviced streetcars until 1940. These days the structure(s) have earned a place on the National Historic Register - and a "functionally obsolete" rating. Together the spans handle hundreds of thousands of vehicles daily, and are frequently blamed for road vehicle and river traffic congestion. Despite its practical shortcomings, the bridge is still an aging marvel and a sight to behold. A walking trail parallels the river on either side of the bridge and travels underneath the massive roadway, affording some truly spectacular views. read more

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Oh the Interstate Bridge. The bane of existence for many a Vancouver-dwelling commuter. A structure that, while serving it's purpose of getting cars across the mighty Columbia from Oregon to Washington and vice-versa, is at the same time a maddening bottleneck and, in at least my opinion, an eyesore. This bridge has been the most perpetual landmarks in my life. A nomad of the Northwest, I have been traveling up and down the I-5 corridor ever since I was a baby, and of all the things on our many trips up and down the west coast, we always would see the towers of the big dirty green monster pop up on the horizon and we knew we were making progress toward our goal regardless of which direction we were headed. Now that I live in Portland, I have the distinct pleasure of crossing this bridge more and more often, and each time I do, I marvel at both the engineering prowess that created this huge, long-lasting span, and at the same time, I wonder when they're going to replace it with something bigger, wider, better, more functional, and hopefully much more æsthetically pleasing. With federal stimulus money coming down the pipe and plans in the works, it will probably be sooner than later. The impending demise of this big green bastard will be a little bittersweet for me. While I do look forward to something more versatile and less bottleneck going in, some little part of me will miss this... thing. A couple of commutes across the bridge at rush hour will probably solve that though. So how do you rate a bridge? 1 star for the looks, 2 stars for the functionality, 5 for the memories. In my fuzzy math, that works out to a 3. read more

Interstate Bridge - Photo by --b-- on Flickr - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Portland, Oregon

I would love to give this notable landmark a higher rating, but I simply cannot. The traffic during the daylight hours and in winter even longer is horrendous! It gave me flashbacks of LA/Orange County traffic and that's part of the reason I come to this area to escape! I swear there is no such thing as rush "hour" as the stopped or snail paced slow traffic lasts for hours on end! This bridge that connects both Oregon and Washington is crazy dated. I mean the original span (Northbound) accross the Columbia River taking the 5 Freeway from Oregon to Washington was opened in 1917 so it's almost 100 years old Party Peeps and the other span is not a whole lot better (Southbound) opening in 1958. I do have to give Civil Engineers props though for not waiting too long to transform this important conduit from one lane to three.... that still does not keep me from fear though... fear that at any time this 3500 foot long mass can fall apart! I put my trust in these engineers every time I cross this bad boy. When traveling South on the 5 Freeway this large green structure serves as a most glorious landmark that I am almost to the land of no sales tax and awesome restaurants or conversely when heading home that I am almost home. Boat traffic on the Columbia is much less than one would think and fortunately due to the horrible traffic as it is this drawbridge does not have to raise nearly as often as I'm sure others do! Most days up here prove gloomy, but when the days are nice this bridge proves nice for photos! read more

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How fun is this bridge, amazingly fun. No worries about traffic, however you can use public transportation to cross the bridge. We choose to walk across and enjoy the view. It was an awesome experience and we found a submarine in the middle of Portland. I wondered does it belong to somebody to get across the river or is it a tourist attraction? I may never know. Nice view from both side of the bridge. read more

Commute times--1 star; weekends----4 stars: viewed from a kayak--5 stars You may be unsightly, but you are functional and iconic. You inspire me to commute via bike. I needed the nudge. read more

Interstate Bridge (1917/1958) Pretty cool looking steel work. Two lanes each way but this is the mother of all slow traffic in our area depending on rush hour direction. AM. would be leaving Vancouver WA. & PM. Entering Vancouver WA. The good news is with the massive amount of time you spend in traffic, you'll have plenty of time to enjoy the beautiful steel work that is the Interstate Bridge. They keep talking about making this a toll bridge but we keep getting outraged and that's about as far as it goes. I can only imagine the traffic jam a toll booth would take on the masses. read more

Brief history first - The northbound span was finished in 1917. Thank you, president Wilson. The southbound span was finished in 1958. Thank you, president Eisenhower. History lesson over. Now it's time to share some information, some of which I'm just going to make up. So shoot me. Approximately 97464875286436486532519527.5 cars cross this bridge daily. Everyone traveling north is doing so to buy marijuana, drink high quality bargain IPA, buy non-lame fireworks or are trying to take advantage of our local naive farm women. Everyone traveling south is trying to save 1.37 in sales tax at Target. It's a drawbridge. It needs to be. Those ships can't exactly back up and go around, y'know. It has a height limitation due to it's proximity to PDX. It serves it's function as well as it can and IMHO, replacing it is not the best option. Even though the 'newer' section is now eligible for level 2 senior discounts, it's still in the upright position. Time for a third bridge. Just don't ask me where it should be placed. read more

I can't really go less then three stars. I mean the bridge gets its job done, It connects me with points north and I am a big fan of some points north. It's necessary as it is how I-5, the main noth to south freeway on the west coast crosses the Columbia. It gets alot of use. On the other hand the bridge is, to often, a bottle neck. It just isn't big enough to meet the needs of the metro area. It either needs to be expanded (and that idea went down in flames recently) or more options need built. Also the bridge is kind of ugly. It looks like it was several bridges mashed together with the ugliest lifts possible to let boats pass. There are a bunch of big steel beams so close together it is hard to enjoy the views. The lifts are distinctive and visible so you know when you are getting close but really there needs to be improvement here! So yes we need a new bridge, better yet more then one. I doubt anything will change soon though so in the mean time. Traffic it is... read more

I've driven on it. I've ridden my bike on it. It's terrifying to ride a bike on it since there's only room for one bike going each direction. Probably wasn't part of the plan when they designed this bridge in 1803 or whenever it was built. The scary part now is driving toward it from Portland going into Vancouver during the day in the middle of the day which I do once a week every week. We're all cruising along 1-5 at a good clip, and then someone gets on the freeway at Jantzen Beach and all hell breaks loose. People slam on their brakes, causing this weird gridlock and folks panic. That guy over there was just going 75 and now he's going 15; that truck barrelling down my backside is leaving a gap 11 car lengths long. It's like at the edge of the bridge everyone reverts to their 14 year old selves with a drivers permit and an angry parent begging them to stop grinding the gears. We get on to the bridge, it's packed and then magically, we survive the short jaunt on the bridge itself and everyone just disappears on the Washington side. Speeding resumes and away we go. I'm not sure why that bottleneck occurs on the Portland side - poor planning - fear - or just plain and simple bad drivers are forced to become good drivers and they just don't know what to do. Yeah - I think I'll go with that last one. Decent, decrepit, aging infrastructural bridge. It's on par for the Pacific Northwest. read more

Washington commuters invariably want more lanes added to this rapidly aging and deteriorating eye-sore and more importantly, they want someone else to pay for it. Even with a bunch of squinting and magical thinking it shouldn't require mystical incantations to figure out what they really want: they want you and I, fellow Oregonians, to foot the bill. That might be a bit more of a tolerable thought, dear-hearts, were it not for the readily observable fact that any given time of day, it is mainly vehicles w/ WA plates clogging up traffic on this bridge, as well as on 205. Oh, they could have had more lanes, maybe even another bridge or two by now. But they've faithfully shot down every ballot measure since Glenn Jackson to scrape together the dough to do so. What makes the I5 bridge especially pernicious is that, whenever you are on a tight time schedule, you can be very sure that the draw bridge is coming UP, delaying you for another good half an hour or so. Set your watch to it, 'cos it's comin' up! Too bad if you were just going to Jantzen Beach, you're gettin' stuck in it along w/all our lovely tax-dodging neighbors up north.. (Pertinent aside: since Washington voters are pretty reliably Democrat-leaning, as are Oregonians in the I5 corridor, you'd think they'd jump at any opportunity to raise taxes... isn't that their solution to everything? Raise taxes? Oh wait, I'm forgetting myself: by definition, and sweeping generalization, these are folks known for wanting the public services, but moreover, more to the point, insisting that someone else foot the bill for them. Not unlike how a precocious adolescent would reason. Case in point. Res ipsa loquitor.) read more

Hmm. what to say about a bridge? This particular bridge connects Portland, OR to Vancouver, WA. This is how we cross state lines here, and this particular bridge I cross twice a day, sometimes more. Living in WA and going to school in OR can be a pain. I haven't ever been on this bridge during a traffic jam, or when the bridge is lifting, although neither sound like a good time. I also wish that the exit for Camas was just a little bit more past the bridge, sometimes it's difficult to get over. read more

Yes, we do need a new bridge in place of this senior citizen of a bridge over the Columbia River, but I think I'll be a real live senior citizen before that happens. Even though I have a few years to go yet before I'm considered a senior citizen, the Interstate Bridge looms large in my memory. It just awed me at a very young age that it went over the mighty Columbia and was the pathway to another state. I also remember it was a toll bridge for awhile in the early 1960s. My dad always let my brother and I take turns tossing in a quarter every time we went back and forth over the river. A quarter. That amount makes me feel a little older I have to say. What's kind of cool is that they stopped accepting tolls once whatever debt the bridge had accrued was paid off. I sure don't see that happening in the future. Once they build a new bridge, we will be paying with tolls forever for its use. What is the weirdest for me is this bridge doesn't scare me as much as most bridges. It seems a little lower slung to me and closer to the water, even though it's considered decrepit by many. I remember riding in the back seat of the car as a child and falling asleep because of the hypnotic effect the way the lights on the bridge played off the steel and made a slow, repetitive reflection. It was oddly comforting and meant that we were getting closer and closer to home, especially when I read the "Welcome to Oregon" sign overhead. I do hope we get a new bridge sooner than not for everybody's sake, but in the meantime I enjoy the memories of our Interstate Bridge. She's done a better job of lasting it out than most thought she would. read more

I used to think these bridges didn't need replacement. Today I biked over the northbound bike/pedestrian corridor. It is extremely narrow, at about half or a third of the size of the one on the Broadway or Hawthorne bridge. I managed to survive it, but if a pedestrian was ever in the way of a bicycle, things could get really dangerous really fast. There are some very narrow pieces at the draw span where I almost "ate pavement" but slipped through. The best part today was seeing myself going as fast or faster than the cars in the right lane. I'm not sure why there is always such a bottleneck here, but there is. In case you were wondering, the original 1917 one is the span going north. The span coming south is the 1960s era duplicate. In case, y'know, you're ever trapped on them in an earthquake or something. read more

Not my favorite bridge ever, but it always feels like an accomplishment getting there. Traffic from Portland is horrendous so it normally takes about 45 minutes to reach the bridge and even then traffic is still going slow enough for me to check in every time. I always seem to miss the "welcome to Washington" sign if there even one. read more

I long for an alternate crossing around this area between Oregon and Washington. The interstate bridge, aside from being in the wrong location in Yelp's database, is simply awful. I believe, and please recognize that this is speculative on my part, that a malicious supernatural force influenced the city planners who called this one in. This bridge is somehow capable of bringing ANY sort of substantial traffic to a screeching hault. If you want to travel into Portland, I suggest doing so at 2am or earlier. If you arrive in Portland and want to return to WA, I'm sorry to tell you that it's never going to happen. You will be forced to sit in your car, JUST passed the Jantzen Beach exit, staring at the Hooters restaurant billboard, awaiting the zombe apocalypse. And yes, it will happen. Everybody knows that a deadlocked freeway is a death trap when everyone else starts to turn. All it takes is one asshole in the front of the line to get out of the car to "see what's going on" and everybody behind him is completely screwed. I'm not sure what my point was in this review other than to say that the bridge itself is only slightly more enjoyable than being eaten alive by humanoid monsters. read more

Pretty useful bridge if you ask me! Not sure why drivers seem to insist on slowing to below 50 mph when driving over it, but that's not the bridge's fault. Did you know the original bridge (northbound) was built in 1917 and that currently the bridge welcomes over 130,000 vehicles on a daily basis!? I'm sure that number is not a shock to anyone who commutes over the bridge daily. #wastingmylifeawayintraffic At least the view from the bridge in nice. Plus, there are helpful signs letting you know when you've crossed into the other state. read more

I've crossed this bridge so many times. As a former Vancouverite it was my portal to fun and the big city. I commuted by from Portland to Vancouver a few years, going over it everyday. I would look east in the mornings, watching the sun rise over Mt. Hood. In the evenings I would look west at the railroad bridge and the now vacant hotel. Biking over it is no fun with a narrow path that is shared by walkers and can collectors making to make some money in Oregon. Walking over is loud and hectic but can be enjoyable. I was going to originally give it three stars but with all the memories conjured from writing about it the bridge gets that extra star. Also it's nicer looking than the monstrosity of the 205 bridge and it's the only draw bridge on all of I-5. read more

Come on! After all this time you'd think both the state of Oregon and Washington could get it together. I was stuck on the approach to the bridge on the Oregon side of I5 for almost an hour. No wreck, no maintenance work, just regular traffic - at 1:00 PM on a Tuesday. This is getting worse every time I drive to and from Vancouver. Fortunately, I don't have to drive this route to and from work. At least the view of the Columbia River is interesting. read more

I like this bridge because of its sentimental value, however during rush hour it is severely inefficient. Oregon and Washington NEED to get along and finally update this transit. read more

In case you are like us and wonder if there is a toll for this bridge (seeing how the traffic was backed-up until the border when we crossed over); I'm happy to report there is no toll. That seems proper for an Interstate Hwy. read more

''Always my best favorite bridge when crossing north especially when I see Portland in my rear view mirror and then when glancing to my left and seeing picture post card Mt Hood off in the distance!'' Portland as well is picture postcard Beautiful but still a big city with it's problems of noise, overpopulation, crime, too many cars but love the overall general feeling of contentment when leaving! which is just opposite the feeling of dread,fear and unease when entering?'' Having stated my case about Portland the Bridge itself is awesome as a exit object but ugly when travelling south to enter this massive metropolis!'' It is being discussed now to replace it and if they do I hope it wont be something ugly as the present Bridge is Beautiful?'' 4 stars****! ''Thank you'' read more