Clarence E. Mershon, East of the Sandy: The Columbia River Highway

According to anecdotal reports of highway worker families, when the bridge across the Sandy at Troutdale was built in 1912-13, many Indian artifacts were found at the east end of the bridge.

According to oral histories, Indians told early settlers that a village beside the Sandy River at this point had been covered by a rock slide. Glenora Emily, in her journal, mentioned that she was told this tale "by Old Indian John, a little dried up fellow some said to be 120 years old. I knew him when I was first married to Jack Vandever and lived near Fairview. He stopped many times and I'd give him doughnuts and a cup of coffee. He'd pour it in his saucer and drink it by putting his face down and slurping it up. He said he might spill it on my white tablecloth, his hands shook so."

Glenora reported that Charlie Bramhall, a County roadboss during the highway's construction, brought some of these artifacts to his home, including one that sat on his front porch for many years. She wrote, "...Someone gave his wife, Alma (Bramhall), a carved rock 'turtle' grinding bowl found there (at the Troutdale bridge)." The object to which Glenora refers remains in the Bramhall family; it now belongs to Bramhall's granddaughter, Pat (Bramhall) Paget. Its existence lends credence to Indian John's tale.

Clarence E. Mershon. The Columbia River Highway: From the Sea to the Wheat Fields of Eastern Oregon

When the Yakima Indian War erupted in 1856, Chief John (aka "Indian John"), leader of a band of the Multnomah tribe who formerly lived in the area, warned settlers living west of the Sandy of the danger.

Indian John's tribe had been decimated by epidemics of smallpox, measles and other communicable diseases caught from early traders. According to stories repeated by descendants of early settlers, his band had also suffered a catastrophic loss when an overhanging cliff face (part of Broughton Bluff) gave way suddenly and buried his people's camp. According to the story, the slide took the remainder of his small band, leaving Indian John and his wife the sole survivors. When Indian John's wife died, he laid her to rest among the native dead at an island up the Columbia River.

Hadlow, Landmark Nomination

CS2. Structure: Sandy River Bridge at Troutdale, No. 2019 HAER No. OR-36-A

Location: HMP 14.2

Date: 1912

Designer: Waddell and Harrington, Kansas City

Builder: Oregon Bridge and Construction Co.

Owner: Oregon Department of Transportation

The first modern bridge on what became the CRH, this structure consists of one 40-foot steel plate girder span and two nine-panel 162-foot Pratt through-truss spans. It has an 18-foot roadway. The bridge forms one of two entrances to the CRH from the west, and was originally part of Multnomah County’s rural road network.

BridgeHunter.com: Troutdale Bridge

Overview: Pratt through truss bridge over Sandy River on Historical Columbia River Highway in Troutdale

Location: Troutdale, Multnomah County, Oregon

Status: Open to traffic

History: Built 1912

Builders

- Northwest Steel Co. of Portland, Oregon (Fabricator)

- Oregon Bridge & Construction Co. (Contractor)

- Waddell & Harrington of Kansas City, Missouri (Consulting Engineering Firm)

Design: Pratt through truss

Dimensions:

Length of largest span: 162.0 ft.

Total length: 363.9 ft.

Deck width: 17.5 ft.

Vertical clearance above deck: 16.1 ft.

Also called

Sandy River Bridge

Average daily traffic (as of 2016)

3,200

Inventory numbers

OR 02019 (Oregon Dept. of Transportation structure number)

BH 30114 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Inspection report (as of September 2017)

Overall condition: Fair

Superstructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)

Substructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)

Deck condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)

Sufficiency rating: 12.5 (out of 100)

BridgeReports.com: HWY 100 over SANDY RIVER

Latest Available Inspection: September 2017

Good/Fair/Poor Condition: Fair

Status: Posted for load [P]

Average daily traffic: 3,200 [as of 2016]

Truck traffic: 8% of total traffic

Deck condition: Fair [5 out of 9]

Superstructure condition: Fair [5 out of 9]

Substructure condition: Fair [5 out of 9]

Structural appraisal: Basically intolerable requiring high priority of corrrective action [3]

Deck geometry appraisal: Basically intolerable requiring high priority of replacement [2]

Water adequacy appraisal: Equal to present desirable criteria [8]

Roadway alignment appraisal: Basically intolerable requiring high priority of corrrective action [3]

Channel protection: Bank is beginning to slump. River control devices and embankment protection have widespread minor damage. There is minor stream bed movement evident. Debris is restricting the channel slightly. [6]

Scour condition: Bridge with "unknown" foundation that has not been evaluated for scour. [U]

Sufficiency rating: 12.5

Recommended work: Widening of existing bridge or other major structure without deck rehabilitation or replacement [33]

Estimated cost of work: $1,865,000

Links

Library of Congress: Historic American Buildings Survey, Engineering Record, Landscapes Survey

Historic Columbia River Highway, Sandy River Bridge at Troutdale, Historic Columbia River Highway spanning Sandy River, Troutdale, Multnomah County, OR

http://loc.gov/pictures/item/or0362/

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