Big Creek Bridge (Oregon)

The Big Creek Bridge is a bowstring arch bridge that spans the Big Creek on U.S. Route 101 in Lane County, Oregon. It was designed by Conde McCullough and opened in 1931.

Big Creek Bridge No. 01180
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Big Creek Bridge
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Location	US 101
Nearest city	Heceta Head, Oregon
Coordinates	44°10′28″N 124°6′51″W
Built	1931
Architect	Conde B. McCullough, Union Bridge Co.
Architectural style	Classical Revival, Art Deco
MPS	C. B. McCullough Major Oregon Coast Highway Bridges MPS
NRHP reference No.	05000819 [1]
Added to NRHP	August 5, 2005

The bridge has a total length of 180 ft (55 m) and contains one 120 ft (37 m) reinforced concrete tied arch, identical in design to Ten Mile Creek Bridge and Wilson River Bridge. The locations for all three bridges were similar in that the sandy foundations were not secure enough for the abutment piers required to relieve the lateral pressure of traditional arches. The flood levels of the rivers approached the road grade and ruled out the use of reinforced concrete girders. The corrosive salt air eliminated the practicality of steel truss bridges. The design of the bridge was similar to the rainbow arch design patented by James Barney Marsh.

The bridge, along with the Ten Mile Creek Bridge and the Wilson River Bridge, was rehabilitated in 1996 to increase the overhead clearance and add a cathodic protection system to protect the embedded steel reinforcements against the corrosive air. A project to replace the cathodic protection system began in February 2014.[2]

See also

•  Transport portal
•  Engineering portal
•  Oregon portal
• List of bridges on U.S. Route 101 in Oregon
• List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon

References

Big Creek Bridge carries Highway 101 over the mouth of Big Creek on the Oregon coast where it empties into the Pacific Ocean.

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
2. "Work Begins to Preserve Historic Big Creek Bridge". lincolncountydispatch.com.

• Elegant Arches, Soaring Spans: C.B. McCulough, Oregon's Master Bridge Builder, Robert W. Hadlow, Oregon State University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-87071-534-8.

External links

• Big Creek Bridge, Spanning Big Creek on Oregon Coast Highway (US101), Florence vicinity, Lane, OR at the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER)