Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Bridge

The Portland-Milwaukie light rail project is progressing and nowhere is it more evident than at the two towers which are growing out of the Willamette River.  When completed, this bridge will connect the west-side light rail to the new tracks on Grand Ave and the future Milwaukie track.  It will be the only bridge in Portland without auto access.  Two center lanes will be used for bus and light rail, with outer walkways for pedestrians.  Tri Met has a site for more information.  It has a ton of images about station layouts, track routes, etc (awesome!).  Check it out here: http://trimet.org/pm/

Here are my pictures and a notes:

Portland Bridge Swim, Submarine, and Clouds

I walked down the East-Bank Esplanade this morning to enjoy the cloudy and cool July weather and to catch a glimpse of the Portland Bridge Swim.  The Bridge Swim is an annual event in which swimmers travel under 11 Portland bridges as they swim 11 miles up the river (the Willamette River flows North, by the way). The race begins at the Sellwood Bridge and ends at the St. Johns Bridge. The Willamette must be so much cleaner than it was when I was a little kid. In the 90s, I assumed anyone who swam in the river would develop mutant qualities or be eaten by some kind of Superfund river monster…

Here are some shots from this morning. I also made a map of the Portland Bridge Swim’s route: