Built in 1910 to replace the second Madison Street Bridge, this bridge carried all of Portland’s standard-gauge lines—both city and interurban—over the Willamette River. The Woodstock and Richmond lines were actually regauged at the time so that they could run over the bridge.
From February to May 1931, the bridge was closed to general traffic to allow for modernization and repair work to be completed quickly. As part of this work, the streetcar tracks were moved from the outer lanes of the bridge to the inside lanes, with the idea being that this would improve traffic flow and speed. This work was phased in such a way so as to allow streetcars to continue operating over the bridge the entire time.
In early 1956, plans for new elevated approaches to the bridge on the east side did not include provisions for streetcar track, which would have effectively cut off direct service to the west side by the two remaining interurban lines from Bellrose and Oregon City. As legal battles to retain service raged, construction work began on the west side approaches to the new Morrison Bridge, which destroyed the west side interurban loop and cut service off anyway. Starting on September 17, 1956, interurbans terminated at SE First and Hawthorne, connecting there with buses to the west side. Once service was cut, it was never going to be reinstated, and the new Hawthorne Bridge approaches were built without access for the interurban cars.
In April 1957, the state public utilities commission proposed that interurban tracks across the river be laid on the new Morrison Bridge instead, but these plans came to nothing.
| Constructed By: | Waddell & Harrington (Kansas City, MO) – design Robert Wakefield & Company (Portland, OR) – substructure United Engineering & Construction Company (Portland, OR) – superstructure | | --- | --- | | Owned By: | City of Portland (1910–1913) Multnomah County (1913–Present) | | Date Opened: | December 19, 1910 | | Last Car Service: | September 17, 1956 | | Date Closed: | Still operates today | | Preceded By: | ‣ | | Succeeded By: | None |