Big Creek Bridge, Tied-arch road bridge in Lane County, Oregon, United States.
Big Creek Bridge is a bowstring arch bridge on U.S. Route 101 in Lane County, Oregon, spanning Big Creek. It has a total length of 180 ft (55 m) and contains one 120 ft (37 m) reinforced concrete tied arch, identical in design to the Ten Mile Creek Bridge and Wilson River Bridge.
Designed by Conde McCullough and opened in 1931, the Big Creek Bridge carries U.S. Route 101 over Big Creek in Lane County. Its 120 ft reinforced concrete tied arch was chosen because sandy foundations could not carry the abutment piers of a traditional arch, flood levels neared the road grade, and salt air ruled out steel trusses. The design followed James Barney Marsh's patented rainbow arch. In 1996 it was rehabilitated with the Ten Mile Creek and Wilson River bridges to raise overhead clearance and add cathodic protection; replacement of that system began in February 2014.
The bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of a 1996 rehabilitation that also covered the Ten Mile Creek and Wilson River bridges, adding overhead clearance and a cathodic protection system against the corrosive salt air. Its design follows the rainbow arch patented by James Barney Marsh.
The bridge carries U.S. Route 101 over Big Creek in Lane County, Oregon. It has a total length of 180 ft (55 m), with a single 120 ft (37 m) reinforced concrete tied arch. The roadway crosses the bridge in line with the highway; no separate pedestrian path is described in the sources.
The bridge's 120-foot reinforced concrete tied arch follows the rainbow arch design patented by James Barney Marsh. Its two siblings, the Ten Mile Creek and Wilson River bridges, share the identical design, chosen because sandy foundations, flood levels near road grade and corrosive salt air ruled out abutment piers, concrete girders and steel trusses.
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