Newell Creek Canyon Bridge

Oregon City, Oregon

MCE provided the structural design for the concrete abutments supporting a timber pedestrian bridge in an active landslide for Metro Regional Government. MCE worked closely with the geotechnical engineer, the bridge manufacturer and the contractor to develop solutions allowing the abutments to move without damaging the bridge. Based on previous slides, the solution considered an expected lateral displacement of the bridge abutments of 8 inches with an expected differential vertical settlement between bridge ends of 8 inches, and the possibility of abutment tilt (side to side) of up to 4 inches. The final solution utilized concrete mat foundations with steel cased micro-piles to minimize the possibility of localized movement in consideration of global movement. In addition, to minimize the impact of the movement of the soils on the timber bridge, the anchorage of the bridge was limited to one abutment, which allowed the other end to move freely.