Uploaded September 2016 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
While visiting family in Portland, Oregon, I had a day to myself to explore. Being a fan of light rail, I checked out the new Tillicum Crossing Bridge across the Willamette River just south of downtown. The bridge opened to traffic in September, 2015, and carries pedestrians, Tri-Met busses and MAX light rail tracks only – no vehicles allowed. All told, there are 12 bridges across the river in Portland, 10 of which are for vehicles. One, the Steel Bridge, carries vehicles, light rail, passenger and freight trains. The Willamette River Drawbridge, used by both UP and BNSF, is the only rail-only crossing and connects Portland with Vancouver, Washington.
On this day, I walked across Tillicum Crossing a couple of times and then road the Portland Streetcar across the span, north through downtown Portland, east across the Broadway Bridge and then south back to my starting point.
While visiting family in Portland, Oregon, I had a day to myself to explore. Being a fan of light rail, I checked out the new Tillicum Crossing Bridge across the Willamette River just south of downtown. The bridge opened to traffic in September, 2015, and carries pedestrians, Tri-Met busses and MAX light rail tracks only – no vehicles allowed. All told, there are 12 bridges across the river in Portland, 10 of which are for vehicles. One, the Steel Bridge, carries vehicles, light rail, passenger and freight trains. The Willamette River Drawbridge, used by both UP and BNSF, is the only rail-only crossing and connects Portland with Vancouver, Washington.
On this day, I walked across Tillicum Crossing a couple of times and then road the Portland Streetcar across the span, north through downtown Portland, east across the Broadway Bridge and then south back to my starting point.
