Why Portland Is Building a Multi-Modal Bridge That Bans Cars

PORTLAND, Oregon—It's an early-summer morning at the construction site for Portland's first new bridge in a generation, the Tilikum Crossing, and Dan Blocher is feeling good about its progress. Completion is still a year away, but since the two ends of the bridge were connected in the middle several weeks ago, public response in self-described Bridgetown (when it's not, say, the Rose City, Stumptown or Rip City) has been positive.

"Most people can sort of viscerally recognize an inherent beauty when the bridge is properly designed for its need," says Blocher, executive director of capital projects for TriMet, the city's transit agency. "I think you know when you've got it right when the completed product just seems to fit, just like it belongs there. And we feel very good about the feedback we're getting on this bridge now that you can see what it's going to look like."