The Burnside Bridge is part of the Burnside regional lifeline corridor

What is a lifeline route?

A lifeline route is a route that allows emergency services to respond after a major earthquake or other disaster. Afterwards, it remains open to support survival and recovery.

A lifeline route will maintain access to fire stations, hospitals and other emergency services right after a quake. This will allow first responders to get where they’re needed. After that, it will allow for food, water, medical supplies and other necessities to be brought in. It will also allow people to be evacuated to unaffected areas.

In the longer term, a lifeline route will support rebuilding by allowing movement of people and freight to where they are needed.

What makes the Burnside a lifeline route?

Metro declared all of Burnside Street a regional lifeline route in 1996, including the Burnside Bridge. Burnside Street (sometimes Burnside Road) runs almost 19 miles, from the Washington County line in the west to Mount Hood Highway (US 26) in the east. 

Burnside Street was chosen because it had the fewest risks of having overpasses collapse on it during an earthquake. 

The machinery that opens the Burnside is simpler and better protected than other moveable Willamette River  bridges. There are also no connections to I-5. The Morrison Bridge is similar to the Burnside in how it works, but is in danger of its I-5 ramps collapsing on top of it in a quake.

What are we doing to keep the lifeline route open?

In 2002, we  installed installed seismic restraints to keep some Burnside Bridge sections from coming apart in an earthquake.

Now the Earthquake Ready Burnside Bridge project is studying options to upgrade or replace the bridge. We've narrowed it down to four alternatives, and are conducting an environmental review to determine the best option.