February 10, 2025 3:30 a.m.
The Stewart Park Drive Bridge in Roseburg has closed for rehabilitation work.
A city release said the Great Depression-era steel truss bridge is closed to vehicular traffic over the South Umpqua River until early November.
The structure is one of the smallest steel truss cantilever bridges in the country. The $6.3 million rehabilitation project will be paid primarily with federal funds from the Oregon Department of Transportation’s Local Bridge Program. The city will match just over 10 percent of the cost, paying slightly more than $649,000 from the city’s transportation fund.
A pedestrian and bicycle tunnel will be left open throughout the project, but the entire bridge will be contained in a wrap to keep lead-based paint from contaminating the river. In addition, all existing paint – including the toy layers of green paint – will be removed and the bridge’s color will be restored to its original black.
Drivers can access the south entrance of the Roseburg VA Medical Center from Northwest Stewart Parkway, traveling through Stewart Park to the VA facility’s entrance just north of the bridge. To protect bridge workers, motorists are asked to use caution when traveling through the work zone. Turning around at either end of the bridge will be very difficult.
After the project’s completion, the bridge will be load-rated to allow the passage of single-rear-axle fire trucks, which weigh about 43,000 pounds, and short-haul vehicles/commercial delivery trucks. The bridge’s load capacity will increase from the current 12 tons, or 24,000 pounds.
Along with strengthening the bridge, the renovation project will include replacing the current walkway with plastic lumber decking. The handrail design will change from a metal-mesh screen to a simpler design with top and bottom rails and closely spaced vertical uprights. Lighting on the bridge will be improved as well.
The 327-foot bridge is considered both functionally obsolete and structurally deficient. The city originally asked the state in 2015 to completely replace the bridge. Oregon Department of Transportation said they would not support replacement but would support rehabilitation. The city won a rehabilitation grant through ODOT in 2019.