Bridge to No where
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hearts2002
- Posts: 1
- Joined: May 17th, 2010, 12:57 pm
Re: Bridge to No where
Since 63 is now open... What are the better directions? We want to head that way this weekend...
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mattisnotfrench
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- Location: SE Portland
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Re: Bridge to No where
Stay on Road 63 until it becomes FR6380. When you reach the bridge over the Collowash, keep straight instead of turning and crossing the river. It's about 1/4 mile down this road.
Author of Extraordinary Oregon!, PDX Hiking 365, 101 Hikes in the Majestic Mount Jefferson Region, and Off the Beaten Trail. Website: www.offthebeatentrailpdx.com
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johnsora2425
- Posts: 1
- Joined: March 12th, 2013, 12:12 pm
Re: Bridge to No where
Resurrecting a dead thread here. I love the outdoors, engineering, and history, so this topic caught my interest.
I came across this "bridge to nowhere" when working for the FS during the summer of 2000. The older guy working with me (although not old enough to have been working when the bridge was built) told me they had built the bridge during the summer of 1964 with plans to expand to the south for logging. That part is consistent with the other post. The story I was told is that much of the Clackamas River drainage was heavily damaged following a 100-year flood in December 1964 and that funding was focused elsewhere following the flood. Below is the Wikipedia page on the flood. I remember how crazy insane the 1996 flood was and it took almost two years to open up major parts of the upper Clackamas road system following. Apparently the 1964 flood was worse.
Now the wilderness designation may be a part of the story as the area south of the bridge is now the part of the Bull of the Woods wilderness, but that was not designated a wilderness until 1984. So there was 20 years between the bridge construction and the wilderness designation. That's plenty of time to build roads and log if there was no other interim protection status in place. I am curious to learn more if anyone else knows the history up there.
1964 Flood: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_flood_of_1964
A couple 1964 Clackamas River pics here: http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/CS/BSS/Pages ... otos1.aspx
Bridge Location: http://goo.gl/maps/Wvtu6
bull of the Woods Wilderness: http://www.bullofthewoodswilderness.com/history.htm
I came across this "bridge to nowhere" when working for the FS during the summer of 2000. The older guy working with me (although not old enough to have been working when the bridge was built) told me they had built the bridge during the summer of 1964 with plans to expand to the south for logging. That part is consistent with the other post. The story I was told is that much of the Clackamas River drainage was heavily damaged following a 100-year flood in December 1964 and that funding was focused elsewhere following the flood. Below is the Wikipedia page on the flood. I remember how crazy insane the 1996 flood was and it took almost two years to open up major parts of the upper Clackamas road system following. Apparently the 1964 flood was worse.
Now the wilderness designation may be a part of the story as the area south of the bridge is now the part of the Bull of the Woods wilderness, but that was not designated a wilderness until 1984. So there was 20 years between the bridge construction and the wilderness designation. That's plenty of time to build roads and log if there was no other interim protection status in place. I am curious to learn more if anyone else knows the history up there.
1964 Flood: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_flood_of_1964
A couple 1964 Clackamas River pics here: http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/CS/BSS/Pages ... otos1.aspx
Bridge Location: http://goo.gl/maps/Wvtu6
bull of the Woods Wilderness: http://www.bullofthewoodswilderness.com/history.htm
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BrianEdwards
- Posts: 2405
- Joined: February 2nd, 2010, 1:32 am
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Re: Bridge to No where
The Floods invariably played a role in delaying any new construction so far up the drainage, as you couldn't get there for several years. They built the bridge in the summer because that area stays snowed in for 7+ months of the year. The plan I read in an old .pdf was to construct a road the following spring. Dec '64 changed everything. I can't find that old PDF I read
Clackamas River Waterfall Project - 95 Documented, 18 to go.
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longboard16
- Posts: 34
- Joined: June 10th, 2022, 12:45 pm
Re: Bridge to No where
Even though this thread has been inactive for some time there is a update to note. The Forest Service is doing their assessment after the recent fires and they have recommended closing Road 6380120, which I believe means decommissioning what is left of it. They are also proposing closing road 6380130, which is the road to the right after you cross the upper Collowash River bridge, with the left turn road to the trailhead remaining open.