Portland State Magazine Spring 2019

23 The Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake—whenever it occurs—is expected to devastate the Pacific North- west and destroy most of Portland’s bridg- es, including the Burnside Bridge. Expert analysis indicates that the Burn- side Bridge is likely to collapse in a manner that would obstruct adjoining roadways since two-thirds of the bridge is over land, and block north-south ship traffic in the Willamette River. Worse, the five-lane roadway is a designated official “region- al lifeline route,” intended to carry first responders and needed supplies during emergencies. If the bridge were to fail, that lifeline route would be cut off. Because the Burnside Bridge plays such an important role in the life of the city, transporting more than 40,000 vehicles and 2,000-plus pedestrians and cyclists each day, Multnomah County engineers are undertaking a major bridge improve- ment project. And in an effort to generate imaginative ideas for the bridge and spark a public conversation, they enlisted professor Jeff Schnabel and his class of PSU Master of Architecture students to design concepts for the reimagined bridge. How do you design a structure that is at once functional, beautiful and iconic?” “