Tilikum Crossing

Tilikum Crossing
The bridge in 2016 with a MAX light rail train crossing it
Coordinates	45°30′18″N 122°40′01″W / 45.5049°N 122.6670°W / 45.5049; -122.6670
Carries	TriMet MAX light rail and buses; Portland Streetcar Loop Service; bicycles and pedestrians
Crosses	Willamette River
Locale	Portland, Oregon
Official name	Tilikum Crossing, Bridge of the People
Owner	TriMet
Characteristics
Design	cable-stayed[1]
Total length	1,720 feet (520 m)[1]
Height	180 feet (55 m)[2]
Longest span	780 feet (240 m)[2]
No. of spans	5[3]
Piers in water	2[3]
Clearance below	77.5 feet (23.6 m)[2]
History
Architect	Donald MacDonald[4]
Designer	T.Y. Lin International[5]
Construction start	June 2011
Construction end	2014 (of bridge only, not surface infrastructure)[2]
Opened	September 12, 2015
Location

Tilikum Crossing, Bridge of the People is a cable-stayed bridge across the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was designed by TriMet, the Portland metropolitan area's regional transit authority, for its MAX Orange Line light rail passenger trains. The bridge also serves city buses and the Portland Streetcar, as well as bicycles, pedestrians, and emergency vehicles. Private cars and trucks are not permitted on the bridge. It is the first major bridge in the U.S. that was designed to allow access to transit vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians but not cars.^[6]

Construction began in 2011, and the bridge was officially opened on September 12, 2015. In homage to Native American civilizations, the bridge was named after the local Chinook word for people. The Tilikum Crossing was the first new bridge to be opened across the Willamette River in the Portland metropolitan area since the Fremont Bridge, in 1973.^[2]