PORTLAND, Ore. — A Union Pacific train derailed early this morning at the east end of Portland’s historic Steel Bridge, closing the heavily used bridge while authorities assessed its structural integrity.
The derailment also meant the vertical lift portion of the bridge could not be raised, impacting ship traffic on the Willamette River.
“The issue here is that one of the fully derailed cars is leaning against a support column of the bridge, so out of an abundance of caution, we closed down the entire bridge to all modes of traffic,” said Lt. Laurent Picard, a spokesperson for Portland Fire & Rescue, told KATU-TV.
“… This is the hardest working bridge in the city. It takes TriMet [MAX light rail], multiple rail lines, light rail, cars, pedestrians, so there’s really no other bridge in the city that has as many modes of transportation across it. So it’s definitely a significant incident.”
Six cars derailed on a sharp curve leading to and from the bridge. Portland Police say they were called to the scene at 6:03 a.m. and that no injuries were reported.
The bridge’s upper level was reopened to vehicle traffic about 10:30 a.m., Oregon Public Broadcasting reports. Transit agency TriMet, which had reported on X that its Blue, Yellow, Red, Orange, and Green light rail lines were all affected by the closure, resumed rail traffic across the bridge by 1 p.m.
The Union Pacific-owned bridge, which dates to 1912, is also the route for Amtrak Cascades trains between Portland and Eugene, Ore.
— Updated at 7:15 p.m. CT with reopening of bridge.
