Clarno Bridge

The designers of the Clarno Bridge faced a special challenge: The bridge was going to run over the John Day River, a state-protected waterway that often caused flash flooding. However, the Oregon Department of Transportation quickly overcame this obstacle. To avoid interfering with the river’s floods, the Department of Transportation ensured that the bridge’s main span did not contain intermediate piers. The Clarno Bridge was completed in 1975 and is still in operation.

See more buildings, bridges, and innovations from the 1970s in our 1970s timeline, part of our yearlong celebration of AISC's Centennial!