Archie Briggs not only C.O. bridge falling short

The city of Bend has placed signs to warn commercial truck drivers of the new, lower weight limits on the Archie Briggs Road bridge over the Deschutes River for some heavy vehicles.

The bridge currently doesn’t meet new federal standards after the Oregon Department of Transportation conducted an inspection.

The weight limits affect, among other vehicles, garbage trucks and school buses, forcing a lengthy detour on Mount Washington Drive.

The city’s streets department has inspected nearly 100 bridges, culverts and other structures around town, and the Archie Briggs Road bridge was the only one found to not meet the new federal standards, according to Bend Streets Director David Abbas.

Abbas said the bridge is in very bad shape, and that led the city to take action.

Garbage trucks, school buses and snowplows won’t be allowed to use the bridge until it is brought up to code or replaced.

The Oregon Department of Transportation is also facing the same problem at other locations around Central Oregon.

“Highway 26, for example; there are a couple of bridges, they are just old,” said ODOT spokesman Peter Murphy. “They were built in the ’50s or ’40s, so they don’t have the kind of support, they don’t have the kinds of structure that can accommodate today’s large vehicles.”

There are about 2,700 bridges around the state, and most of them need upgrades.

The city of Bend says replacing the bridge will cost around $6 million.

Here’s the city’s initial news release:

The city of Bend said Wednesday it has placed a weight restriction on the Archie Briggs Road bridge over the Deschutes River affecting some heavy vehicles.

A recent Oregon Department of Transportation inspection using new federal standards rated the Archie Briggs Road bridge as “satisfactory.” That means the bridge is safe to carry passenger vehicles, but the inspection report recommends restricting use by some heavier vehicles.

Vehicles exceeding weight restrictions may use Northwest Mt. Washington Drive to cross the Deschutes River, officials said

The City of Bend has applied for federal funding to replace the bridge; the weight restriction will remain in place until the bridge is replaced.

For more information, including a detour map and what types of vehicles are impacted, visit http://www.bendoregon.gov/weightrestriction.