Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 1.djvu/881

619 Hallock & McMillen 16,000 Johnson & Perkins 10,000 Amos N. King 12,300 Ladd, Reed & Co 19,000 Lewis Love n ,740 D. H. Lownsdale 30,000 Leonard & Green 6,300 Ladd & Tilton 30,000 Wm. S. Ladd i7>500 P. A. Marquam 10,000 Jacob Mayer 13,000 E. J. Northrop 14,500 Benjamin Stark 55'^*^ Sherlock & Bacon 13,500 J. Seller & Co 30,000 R. R. Thompson 3,500 Jacob Kamm 11 ,000

BRIDGE TRAFFIC.

From the days of 1887 when a ferryboat accommodated all the travel and traffic crossing the river at Portland down to 1910, there has been a mighty change ; a great expansion of the city out into the level country on the east side. Three bridges were open when the following statistics were collected — Hawthorne bridge being in process of construction.

Between the hours of 6:30 and 8:3b o'clock a. m. on the average week day 4,118 pedestrians and 1,639 vehicles, not including street cars, cross the three bridges between West Portland and; East Portland. Between the hours of 5:30 and 7:30 o'clock p. m., the number of pedestrians crossing the three bridges is 4,784 on the average week day, and the number of vehicles, not including street cars, 1,494.

An average, therefore, of nearly 9,000 persons, drivers and occupants of more than 3,000 vehicles, in addition to the thousands who patronize the street cars, and cross the bridges daily.-

More footmen use the Morrison Street bridge during the day than use the other two bridges combined. The average number crossing the steel bridge on a week day is 5,910, and the Burnside bridge 6,736, while the number using the Morrison Street bridge is 14,900.

In light vehicles, the Burnside bridge has the greatest traffic. This class includes passenger automobiles, carriages and the like. The Burnside bridge carries on a week day 2,387 of this class of vehicles, the Morrison Street bridge 2,109, 3-^d the steel bridge 808. The Morrison bridge, however, again holds the record on heavy vehicles, carrying on an average week day 3,800, as against 2,019 by the Burnside bridge, and 1,1 11 by the steel bridge.

As this book is written, a great contest goes on, whether the land traffic across the bridges shall give way to the river traffic passing through the open draws. The statistics above were taken to settle that question.

The river traffic is enormous, and the U. S. army officers favor the river traffic.

In 1864, when there were no bridges, the largest freighter was the sailing vessel Jane A. Falkinberg, carrying 600 tons ; and she was a wonder in Portland harbor. But a few days ago (October 10, 1910) the 10,000-ton steamship Kumeric steamed into the harbor, and about the only comment made on her size was that of the hundreds of people who were exasperated at the length of time required to get her through the bridge draws. The Falkenberg was 137 feet long, 29 feet