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New View 2000 Office of Student Life
Data taken from 1998 CORE Survey
DeFazio
continued from page 1
lars to alternative forms of trans
portation,” DeFazio said.
DeFazio said he considers the
bridge to be one of the highlights
of the Riverbank Trail system,
which stretches from the Univer
sity’s Autzen Foot Bridge all the
way to Valley River Center.
Former Eugene mayor Ruth
Bascom was also on hand to rem
inisce about the origins of the
Riverbank Trail, which was cut
28 years ago under her guidance.
“Maybe I love this riverbank
trail more than any other Eugen
ian,” Bascom said. “Or, maybe
not. ... Not a day goes by that
someone doesn’t say ‘thank you
for your work on the Riverbank
Trail.’”
Gesturing toward the DeFazio
Bridge, Bascom called it “the
most glorious part of the whole
project.”
Framed pictures of the bridge
were given to DeFazio and Bas
com, and a tracing of the plaque
bearing DeFazio’s name was
handed to him.
After cutting the ribbon, De
(i Maybe I love this
riverbank trail more than
any other Eugenian. Or,
maybe not. ...Not a day
goes by that someone
doesn't say 'thankyou
for your work on the
RiverbankTrail.’
Ruth Bascom
former Eugene mayor
Fazio made way for the Eugene
Celebration Slug, the mascot of
the Eugene Celebration, which
led a procession of bicyclists,
unicyclists and a bagpipe band
across the bridge.
Standing 66 feet tall and 338
feet long, the bridge was con
structed in a rather unusual way.
Because it uses a special design
involving a large central support
cable and a number of smaller
support cables stretching from
top to bottom, the bridge had to
be built from the center out.
“This is a unique structure,
and because of the suspension
design we had to start with the
middle observation deck and
work our way outwards,” Tom
Larsen, project manager for the
renovation, said.
After the observation deck was
hung from the cables, pre-cast
bridge segments were added to
each side until the completed
span reached the towers on ei
ther bank.
Bicyclists and pedestrians us
ing the Riverbank Trail can now
cross the river much closer to the
city’s center, rather than using
the Greenway Bridge across from
Valley River Center.