http://www.theclackamasprint.com
Wednesday,Oct. 10,2012
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www.TheClackamasPrint.com
Clackamas Community College, Oregon City, OR
An independent, student-run newspaper since 1966
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Brad Heineke
Photo Editor
It has been a long two years
during the closure of a 90-year-
old bridge. The historic Oregon
City-West Linn Arch Bridge will
reopen at 5 a.m. October 15.
The bridge, which spans the
Willamette River below the
falls and begins the south end of
Oregon State Route 43, has been
a landmark and source of pride for
the community since its opening
in December 1922. The 745-foot-
long bridge replaced a wooded
suspension walking bridge that
was built in 1888.
The bridge has played a part in
many fun and colorful aspects of
ha.*» been a
i figurative trophy in the 92-je.u-
old high school football rivalry
between Oregon Cit\ and West
LinU ,efteri called the longest
T hebridgehasbeenstrength
ened to better withstand earth
quakes, the replica 1922 light
ing has been replaced and the
lighting improved overall and its
''guard 'fails are "sturdier accord- !
rivalry west o f the Mississippi. B.
The winning city “owns” the
mg to the Oregon Department o f
Transportation, which owns the
bridge for a year. In years past, the
OCHS Pioneers team, students
and marching band would parade
across the bridge to the nearby
West Linn High School for their
game.
“Battle for the Bridge” is in
fact the name of the alumni fun
draising game between the two
high schools, which this year
raised over $20,000 for Cystic
Fibrosis Foundation.
As it approached a century old,
this famous bridge was in need
of major maintenance and reha
bilitation repairs. It was closed to
traffic including pedestrians, Jan.
15,2011.
The Arch Bridge is a steel
bridge covered with concrete.
As part of the project, workers
removed the concrete, repaired
the steel where necessary and then
re-sprayed the concrete.
bridge.
The city is very
excited about the
reopening o f the
bridge.
Doug Neeley
Oregon City Mayor
The bridge could not be wid
ened, but some of its posts were
moved back five inches to give
“We actually had a few move,
drivers slightly more room.
Being on the National Register of but the Main Street Oregon Cifi
Historic Places, it could only be ¡Mfcganization has done a great jo i»
restored, so essentially looks the ?with promoting and has recruited 1
twice as many as we lost,” Neelej;
same as it did originally.
This was the first major reno said. “W ith the recently completei 1
vation done on the bridge .sines at,, $2.5, million streetscape improve^-
was built. The construction costs merit project and the renovatl
for the project are at $14.6 mil ed bridge, we anticipate a nice
lion. Nearly 90 percent of this has
been paid with federal funds. In
1922, the bridge was constructed
for $300,000.
“ODOT has been proud
to work on this bridge,” stated
Susan Hanson o f ODOT. “We
have worked closely with the local
businesses, residents, and Com
muters throughout the project and
appreciate their patience in the
rehabilitation of this regional trea
sure.”
Oregon City’s mayor agreed.
“The city is very excited about
the reopening of the bridge,” said
Oregon City Mayor Doug Neeley.
“There’s no question that the proj
ect has been an obstacle to some
of the downtown businesses.”
Downtown Oregon City even
lost a few businesses during the
construction..
increase in business downtown.”
More than 13,500 vehicles use
the bridge on average per day;
This route cuts several miles- of
congested intersections off a regu
lar commuters’ drive. Several hun
dreds of pedestrians arid cyclists
also use the bridge daily.
It provides a convenient link
from West Linn to downtown
Oregon City, as well as access to
the Tri-Met transit center. Bus line
35 Macadam and 154 Willamette
used to- cross the old bridge.
The narrow bridge was a tight
squeeze for these larger vehicles,
as traffic would generally stop at
the center span so the buses could
pass through, taking up most of
both lanes.
Please see BRIDGE, Pagri 3
N ew cross-country coach brings his ‘A’ gam e
Andrew Miilbrooke
Sports Editor
I f there is any sport that
toils in more obscurity than
cross country, I have yet to
find it. To run cross coun
try successfully, you must
put in the mileage. That
means hour after hour of
punishing work.
Early mornings and late
night runs to get that sec
ond workout for the day. I f
you don’t put in the work
and build the background
base, you simply' will not
succeed against well trained
runners.
New Head Cross
Country coach Jerret Mantalas
says his current group o f run
ners did everything he asked
over the summer in prepara
tion for the season. “As a
whole, people were willing to
get after it,” said Mantalas.
“That’s one thing I ’ve been
really happy about.”
Mantalas has been associ
ate head coach for the past
two seasons under head track
and field coach Keoni McHone
at Clackam as Com m unity
College and previously worked
as an assistant at Western
Oregon University.
“H e’s on time and works
hard, so he expects the same
from those around him,” said
M cHone o f Mantalas. “The
athletes can see that he is
excited for their sport and they
feed o ff that.”
M antalas
looks young
enough to be an athlete at
Clackamas and McHone said
that his “energy level” sets him
apart from others,
“H e’s a good fit for the
program,” said CGC Athletic
Director Jim Martineau. “Since
he’s been here w e’ve increased
our numbers.” Currently over
20 athletes are practicing daily
with the cross country teams.
Sophomore Cia Bywater
has led thé women this season
and has made a huge impres
sion on her head coach.
“Cia Bywater is a person
you build a cross country team
around,” said Mantalas. “She
is our leader in every aspect
that we do.”
Byw ater set a personal
record for 5,000-meters dur
ing the 6,000-meter race at
the Sundodger Invitational in
Seattle on Sep. 15. Bywater
finished 25th overall with a
23:08.59 clocking;
“It was a very ex cit
ing race,” said Bywater.. “It
was cool to P.R.” By water
is adjusting to dealing with
M antalas’ sarcasm. “I like
him, he’s definitely one o f the
best coaches,” said Bywater.
“H e’s a little sarcastic at times,
but h e’s pretty cool.”
Please see COACH, Page 7
MANTALAS