Sheridan Bridge - Sheridan OR

City:: Sheridan, OR
Site Type:: Infrastructure and Utilities, Roads, Bridges, and Tunnels
New Deal Agencies:: Public Works Funding, Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works
Started:: 1938
Completed:: 1939
Contractor:: Mountain States Construction
Quality of Information:: Very Good
Marked:: Yes
Site Survival:: Extant

Description

Sheridan Bridge was built with funds from the federal Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1938-39. It was not a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project – a common error repeated in the entry in Wikipedia, owing of the similarity of PWA & WPA. The plaque on the bridge states that it was funded by “The Emergency Administration of Public Works,” which was the official name of the PWA (another source of confusion).

Sheridan bridge was built under the authority of Yamhill County by the Mountain States Construction Company. It is a classic steel-truss type carrying two lanes of traffic across the Yamhill River in the middle of Sheridan.

In 2013, Wildish Standard Paving Company made repairs to the bridge, paid for by the Oregon Department of Transportation, that included seismic strengthening, new paint, and resurfacing. (wikipedia)

Part of the riverfront at the southwest corner of the bridge had collapsed when we visited in 2022, marring the appearance of the bridge but indicative of the economic decline of the old town of Sheridan.