What happens during a bridge lift in Portland?

A major bike traffic jam!

Bikes as far as the eye can see. They got backed up during a lift of the Hawthorne Bridge leading into downtown Portland on Tuesday morning.
(Photo: Ian Stude)

The photo above was taken by reader Ian Stude who got caught in a huge back-up of cyclists on the Hawthorne Bridge yesterday. They were stopped on their way into downtown Portland due to a bridge lift at about 9:00 am.

Here’s how Ian described the scene:

“…the Hawthorne Bridge saw a huge traffic jam of cyclists today… When I came to a stop I was probably half way between the start of bridge (by the firestation on the east side) and the lift span. I snapped a quick photo of the long line of bikers and walkers in front of me [image above]. Within minutes…many more cyclists began to queue up behind me.

By the time the bridge finally came down, there was a line of cyclists at least 2 abreast stretching from the lift span all the way back to the firestation. It was awe-inspiring! I noticed several other people dismounting their bikes and looking at the long line of us with big grins on their faces… What a site, indeed. And just another day in BikeTown, USA.”

I too have noticed bike back-ups during my daily commute. The other day, at the bike traffic signal at N. Interstate and Lloyd, there were 15-20 cyclists bunched up at the light.

I can only imagine what will happen once summer finally arrives…