Get to know Portland's bridges: Sellwood

• By the early 2000s, the original span had deteriorated significantly, and it was the busiest two-lane crossing in the state, carrying more than 30,000 vehicles daily. It only had one sidewalk — insufficient for bicyclists and pedestrians — and no shoulder or median.
• Cracks in the concrete led to reduced weight limits, which diverted trucks and buses away from the bridge and led local leaders to drum up plans for a replacement in 2006.

Zoom in: Designed by San Francisco-based engineering firm T.Y. Lin International, the Sellwood as we know it now is a 1,976-foot-long steel-deck arch bridge — the only one of its kind in the city — made of cinnamon-colored steel.

• Plus: It's the sole Willamette crossing designed to survive a major earthquake. (We're waiting on you, Burnside!)

Follow the money: The bridge cost $324 million to build — about $17 million more than initially projected — and was paid for by city, county and state funds, as well as federal grants tied to transit infrastructure improvements.

The intrigue: During construction of the new bridge, the old span was lifted up and moved slightly north to serve as a detour bridge while the new one was built.

• The move took 14 hours and engineers used Dawn soap to slide the bridge off its supports onto the new alignment.