O.D.O.T Green Traditional Cache
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Nano, BYO pen & tweezers to get log out of container. Limit log to initials & date please. If you have a camera please take a photo of nearby McLoughlin Bridge & upload it with your online log. Park closed from 10pm to 5am.
That's all you need to know to find the cache. Read on to learn about the Bridge and some trivia as to why many bridges in Oregon are painted the color of Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) Green.
Renowned bridge engineer Conde B. McCollough designed the John McLoughlin bridge. It was built about 75 years ago for a budget of almost $83,000. McCullough designed a number of beautiful bridges in Oregon, most notably on the Oregon Coast. He also designed the Hwy 43 Oregon City/West Linn arch bridge over the Willamette River.
The McLoughlin Bridge stands on fluted main piers with arch shaped openings. This artistic detail, plus the ornate art deco style entry pylons are visible in the architecture of McCullough's large coastal bridges. (visit link)
What made this structure unique for its time was the use of the "tied-arch" system. It was the first of its kind in America, (the design having been developed in Europe). McCullough chose slender, delicate hangers to gracefully suspend the deck from the arch ribs, thereby presenting the motorist a relatively unobstructed view of the landscape.
Mounted on the bridge is a plaque that states: "The Dr John McLoughlin Bridge, the most beautiful bridge of its class, in the United States, 1934". This honor was earned by McCullough, presented by the American Institute of Steel Construction.
McCullough had submitted a watercolor sketch of the bridge design to the American Institute of Steel Constructions Competition. On his sketch he tinted the steel arches green.
In truth, back in those days the Oregon State Highway Department (OSHD) covered the exposed metal portion of that bridge, and all other bridges, with inexpensive black lead paint.
When McCullough learned representatives of the American Institute of Steel Construction were coming out to Oregon to present him the award, he sent out crews to paint the metal arches green so that the bridge color would match the watercolor sketch he'd submitted.
For decades afterwards, the OSHD painted metal portions of its bridges green - now known as "ODOT Green" in color chip charts for bridge coatings.
Reference: Elegant Arches, Soaring Spans: C.B. McCullough, Oregon's Master Bridge Builder, Robert W. Hadlow, Oregon State University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-87071-534-8.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Oynpx naq ybj.