Bridge Over Troubled Waters Tuesday Returns – Week Eighteen! Nelson Mountain Bridge also known as Lake Creek Bridge is located on a route I was driving west of Eugene – Nelson Mountain Road to Old Stagecoach Road loop. It was actually located on Nelson Mountain Road, and was a real surprise to see there. Though initially the construction seemed unremarkable and similar to many of the bridges I’ve seen once I was close, it was obvious that there are many several differences.
How do I find Nelson Mountain Bridge?
This is a great question – It’s one of the very few things I couldn’t locate on a common mapping program embedded below. I actually took the opportunity to add the name to the geographical coordinates – that’s why below you may not see the bridge name listed – just a longitude and latitude.
I was driving an unfamiliar vehicle and the weather wasn’t cooperating very much, but it was nice to be out exploring in a different area. The day was drizzly and uncooperative, but it was a great time finding new unexplored areas and especially new bridges.
Arriving at Nelson Mountain Bridge
I parked a little ways away and made my way up to the bridge – the one thing I enjoy particularly about this season is all the colors on the leaves on the trees. It’s just breathtaking and in particular along this road.
Inside Nelson Mountain Bridge
As I made my way inside the bridge I noticed that the only light to be seen from the outside – except the entrances are the narrow horizontal windows that are in many of the bridges I’ve seen.
An Interesting Feature I’ve Never Seen Before!
The roadway on the Nelson Mountain Bridge is actually concrete! I’ve never seen this before and according to my research was added during the renovations in nineteen eighty-four. It’s incredible to think of this bridge as having an actual concrete deck.
Outside the Bridge
I always try to get a picture of the area around the bridges I visit and the super smooth water around the Nelson Mountain Bridge was just gorgeous. Since there was so much undergrowth I didn’t have a chance to get a closer picture, but the view was still very pretty.
Summary and Rating
I’ve decided the best thing to do is to review each bridge on it’s own merits – Nelson Mountain Bridge is a bit similar to many of the other bridges I’ve seen already, but it definitely stands on it’s won merits. It’s a beautiful example of historic covered bridges in Oregon. It deserves the four and a half Heywillamettes I’ll award it. It’s fairly close to another covered b ridge which I’ll post about next week – Wildcat Bridge.
Hey Willamette Valley 