Best structure type for Sellwood? Riverdale 3rd graders opt for cable stay!

More than a thousand people have taken our online survey to tell us which structure type they prefer for the new Sellwood Bridge. While opinions come in, a group of third grade students did not miss their opportunity to tell us what they think. According to Debbie Gorenstein, a third grade teacher at Riverdale Grade School, her students would like the new crossing to be a cable stay bridge *.

Riverdale School is about two miles south of the bridge in unincorporated Multnomah County. According to Debbie, “The children worked with partners to design a Sellwood Bridge with $15. We collected recycled materials all year and set up a bridge store. The teams bought the materials from the store. It is a very fun project.”

A slide show on the school’s website shows the students created a cable stay bridge model from cardboard, masking tape and other materials. The Sellwood Project Team should take note: if these 3rd graders can create an iconic bridge model with just $15, what can the project do with several hundred million dollars?

* Survey takers may recall that the cable stay option is not one of the options being considered. The cable stay option was studied during the project’s planning phase. It was determined to be too costly and not practical for a new Sellwood crossing.