Big Creek Bridge No. 01180

The Big Creek Bridge is a bowstring arch bridge that spans the Big Creek on U.S. Route 101 in Lane County, Oregon. It was designed by Conde McCullough and opened in 1931. The bridge has a total length of and contains one reinforced concrete tied arch, identical in design to Ten Mile Creek Bridge and Wilson River Bridge. The locations for all three bridges were similar in that the sandy foundations were not secure enough for the abutment piers required to relieve the lateral pressure of traditional arches. The flood levels of the rivers approached the road grade and ruled out the use of reinforced concrete girders. The corrosive salt air eliminated the practicality of steel truss bridges. The design of the bridge was similar to the rainbow arch design patented by James Barney Marsh. The bridge, along with the Ten Mile Creek Bridge and the Wilson River Bridge, was rehabilitated in 1996 to increase the overhead clearance and add a cathodic protection system to protect the embedded steel reinforcements against the corrosive air. A project to replace the cathodic protection system began in February 2014.