Bridge and Culvert Inventory Markers
Bridge and Culvert Inventory Markers are signs that identify bridges and culverts for jurisdictional maintenance purposes and occasionally to assist the travelling public. Oregon has placed inventory markers on bridges since around the year 2000, but some counties and cities have used them in decades prior.
Contents
State Highways
Bridge Inventory Markers
Culvert Markers
County Roads
Not all counties place inventory markers on their bridges or at their culverts.
Clatsop County
Clatsop County marks its bridges with a small rectangular inventory marker placed on the bridge itself. These markers display the bridge name, ODOT bridge number, Clatsop County bridge number, and the milepoint in white FHWA Series B text on a green background. They also have a "Clatsop County" stamp on them, similar to mileposts placed on county roads around 2015.
In addition, Clatsop County places street sign blade-sized signs at the bridge itself, mounted on a taller post presumably for motorist assistance. These signs display the waterway name in large text, with the Clatsop County bridge number and bridge name below it in much smaller lettering. All text on this sign is in FHWA Series B. Like the 2015-era mileposts, these also have "Clatsop County" stamped in them, as well as the date of installation written on them in permanent marker; for example, the sign at Humbug Creek was installed in October 2012.
At culverts, Clatsop County uses green wickets with an orange reflective square and the milepoint below in hundredths of a mile, without identifying any sort of road name or number. The typeface used is a thinner stroke version of Helvetica Inserat Roman.
Linn County
Linn County places inventory markers on its bridges that displays information like road number, milepoint, bridge number, road name and body of water crossed. These usually appear on both sides of the bridge and use some form of Helvetica for the typeface.
Tillamook County
Tillamook County places blue inventory markers on bridges it maintains which list the bridge name, the county bridge number (including the county road number in the first segment), the ODOT bridge number, and the body of water being crossed. All text on the markers is in FHWA Series B. While it isn't known at this time when these markers were placed, their reflective background suggests they may have been placed around the same time as the newer reflective mileposts used on county roads since around 2015.
Washington County
Washington County marks most of its bridges and culverts with markers similar to county road identifiers on mileposts, with the word "ROAD" replaced with "BRIDGE" or "CULVERT" appropriately. The numerals are larger than the road markers, and the legend text appears to be less condensed. Numerals are in Series B, C or D. No other mileage or route identification information can be found on these markers. A newer version of this marker was placed on the Scholls Ferry Road bridge over the Tualatin River when it was replaced in 2008.
City Roads
Beaverton
Coming soon.
Portland
The City of Portland places inventory markers on many bridges it maintains. These markers feature the logo of either the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) or its predecessor, the Portland Office of Transportation (PDOT), along with the bureau's phone number, the road name, the feature it crosses, and a bridge identifier (likely its ODOT number). All text is either FHWA Series B or Series C, aside from the PBOT/PDOT logo which uses condensed versions of both Britannic and Britannic Bold.