End of the Line. Marys River Bridge Won’t Be Rebuilt.
If outside funding cannot be found, Portland & Western will seek approval to discontinue the line.
Trains used to rumble across the wooden railroad trestle spanning the Marys River near Avery Park. The bridge was never one of our most famous landmarks, but it connected farms, businesses, and industries south of town to the regional rail network.
More than a year after the bridge collapsed beneath a freight train, Portland & Western Railroad says it likely will not rebuild it.
(Photo: City of Corvallis)
The bridge failed on January 4, 2025, while a 19-car freight train was crossing the Marys River. One railcar plunged into the river and another was left partially submerged. The train was carrying agricultural products, including fertilizer, though no injuries were reported. Emergency crews deployed containment measures while railroad crews worked to recover the damaged railcars.
Many residents assumed the bridge would eventually be repaired. But court filings submitted this spring suggest that may never happen.
According to documents filed with the federal Surface Transportation Board, Portland & Western Railroad estimates that rebuilding the existing wooden bridge would cost roughly $4 million. Replacing it with a steel structure would cost approximately $6.5 million. The company says the traffic moving across the bridge simply does not justify that expense.
Just how much traffic are we talking about?
According to the railroad, only 174 railcars crossed the bridge during all of 2024. That figure includes both loaded and empty cars, averaging fewer than four railcars per week moving across the structure.
The line primarily served customers on the Bailey Branch south of Corvallis. In its filing, the railroad stated that the expected revenue from future traffic on the line would not support the millions of dollars required to restore service.
In 2022, a major fire burned for hours beneath the nearly 75-year-old wooden trestle, damaging parts of the structure and raising concerns among environmental groups and residents. Portland & Western says repairs were completed and the bridge was returned to service safely. Some people have questioned whether the aging bridge remained vulnerable.
After the collapse, some observers speculated that the fire may have weakened the bridge. The railroad disputes that claim. In filings with federal regulators, the company says flooding, not lingering fire damage, was responsible for the bridge failure.
The future of the rail line south of Corvallis is grim. Portland & Western has indicated that if outside funding cannot be found, it will seek federal approval to formally discontinue service on the route.
The collapse may mark the end of a rail connection that had served the southern edge of Benton County for decades. What was once a working piece of transportation infrastructure… is now a reminder of a larger issue facing railroads across the country.
Aging infrastructure meets declining traffic, and in this case, the railroad says the numbers don’t add up to replace the Mary’s River Bridge line. A rope swing nearby will now see more activity than the tracks themselves.
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