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By Sonny Chickering, ODOT Area manager

Public art is a broad category: Historically, it includes obelisks like the Washington Monument, mausoleums like Grant’s Tomb, and sculptures like the Statue of Liberty. In recent years, the landmarks that appear in public places, sometimes funded by public monies, have expanded. No longer confined to memorializing famous individuals, they symbolize places, such as the Portlandia statue in Portland, Ore., or the Gateway Arch in St. Louis; and comment on or reflect the buildings and landscapes around them, like the Cloud Gate “Bean” sculpture in Chicago.

rhiza A + D’s camas basket is set to be installed north of the bridge.

Many publicly funded sculptures are still confined to urban environments. Landmarks such as these are scarce, perhaps nonexistent, across the United States’ interstate system. Through its work on the Interstate 5 (I-5) Willamette River Bridge and surrounding area, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is building cultural significance into an already landmark project.

Design enhancements — sculptures that will appear along the bridge’s I-5 median and freeway and in the parks near the project — are set to be installed in early 2014 after the highway project is completed in 2013. Each piece will pay homage to the Eugene-Springfield community’s past, while providing drivers with the rare experience of seeing artwork on the freeway.

Before beginning construction on the Willamette River Bridge, ODOT’s largest bridge replacement project in the OTIA III State Bridge Delivery Program, funds were dedicated for aesthetic enhancements. While the majority of the $8.8 million dedicated to aesthetics went toward making the bridge design visually appealing, a portion, less than 1 percent of the total project budget, was allocated for these design enhancements.

Preparing the artists
The Willamette River Bridge project is located between two cities; crosses a set of railroad tracks, a four-lane boulevard, and a river; is flanked by two parks; and is massive in scope. Once completed, the bridge will be 1,749 feet long — larger in length than the Empire State Building (which is 1,454 feet high). ODOT knew, given the complexity of the project, that it needed to provide artists specific parameters to work within from the start; these included specifics about the location of the sculptures, what each could and could not depict, safety requirements, and more. ODOT also knew it needed to have its maintenance division provide the artists with guidance because of the location of the design enhancements.

“Early on in the process, we got to meet with the ODOT maintenance team,” said John Kashiwabara, architect from rhiza A +D. “They were really excited to be there, and it was great to talk to them about the safety requirements for work along the interstate. They were able to tell us, for example, what paint colors could be easily replaced if a piece was tagged and which ones would be impossible to replicate. Having the people who were going to be caretakers of the art involved so early — that was key.”

The design groups received an assigned topic: the Whilamut passage. This theme pays homage to the legacy of the Native American Kalapuya tribe — people who came to this area at least 10,000 years ago, according to archaeological evidence, and were the first inhabitants of the Willamette Valley — and the bridge’s natural surroundings.

Along with the guidance of ODOT maintenance, artists also had the opportunity to meet Kalapuya elder Esther Stutzman. Stutzman offered the artists counsel on their designs and perspectives on her Kalapuya heritage that proved invaluable to many. Using her guidance, along with many other resources, the art teams began their proposals.

Designs to represent a culture and resonate with the community
While numerous design groups responded to the request for proposals, five were chosen as finalists for the I-5 median and freeway area. In early April 2011, ODOT gathered community feedback at an open house on the proposed enhancements. Community members and artists alike gravitated toward three design concepts: camas flowers, Kalapuyan canoes, and a Kalapuya myth.

People of all ages inspected the renderings at the April open house.

In four of the five proposals, the designers dedicated some part of their work to the popular Kalapuya myth “Coyote Takes the Water From the Frog People.” According to the myth, the frog people were hoarding all of the area’s water until one night when Coyote came along. With five large gulps, he released the water and gave Oregon the plentiful waters we see throughout the state today.

Camas flowers — native to the areas that surround the bridge — were displayed in three design proposals. Camas played a vital role in the Kalapuya culture: Its bulbs provided nourishment and also acted as a form of currency. To this day, camas flowers grow in the area south of the bridge. Two of the proposed structures display the vibrant blue camas flowers in a basket used in harvesting the bulbs. One group took a more abstract approach, proposing free-standing steel structures shaped like camas petals.

Kalapuyan canoes, traditionally carved from a single red cedar and created to reflect the shape of the Willamette River, appeared in two of the design proposals. The Kalapuya people relied on these canoes as their only means of rapid transit, using them to gather food and trade goods with neighbors. One design group took a modern approach, portraying the canoes in an arch-shaped river current meant to stretch alongside the freeway. The other depicted the canoes more traditionally, navigating the river’s reeds.

A Eugene citizen enjoys Lillian Pitt’s rendering of a Kalapuyan canoe in her piece named “The River.”

Design decisions
Throughout the design selection process, ODOT project team members worked with the Citizens Advisory Group (CAG), consisting of representatives from Eugene and Springfield, to ensure the chosen artwork resonates with the local community and stakeholders. Within the CAG, a group of four community members joined a subcommittee named the Design Enhancements Steering Committee (DESC). The DESC analyzed the finalists’ proposals first and submitted its recommendations to the CAG in late April. Agreeing with the DESC’s recommendations, the CAG and Project Development Team presented the preferred designs to ODOT — two depicting the camas in baskets and one portraying a Kalapuyan canoe — and project managers approved the selected proposals.

“We were very pleased with the selections,” said Karl Wieseke, ODOT construction manager. “The best part is that the community members on the DESC were the ones who made the key decisions — they knew what they wanted to see in their community. We agreed with their choices and are now moving forward.”

The two camas baskets reveal similar aspects of the Kalapuya culture but in different ways. The design by rhiza A + D, which will stand 28 feet tall to the north of the bridge, depicts a more historically accurate and traditional woven basket, with the bright camas visible at the top. Devin Laurence Field LLC’s design is a modern take on the camas basket, made primarily out of steel, and will stand 25 to 30 feet above traffic to the south of the bridge.

“This structure will draw attention to the camas growing nearby that is often overlooked, and will also act as a teaching tool for passersby on how the camas was used and harvested by the Kalapuya,” said Devin Laurence Field.

“The River,” created by the Lillian Pitt team, depicts a Kalapuyan canoe navigating the cattails of the Willamette River. The design incorporates other items important to the tribe as cutouts in the canoe’s stainless steel surface — digging sticks, baskets, bulbs of different plants used for food, and images of the sun, moon and stars. It is the largest piece chosen and will be placed north of the Willamette River Bridge between the northbound and southbound I-5 lanes.

It was a particular delight for Lillian Pitt to contribute a design for the project. Tracing her Native American roots back 12,000 years, Pitt is thrilled to have the opportunity to reflect her ancestor’s history through her artwork.

“To be able to give back to the people through artwork is one of the highest honors,” said Pitt.

Enhancements go beyond roadway aesthetics
While the camas and canoe designs will be installed along the I-5 median and freeway, two other areas near the bridge will also receive aesthetic enhancements: the Whilamut Natural Area and the river’s southern bank. Oregon is renowned for its lush forests and varied animal species. Chosen enhancements to the Whilamut Natural Area, located to the east of the bridge, include perches for birds created by supported tree snags and a public plaza around a Pacific dogwood.

For the south bank of the river, interpretive kiosks will provide information about Oregon-specific Native American populations. At one point, Native Americans were the sole inhabitants of Oregon, with a variety of tribes represented. To bring their history to the forefront, ODOT is partnering with the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde to develop this signage.

Another unique aspect of the Eugene-Springfield area’s history will be emphasized through this signage: the Eugene Millrace, its remnants visible to the east of the project, under the bridge and along the river’s southern bank. Initially constructed in 1851, the millrace provided power for lumber and flour mills, a produce cannery, a sash and door factory, a cider and vinegar plant, a furniture factory, and a distillery. The millrace was last used for manufacturing in 1928. An ODOT historian and archaeologist are developing signage about this aspect of Eugene’s history.

With its graceful deck arches and open sightlines, the Willamette River Bridge itself is a form of public art. The planned design enhancements will add to motorists’ visual pleasure and remind locals, now and in the future, of the area’s natural history.