USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
The millrace diversion dam upstream from the I-5 bridge is a problem that’s plagued recreationists and first-responders in Eugene and Springfield for decades.
The defunct structure, which stretches across the Willamette River, was privately built in the 1850s to divert water into a millrace that powered sawmills and flour mills. Over years of economic growth and changing needs, industry in the area faded and the millrace was used recreationally up until the 1980s. Now, the area serves no real purpose…