| Bridge Name: | Senator George Sellar Bridge | ||||||||||||||||
| Crosses: | Columbia River | ||||||||||||||||
| Locale: | East Wenatchee, Washington / Wenatchee, Washington | ||||||||||||||||
| Maint: | State of Washington | ||||||||||||||||
| Design: | Through arch bridge | ||||||||||||||||
| Mainspan: | 480feet | ||||||||||||||||
| Length: | 1208feet | ||||||||||||||||
| Below: | 85feet[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Open: | October 28, 1950 | ||||||||||||||||
| Replaces: | Columbia River Bridge (Wenatchee, Washington) | ||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates: | 47.4098°N -120.2957°W | ||||||||||||||||
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The Senator George Sellar Bridge at Wenatchee, Washington was built in 1950 as the "Columbia River Bridge" to carry U.S. Route 2 across the Columbia River.
The steel suspended tied-arch bridge has a main span of 480feet with 224feet anchor arms. The suspended portion of roadway comprises 352feet and is 54feet wide, carrying five lanes (originally four) with a median divider strip at a height of 180feet above mean water level. The new bridge was recognized by the American Institute of Steel Construction as the most beautiful bridge of 1950 for spans over 400feet in length.[2] [3] The bridge's engineer was R. W. Finke. The contractor was the General Construction Company of Seattle, using steel fabricated by the American Bridge Company. The bridge rests on two concrete piers in the river, with the central arch between them, and cantilever spans extending to concrete abutments high on the riverbanks.[2]
The bridge was renamed in 2000 after George L. Sellar, a Washington state senator who died that year.[4] [5] Since then, the name "Columbia River Bridge" refers to the older bridge (built in 1908) nearby. Senator George Sellar Bridge carries Washington State Route 285 since the construction of the Richard Odabashian Bridge for Route 2 farther north. An additional lane was added in 2009–2010.[6] The bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 24, 1995.[7]