The Dalles Bridge Explained

The Dalles Bridge
Coordinates:45.6101°N -121.1391°W
Locale:The Oregon-Washington state line (between The Dalles, Oregon and Dallesport, Washington)
Id:06635 004 00077
Id Type:NBI number
Length:3339feet
Traversable:Yes
Mainspan:576feet
Number Spans:33 sub-spans
Cost:$2.4 million
Open:December 18, 1953
Replaces:Ferry service
Traffic:nearly 8,400

The Dalles Bridge is a bridge on U.S. Route 197 (US 197) that spans the Columbia River in the United States between The Dalles, Oregon and Dallesport, Washington.[1] [2] [3]

Description

The steel cantilever truss bridge is located just downstream from The Dalles Dam.[3] Although the bridge reaches into the state of Washington, it is maintained by the Oregon Department of Transportation. The average daily traffic on the bridge (US 197) is nearly 8,400.[4] US 197 connects Washington State Route 14, a few miles to the north of the bridge, with Interstate 84 and US 30, both just south of the bridge, and with U.S. Route 97, about 67miles to the south.

History

Ferry service operations began at the site in 1854, but just over a decade later, in 1865, plans for a bridge began. However, it took about another 85 years and the construction of The Dalles Dam before the bridge was finally built. Although the bridge was built in connection with the dam, the bridge opened December 18, 1953, but the dam was not completed until 1957. Due to issues with the dam, the bridge had to be redesigned as a longer one and the location moved slightly farther downstream than originally planned. Notwithstanding, the already fabricated steel components (for the original bridge design) were successfully modified and used in the newly designed bridge. The cost of construction was $2.4 million (equivalent to $ million in).

The bridge had a toll from its opening until November 1, 1974, when the bridge's construction bond (which had been issued by Wasco County in Oregon) was paid off.[3]

Further reading

Book: Spanning Washington: Historic Highway Bridges of the Evergreen State. Holstine. Craig. Hobbs. Richard. Washington State University Press. Pullman, Washington. 2005. 105–107.

External links

Notes and References

  1. (for Oregon state)
  2. (for Washington state)
  3. Web site: The Dalles Bridge spanning the Columbia River is completed on December 18, 1953. Long. Priscilla. historylink.org. June 12, 2006. April 2, 2017.
  4. Web site: Border Bridges. wsdot.wa.gov. Washington State Department of Transportation. April 2, 2017. September 23, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170923160048/https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Bridge/Reporting/BorderBridges.htm. dead.