Snake River Bridge

The Snake River Bridge (also known as the Lyons Ferry Bridge), is located on State Route 261 at the confluence of the Snake and Palouse Rivers, near Starbuck, Washington, USA. The bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982[1] and is located next to Lyons Ferry Park.

Snake River Bridge
Coordinates46°35′22.88″N 118°13′9.89″W
Carries SR 261
CrossesSnake River
LocaleNear Starbuck, Washington
Maintained byWSDOT
Characteristics
DesignCantilever bridge
Total length2,040 feet (620 m)
Longest span518 feet (158 m)
History
Construction start1926
Construction end1927
Opened1968 (at current location)
Snake River Bridge
MPSHistoric Bridges/Tunnels in Washington State TR
NRHP reference No.82004207[1]
Added to NRHPJuly 16, 1982
Location

Original construction

It was originally constructed in 1927 and known as the Vantage Ferry Bridge, where it carried the North Central Highway over the Columbia River in Vantage, replacing a four-car ferry. By 1923, the ferry was transporting 50,000 people across the river annually,[2] and it was clear that a bridge was needed to replace it. Originally planned to be a privately constructed toll bridge, it was strongly opposed by Washington Governor Louis F. Hart because it would be a toll bridge on a taxpayer-supported highway. Not only that, but the state also stood to lose $900,000 in federal funds for the North Central Highway if a toll bridge were to be built. Instead, the state approved funding for its own bridge.[2]

However, the construction of the Wanapum Dam downriver of the bridge in the 1960s flooded the town of Vantage, and state officials decided to replace the existing two-lane bridge, which had become unsafe for high volume traffic, with a new four-lane bridge. The old bridge was dismantled and put into storage.[3]

Meanwhile, at Lyons Ferry, crossings of the Snake River were done by ferry, but the construction of the Lower Monumental Dam caused the river to slow, thus increasing crossing time. State officials then decided to reconstruct this bridge at that location.[3]

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Hadlow, Robert W. (August 1993). "Snake River Bridge at Lyons Ferry" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
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