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Lissa Brewer
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THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, MARCH 26, 2022 • B1
Photos by Ron Baldwin
The Cable Bridge lights up the night between Pasco and Kennewick.
BRIDGES OF THE
COLUMBIA RIVER
By RON BALDWIN
For The Astorian
B
ridges are iconic by nature, constructions
of metal and concrete that often dominate
a landscape. I’ve been charmed by them
since I was a child. As a lower Columbian, I’ve
been steeped in the lore of the magnifi cent Astoria
Bridge for decades. I’ve read the statistics, heard
the stories and driven the span innumerable times.
Recently, I’ve started to wonder about the other
bridges that cross the Columbia.
One colleague recently asked me how many
bridges there are along the river. I had to admit that
I had no idea, but just thinking about the concept
stirred my sense of wanderlust. I decided I must
try to cross them all. So began a late winter quest
to chase the blues away by driving across every
Columbia River bridge in the United States in just
three days.
Just 40 miles upriver from Astoria, the Julia
Butler Hanson Bridge at Cathlamet, Washington,
is an anomaly. Some don’t consider this bridge to
cross the Columbia as it only spans the Cathlamet
channel, connecting Cathlamet to Puget Island
rather than the main river channel, but I’ll include
it anyway. Next, the Lewis and Clark Bridge at
Longview, Washington, is familiar to most who
travel to Portland.
The channel that runs between Portland and
Vancouver, Washington, is the site of the next two
bridges: the Interstate Bridge, which carries Inter-
state 5, and the Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge,
which carries Interstate 205. These two bridges
account for the greatest amount of traffi c of all
Columbia crossings. Haggling over a proposed new
bridge, dubbed the Columbia River Crossing, has
continued for over two decades.
Moving on to the Columbia River Gorge, the
scenery dazzles as I cross the Bridge of the Gods
at Cascade Locks. Next are the Hood River-White
Salmon Interstate Bridge, T he Dalles Bridge (which
feels like it’s going to crash into The Dalles Dam)
and fi nally the Sam Hill Memorial Bridge, also
known as the Biggs Rapids Bridge. These bridges,
built with steel grates that amplify the sounds of
passing cars, are what some kids in the region once
called “buzz bridges.”
ABOVE: The Interstate Bridge, which connects Portland and Vancouver. BELOW: The Dalles Bridge crosses near
the Indian Shaker Church ruins.
East of the g orge, the highway system off ers a
contrast of pace. On the Oregon side of the Colum-
bia is Interstate 84, the main commercial artery of
c entral Oregon, moving great numbers of vehi-
cles along without crossing a mountain pass. On
the Washington side of the river, the two lane State
Route 14 winds slowly along the Columbia’s north
shore through wine country and pristine graz-
ing land . The pace here is more sedate. Next, the
Umatilla Bridge carries travelers on to Kennewick,
Pasco and Richland, commonly known as Wash-
ington’s Tri-Cities.
Also in this region, the Pioneer Memorial
Bridge, sometimes referred to as Blue Bridge, car-
ries U.S. Highway 395; Cable Bridge, a fl am-
boyant design, carries State Route 397. The latter
catches the eye from afar, especially at night, at a
spot where the Columbia nearly doubles in volume
from its confl uence with the Snake River.
From this point on, reaching the spans in order
upstream requires a lot of backtracking, which I’m
loath to do. Major roads don’t always follow the
river, so a little zig-zagging is required. Follow-
ing State Route 240 to the northwest near Hanford
Nuclear Site , The Vernita Bridge at Desert Aire has
a special, peaceful aura for me. Crossing at Han-
ford Reach National Monument, this bridge spans
the only U.S. section of the Columbia River that is
free fl owing. Above Bonneville Dam, the river is
essentially a series of lakes impounded by dams.
This place just feels less disturbed than the rest. I
camped here near a pioneer cemetery.
Like most of the crossings, the Vantage Bridge
on Interstate 90 is surrounded by beautiful views.
See Bridges, Page B4