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Lewis and Clark Bridge
Lewis and Clark Bridge
Coordinates	46°06′17″N 122°57′42″W / 46.1047°N 122.9618°W
Carries	SR 433
Crosses	Columbia River
Locale	Longview, Washington, to; Rainier, Oregon
Maintained by	Washington State Department of Transportation
Characteristics
Design	Cantilever through truss
Total length	2,722 feet (830 m)
Longest span	1,200 feet (370 m)
History
Designer	Joseph Strauss
Opened	March 29, 1930
	Longview Bridge
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Spans Columbia River, Longview, Washington
Coordinates	46°6′16.8″N 122°57′42.6″W / 46.104667°N 122.961833°W
Area	7.2 acres (2.9 ha)
Built	1929–30
Built by	J. H. Pomeroy & Co.
Architect	Strauss Engineering Corp.
Architectural style	cantilever bridge
MPS	Historic Bridges/Tunnels in Washington State TR
NRHP reference No.	82004208
Added to NRHP	July 16, 1982
Location
	Interactive map of Lewis and Clark Bridge

The Lewis and Clark Bridge is a cantilever bridge that spans the Columbia River between Longview, Washington, and Rainier, Oregon. It is the only bridge over the Columbia between Astoria and Portland (a distance of about 90 miles (145 km)).^[4] At the time of its completion, it had the longest cantilever span in the United States.^[1]

The bridge was opened on March 29, 1930, as a privately owned bridge named the Longview Bridge. The $5.8 million cost (equivalent to $86 million in 2024 dollars) was recovered by tolls, $1.00 for cars and $0.10 for pedestrians (equivalent to $14.9 for cars and $1.49 for pedestrians in 2024 dollars). At the time it was the longest and highest cantilever bridge in the United States. The state of Washington purchased the bridge in 1947 and the tolls were removed in 1965 after the bridge was paid for. In 1980, the bridge was rededicated as the Lewis and Clark Bridge in honor of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The deck was replaced in 2003–04 at a cost of $29.2 million.

Due to its width, there are very few bridges over the western portion of the Columbia River, which forms the border of Washington and Oregon. Until the completion of the Astoria-Megler Bridge in 1966, this was the only bridge over the Columbia west of Portland.^[5]

The bridge is 2,722 ft (830 m)^[1] long with 210 ft (64 m) of vertical clearance. The main span is 1,200 ft (366 m) long and the top of the bridge is 340 ft (104 m) above the river. It was designed by Joseph Strauss, the engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge.

In 1982, the bridge was entered on the National Register of Historic Places, as the Longview Bridge.^[6] A feasibility study commissioned by the Washington State Legislature in 1990 recommended the construction of a second bridge to handle future traffic volume.^[7] The Lewis and Clark Bridge was closed for four days in July 2023 to replace a floor beam and install new finger joints; during the closure, which was originally scheduled for eight days, the Wahkiakum County Ferry was used as a detour route for prioritized traffic.^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Jackson, Donald C. (1988). Great American Bridges and Dams. Wiley. p. 313. ISBN 0-471-14385-5.
^ "Asset Management: Bridge Assessment Annual Report" (PDF). The Gray Notebook (34). Washington State Department of Transportation: 19. August 20, 2009. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^ "Google Maps". Google Maps.
^ Scott, Douglas (August 27, 2017). "The History of Crossing the Columbia River via Bridge and Ferry". ClarkCoTalk.
^ "Washington - Cowlitz County". nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com (non-government site). Retrieved June 8, 2013.
^ Lopez, Cindy (June 20, 1991). "State study: Second Longview-Rainier bridge needed". The Daily News. p. A1. Retrieved October 10, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Kauffman, Brennen (July 20, 2023). "Lewis and Clark Bridge reopens 5 p.m. Thursday as repairs finish early". The Daily News. Retrieved August 1, 2023.

External links

Media related to Lewis and Clark Bridge at Wikimedia Commons

Bridge chronology – The Columbia County Historian
Bridge story on HistoryLink.org
Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. WA-89, "Longview Bridge, Spanning Columbia River at State Route 433, Longview, Cowlitz County, WA", 13 photos, 24 data pages, 1 photo caption page
Lewis and Clark Bridge at Structurae
Second Longview–Rainier Bridge Feasibility Study (1990) via WSDOT Library Digital Collections