Hood River Bridge

Hood River–White Salmon Interstate Bridge
Hood River–White Salmon Interstate Bridge
Coordinates	45°43′05″N 121°29′43″W / 45.717976°N 121.495211°W
Carries	2 lanes
Crosses	Columbia River
Locale	Between Hood River, Oregon, and White Salmon, Washington, U.S.
Other name(s)	Hood River Bridge
Maintained by	Port of Hood River
Characteristics
Design	Through-truss with a vertical lift
Total length	1,346.67 metres (4,418.2 ft)
Longest span	79.92 metres (262.2 ft)
History
Opened	December 9, 1924
Statistics
Daily traffic	4 million (annual)
Toll	Cars, vans, pickup without trailer: $2.00, Motorcycles: 75¢-$1.00, Commercial trucks and vans: $3.00 per axle
Location

The Hood River–White Salmon Interstate Bridge, or just the Hood River Bridge, is a truss bridge with a vertical lift that spans the Columbia River between Hood River, Oregon, and White Salmon, Washington. It connects Interstate 84/U.S. Route 30 on the Oregon side with Washington State Route 14.

The bridge is the second oldest existing road bridge across the Columbia River between Washington and Oregon. It was built by the Oregon-Washington Bridge Company and opened on December 9, 1924. The original name was the Waucoma Interstate Bridge.

Construction of the Bonneville Dam 23 miles (37 km) downstream forced the bridge to be altered in 1938 to accommodate the resulting elevated river levels. On December 12, 1950, the Port of Hood River purchased the bridge from the Oregon-Washington Bridge Co. for $800,000.

The bridge is operated as a toll bridge by the Port of Hood River. Currently the tolls are set to $2.00 for a passenger car, with $3.00 for each axle for a truck, and either 75¢ or $1.00 for motorcycles.^[2]^[3] Bicycles and pedestrians are prohibited from crossing the bridge due to its lack of sidewalks and narrow width.^[4]

20 piers are used to support the total length of 4,418 ft (1347 m). When closed the vertical waterway clearance is 67 ft (20m). This increases to 148 ft (45 m) when the bridge is open at a river level of 75',^[5] which typically happens once or twice a month. The horizontal waterway clearance of the lift span is 246 ft (75 m).

The bridge has weight restrictions: 24 tons for legal truck types 3 and SU5, 32 tons for types 3S2 and 3-3, 22 tons for type SU4, and 25 tons for types SU6 and SU7 (descriptions of these truck types can be found here).^[6]

It is located at river mile 169, between Bridge of the Gods at RM 148 and The Dalles Bridge at RM 191.

Planned replacement

Plans to replace the existing bridge resulted in a 2003 draft environmental impact statement.^[7] A fixed span design concept with wider lanes and a bicycle/pedestrian path that meets modern seismic standards was proposed in 2022. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2025 and be completed in 2031 at a cost of $520 million. Funding for the project would be split between the Oregon and Washington governments as well as federal and local sources.^[8] Higher tolls are also under consideration to pay for the replacement. A new bi-state bridge authority was formed in July 2023 to prepare for the project.^[9]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c White Salmon Bridge (1924) at Structurae
^ "Hood River Bridge". Port of Hood River. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
^ "Toll Rates". Port of Hood River. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
^ "Hood River–White Salmon Interstate Bridge: Structural Considerations for Pedestrian Crossing on the Existing Bridge" (PDF). Port of Hood River. October 12, 2012. p. 2. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
^ "USGS Current Conditions for USGS 14113290 COLUMBIA RIVER AT HOOD RIVER, OR". United States Geological Survey.
^ "New Weight Limit Imposed on Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge". Port of Hood River. February 5, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
^ Fitzgerald, Emily (September 21, 2019). "Conceptual designs released for Hood River Bridge". Columbia Gorge News. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
^ Seekamp, William (January 31, 2023). "Like I-5, Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge needs to be replaced". The Columbian. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
^ Cornfield, Jerry (July 5, 2023). "New bridge, higher tolls on the horizon at Hood River". Washington State Standard. Retrieved July 7, 2023.

External links

[structurae-1] White Salmon Bridge (1924) at Structurae

[2] "Hood River Bridge". Port of Hood River. Retrieved May 27, 2022.

[3] "Toll Rates". Port of Hood River. Retrieved May 27, 2022.

[4] "Hood River–White Salmon Interstate Bridge: Structural Considerations for Pedestrian Crossing on the Existing Bridge" (PDF). Port of Hood River. October 12, 2012. p. 2. Retrieved February 2, 2023.

[5] "USGS Current Conditions for USGS 14113290 COLUMBIA RIVER AT HOOD RIVER, OR". United States Geological Survey.

[6] "New Weight Limit Imposed on Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge". Port of Hood River. February 5, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2022.

[7] Fitzgerald, Emily (September 21, 2019). "Conceptual designs released for Hood River Bridge". Columbia Gorge News. Retrieved February 2, 2023.

[8] Seekamp, William (January 31, 2023). "Like I-5, Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge needs to be replaced". The Columbian. Retrieved February 2, 2023.

[9] Cornfield, Jerry (July 5, 2023). "New bridge, higher tolls on the horizon at Hood River". Washington State Standard. Retrieved July 7, 2023.

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