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Vance Creek Bridge

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Coordinates: 47°20′04.7″N 123°19′18.2″W / 47.334639°N 123.321722°W / 47.334639; -123.321722
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Vance Creek Bridge
Vance Creek Bridge
Coordinates47°20′04.7″N 123°19′18.2″W / 47.334639°N 123.321722°W / 47.334639; -123.321722
CrossesVance Creek
LocaleMason County, Washington
Other name(s)Vance Creek Viaduct
OwnerSimpson Logging Company
Characteristics
MaterialSteel
Total length827 feet (252 m)
Height347 feet (106 m)
Longest span422 feet (129 m)
History
ArchitectAmerican Bridge Company
Construction start1928
Opened1929
Closed2017
Vance Creek Bridge
Vance Creek Bridge is located in Washington (state)
Vance Creek Bridge
Nearest cityShelton, Washington
Coordinates47°20′04.7″N 123°19′18.2″W / 47.334639°N 123.321722°W / 47.334639; -123.321722
Built1928–1929
ArchitectAmerican Bridge Company
Architectural stylesteel arch
NRHP reference No.82004266[1]
Added to NRHPJuly 16, 1982
Location
Map
Decommissioned railroad bridge over Vance Creek, WA.

The Vance Creek Bridge is an arch bridge in the Satsop Hills of Mason County, Washington that was built for a logging railroad owned by the Simpson Logging Company in 1929. At 347 feet (106 m) in height, it is the second-highest railroad arch in the United States after the nearby High Steel Bridge.[2] It was decommissioned in the 1970s, during the decline of logging on the Olympic Peninsula.[3]

The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and to the Mason County Historic Preservation Register in 2008.[1][4]

The bridge gained popularity in the early 2010s as an attraction for photographers and thrill-seekers, due to its isolation and "unsafe" features. While the bridge was never opened to the public, property owners Green Diamond Resource Company added new barriers and surveillance to prevent further trespassing in 2014, due to the emergence of graffiti and arson at the site, as well as the risk of a lawsuit.[3] The company approached the Washington State Parks department on opening the bridge to the public as a tourist attraction, but negotiations fell through due to a lack of funding and suitable insurance. In 2017, the company began removal of the approach structure's wooden deck and railroad ties.[5][6]

References

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  2. ^ Soderberg, Lisa (January 7, 1976) [August 1980]. HAER Inventory: Vance Creek Bridge. Historic American Engineering Record (Report). National Park Service. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  3. ^ a b Sears, Kelton (August 18, 2014). "Instagram Favorite, 347-Foot-Tall #ThatNWBridge, Officially Closes to the Public". Seattle Weekly. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  4. ^ "The Mason County Historic Preservation Register". Mason County.
  5. ^ Geerkens, Joy (August 2, 2017). "On the Vance Creek Bridge demolition". The Daily of the University of Washington. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  6. ^ "Vance Creek Viaduct". Atlas Obscura. 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2017.


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