The Spokane River Bridge at Fort Spokane was the second largest bridge built in Washington as part of the project and the largest built in Washington built in the 1940s. Built by the department of Reclamation, it it a through cantilever truss with small reinforced concrete approach spans. The bridge was completed in 1941, spanning the Spokane River just upstream from its confluence with the Columbia River. 952 feet, 10 inches in length, the bridge has continued to serve as a road crossing for Highway 25, Originally Highway 22, since its completion.
The concrete railings on the right side of each end of the bridge are stamped with the year of construction of the bridge, 1941.
Spokane River Bridge at Fort Spokane
The Spokane River Bridge at Fort Spokane crosses the Spokane River just upstream from its confluence with the Columbia River. The bridge, which is 953 feet long, is the second largest single structure constructed by Washington State in 1941 (behind the Kettle Falls Bridge, No. 395/545). The structure replaced the earlier historic Detillion Bridge.
The bridge is a riveted steel through cantilever truss main span with reinforced concrete T-beam approach spans. The east approach consists of two spans, one at 37 feet and one at 36 feet 8 inches. The west approach consists of two spans, one at 52 feet 6 inches and one at 55 feet, and a cantilever span 15 feet long. The main steel truss span consists of two anchor arms of 162 feet 4 inches long each, two cantilever arms of 135 feet long each, and a 162-foot-long suspended span, for a total length of 952 feet 10 inches. Width of the roadway is 24 feet. The bridge has one sidewalk, 3 feet 6 inches wide. The steel main span provides 35 feet vertical clearance above the reservoir elevation of 1290 feet. The maximum water depth is approximately 175 feet. Both silicon steel and carbon steel were used in the main steel truss spans.
The bridge is located immediately north of the remnants of historic Fort Spokane, a U.S. Army post established in the late nineteenth century. The structure is significant for being one of the few large steel bridges built during the 1940s and for its association with one of the largest federal projects undertaken in the twentieth century, the Grand Coulee Dam-Columbia Basin project.
Constructed in 1941, the Spokane River Bridge at Fort Spokane is one of two major bridges built to replace structures inundated by the backwaters of Grand Coulee Dam. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation reimbursed the State of Washington for all costs associated with the construction of the bridge as part of the Grand Coulee Dam-Columbia Basin project. The construction contracts for the bridge totalled approximately $280,000.
Lacey V. Murrow was the Director of Highways at the time the Spokane River Bridge was built. R. W. Finke was the Bridge Engineer. Angeles Gravel and Supply Company was the contractor for construction of the concrete approach spans and piers. C & F Teaming and Trucking Company was the contractor for the construction of the steel spans.
From the NRHP Registration Form