Vantage Bridge, Steel arch bridge in Vantage, Washington.
Vantage Bridge is a steel cantilever truss bridge carrying Interstate 90 across the Columbia River near Vantage and George, Washington. It spans Wanapum Lake, the reservoir formed by Wanapum Dam, and separates Ginkgo Petrified Forest and Wanapum Recreational Area State Park on the western bank.
The first Vantage Bridge opened in 1927 as part of the Sunset Highway, later US 10. When the Wanapum Dam reservoir threatened to submerge it, a second bridge was built and dedicated by the state on November 9, 1962. The old span was dismantled, and its steel cantilever truss was reused for the Lyons Ferry Bridge, which opened in 1968.
The bridge crosses Wanapum Lake, the reservoir formed by Wanapum Dam, and marks the boundary between Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park and the Wanapum Recreational Area on the west bank. Interstate 90 drivers pass between these two protected areas here.
The bridge carries live highway traffic on Interstate 90 and does not allow stopping on the roadway. Good views of the crossing and the river can be found from the riverbank roads and rest areas nearby.
The 1927 bridge's steel cantilever truss was dismantled and reused for the Lyons Ferry Bridge, which opened in 1968 carrying SR 261 across the Snake River. The old span thus found a second life on a different river rather than being scrapped.
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