Umatilla Bridge, Road bridge connecting Umatilla County and Benton County, United States
The Umatilla Bridge is a pair of bridges carrying Interstate 82 and U.S. Route 395 across the Columbia River at the Washington–Oregon border. The older span, opened in 1955, is a five-span continuous Warren through truss cantilever bridge with two 600-foot (180 m) spans; the newer concrete arch bridge, opened in 1988, carries northbound traffic and pedestrians.
Umatilla County judge James H. Sturgis proposed the bridge, initially called "Sturgis' folly". It was dedicated on July 15, 1955, by the governors of Oregon and Washington, financed by $10 million in bonds and run as a toll bridge. Tolls ended on August 30, 1974, and ownership passed to both states on November 1, 1974. The concrete arch span opened in 1988.
The name comes from the Umatilla, the county and people on the Oregon side; no ferry operator is recorded. Before the bridge, a ferry crossed the newly formed Lake Wallula and carried 178,576 vehicles in 1951. The bridge was dedicated on July 15, 1955, by the governors of Oregon and Washington.
Southbound traffic uses the 1955 steel truss span; northbound traffic and pedestrians use the 1988 concrete arch span. During the 2017–2019 deck replacement, the older bridge closed and both directions shared the newer span, one lane each way. Repainting the steel truss is a separate later project.
The older span was considered for the National Register of Historic Places in the early 2000s. Its design is unusual: it uses a submerged island mid-river, and its two 600-foot cantilever spans make it the only Oregon bridge with two spans built that way.
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