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Grande Ronde River Bridge

Asotin County, Washington

Photos 

Grande Ronde River Bridge

Side elevation from the northwest

Photo taken by Mike Goff in May 2012

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BH Photo #231722

Map 

Street Views 

Description 

The Grand Ronde River Bridge is located in the remote canyon of the Grand Ronde River in the extreme southeast corner Washington State. The bridge carried WA-129 over the Grand Ronde approximately 5 miles north of the Oregon-Washington boarder between the cities of Asotin, Washington and Enterprise, Oregon.

According to the book Spanning Washington by Craig Holstine and Richard Hobbs the Grand Ronde River Bridge was the first riveted steel plate girder bridge built on the Washington State highway system. The structure opened to traffic in 1941, and was an early prototype for many plate girder structures to be constructed in the future.

The bridge features three riveted plate girder spans with a single reinforced concrete deck girder approach span at each end of the structure. The 115-foot main span features cantilever arms extending from the piers and a suspended portion between the arms. This suspended span method was one method used by engineers to lengthen spans and avoid deck joints over the piers. This method had been used in cantilevered truss designs for decades prior to moving to the smaller scale of girder structures.

The Grand Ronde River Bridge was designed by the Washington State Department of Highways under the direction of bridge engineer Ralph W. Finke. The steel bridge girders were fabricated by the Clinton Bridge Works in Clinton, Iowa, while construction and erection was handled by contractor Henry Hagman.

Facts 

Overview
Steel stringer bridge over Grande Ronde River on WA 129
Location
Asotin County, Washington
Status
Open to traffic
History
Built 1941
Builders
- Clinton Bridge Works of Clinton, Iowa (Steel Fabricator) [also known as Clinton Bridge & Iron Works]
- Henry Hagman (Contractor)
- Ralph W. Finke of Olympia, Washington (State Bridge Engineer)
Design
Cantilevered steel plate girder with suspended span.
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 115.2 ft.
Total length: 290.0 ft.
Deck width: 24.0 ft.
Recognition
Posted to the National Register of Historic Places
Approximate latitude, longitude
+46.04154, -117.25259   (decimal degrees)
46°02'30" N, 117°15'09" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
11/480456/5098694 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Mountain View
Average daily traffic (as of 2012)
334
Inventory number
BH 49695 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection report (as of September 2017)
Overall condition: Fair
Superstructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 85.8 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com

Categories 

Asotin County, Washington (9)
Beam (17,280)
Built 1941 (496)
Built during 1940s (4,281)
Clinton Bridge & Iron Works (80)
Clinton Bridge Works (17)
Concrete stringer (884)
Grande Ronde River (Oregon & Washington) (17)
Have street view (30,140)
 Henry Hagman (3)
NR-listed (3,027)
Open (41,353)
Owned by state (16,742)
Ralph W. Finke (7)
Span length 100-125 feet (4,656)
Steel stringer (6,887)
Total length 250-500 feet (5,680)
Washington (1,399)

Update Log 

  • May 10, 2012: New photos from Mike Goff
  • September 21, 2011: Added by Michael Goff

Related Bridges 

  • Troy Bridge (Upstream) - Modern Troy Bridge between structures

Sources 

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