Rating:
4 votes

High Steel Bridge

Mason County, Washington

Photos 

Under the north approach

Photo taken by Nathan Morton in March 2014

Enlarge

BH Photo #276853

Map 

Street View 

Description 

At 365 feet high, this bridge is the highest railway arch bridge ever constructed in the United States, and one of the highest railroad bridges ever built in North America.

Facts 

Overview
Massive steel arch bridge over South Fork Skokomish River
Location
Mason County, Washington
Status
Open to traffic
History
Built 1929, coverted to road use in 1950
Builder
- American Bridge Co. of New York
Railroad
- Simpson Railroad (STC)
Design
Steel arch
Dimensions
Total length: 687.0 ft.
Recognition
Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on July 16, 1982
Also called
South Fork Skokomish River Bridge
STC - High Steel Bridge
STC - South Fork Skokomish River Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude
+47.36796, -123.27978   (decimal degrees)
47°22'05" N, 123°16'47" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
10/478876/5246093 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Vance Creek
Average daily traffic
50
Inventory numbers
NRHP 82004265 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
BH 34410 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection report (as of August 2017)
Overall condition: Fair
Superstructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 70.1 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com

Categories 

American Bridge Co. (1,508)
Arch (12,102)
Built 1929 (1,013)
Built during 1920s (9,925)
Deck arch (11,341)
Have street view (26,950)
Mason County, Washington (14)
NR-listed (2,960)
One-lane traffic (7,606)
Open (39,886)
 Owned by U.S. Forest Service (302)
Owned by federal government (1,220)
Rail-to-road (343)
Railroad (15,426)
Simpson Railroad (3)
Steel arch (376)
Tall Bridges (324)
Total length 500-1000 feet (2,871)
Washington (1,314)

Update Log 

  • February 12, 2019: New photo from Luke
  • March 29, 2017: New Street View added by Luke
  • March 2, 2014: New photos from Nathan Morton
  • January 17, 2014: Updated by Luke Harden: Noted that bridge was converted to road use in the 50s
  • July 27, 2013: Updated by Luke Harden: Added categories "Simpson Logging Co.", "Railroad"
  • July 27, 2013: Updated by Dylan VanAntwerp: Added information.
  • May 27, 2013: New photo from Dylan VanAntwerp
  • July 6, 2009: Updated by Michael Goff
  • June 30, 2009: Updated by Michael Goff

Sources 

  • Wikipedia
  • Mike Goff - michael [dot] goff [at] hotmail [dot] com
  • K. A. Erickson
  • Dylan VanAntwerp - dylan_vanantwerp [at] live [dot] com
  • HighestBridges.com - by Eric Sakowski
  • Luke
  • Nathan Morton - morton890 [at] yahoo [dot] com
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Comments 

North Fork Skokomish River Bridge
Posted June 30, 2009, by Elaine Livengood (elivengood8777 [at] msn [dot] com)

Please note; the river is the South Fork of Skokomish, not the North Fork. Breathtaking view from up there! Old logging railroad bridge originally built by Simpson Logging Co. in 1929. Well worth the short drive up a gravel road. Logging is still going on, so be sure to watch for trucks.