Columbia River Bridge, East Wenatchee

The Columbia River Bridge at Wenatchee, Washington, also known as the Old Wenatchee Bridge, was built by the Washington Bridge Company in 1908, primarily as a means to carry irrigation water pipelines across the Columbia River. It was the first road bridge over the Columbia south of Canada. The bridge is a pin-connected cantilever truss, 1,600 feet long, with one 200-foot Pratt truss between two 160-foot cantilever arms, with 240-foot side arms and a 60 feet girder span. The bridge was purchased by the Washington highway department for $182,000 for highway use. As originally built, the bridge carried a 20.5-foot wide timber roadway, with additional ability to carry a street railway. However, the east approach to the bridge was built at a 6% grade, limiting its potential. ()