Hoffstadt Creek Bridge – Second Highest Bridge in Washington State

Toutle, Washington.

The best access to the blast area defined by the eruption of Mount Saint Helens is via State Route 504, also known as the Spirit Lake Highway. Built to replace the original highway destroyed by the eruption, this 52-mile (84 km) highway contains 14 bridges that span the valleys west of the mountain. The tallest bridge on the highway spans a deep valley where some 370 feet (113 m) below, Hoffstadt Creek winds its way west toward the Toutle River.

Cut Bank Trestle Bridge – Crossing the Cut Bank Creek

Cut Bank, Montana.

On an overnight stay at Cut Bank, Montana, I happened to notice the photo of a high trestle bridge on the wall in the lobby of our hotel. It reminded me very much of the High Line Railroad Bridge at Valley City, North Dakota. I asked the hotel clerk about the image and if the bridge happened to be in the area as other images in the lobby appeared to be. I was surprised by her answer. Not only is it nearby, it actually is located just behind the hotel. Indeed, if we had a room on the opposite side of the hotel, we’d have probably seen the bridge from our hotel room window.

Malta – A Bridge Too Far

Malta, Montana.

We left Theodore Roosevelt National Park on our way to Glacier National Park in Montana. Time for a break, we pulled off U.S. Highway 2 at Malta to visit the Montana D.O.T. Rest Area at Trafton Park. While getting out of the car in the parking lot, an old bridge caught my eye.

Highline Bridge – Valley City Railroad Trestle

Valley City, North Dakota.

Proud of their reputation as a City of Bridges, Valley City, North Dakota features a tour map at their information center and online here. By far, the most spectacular bridge on the tour is a railroad bridge that not only crosses the Sheyenne River but also spans the entire valley.  The bridge was completed in 1908, it’s needed due to the large changes in elevation that trains needed to transition the valley. The 3860-foot (1,180m), span gently lifts trains to the higher terrain on the western edge of Valley City. At its highest point, the bridge rises 162 feet (49 m) above the valley floor.

Wolf Point Bridge – Born out of Tragedy

Wolf Point, Montana.

On a July trip to Montana, we traveled through the town of Wolf Point. At the Missouri River crossing between Roosevelt and McCone counties, we passed by a small park that led to the original Wolf Point Bridge. On our return home, we stopped to check out the bridge. A placard posted at the site of the park described some of the basic details of the bridge which I will share with you in a moment. A search on the Internet, however, told a more somber story of how this bridge came to be.

Ocean to Ocean Bridge – Connecting a Cross-Country Highway

Yuma, Arizona.

A truss bridge that spans the Colorado River at Yuma is the final highway bridge to connect a road between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Construction completed in 1915, and in 1926, the highway became part of U.S. Route 80, the primary east-west transcontinental highway in the depression era. For a time, the bridge’s deteriorated state resulted in it becoming a pedestrian and bicycle bridge, but after a reconstruction project in 2002, it was restored to vehicle use.

Cellpic Sunday – 14 June 2020

Fargo, North Dakota.

Spring flooding has been an issue for many years along the Red River of the North in Fargo. At Lindenwood Park in south Fargo, a pedestrian bridge has linked Lindenwood with Gooseberry Park in Moorhead Minnesota since 1978. During the summer, that bridge joined the two communities but each year during flood season, the City of Fargo would bring large cranes to the site to lift the bridge out of the water to keep the floodwaters from washing the bridge downriver. In 2013, construction was completed on a new lift bridge that features concrete abutments and a lift system that brings the bridge above the 500-year flood level.

Fort Morgan – Historic Rainbow Arch Bridge

Fort Morgan, Colorado.

In 1922, the Colorado Bridge and Construction Company began constructing a multi-span, reinforced concrete arch bridge across the South Platte River in eastern Colorado. The bridge was completed in 1923 and named The Rainbow Arch Bridge. Located adjacent to State Highway 52 and a much newer set of highway bridges, the Rainbow Arch Bridge was closed for a time in 2015 to complete repair work and a freshening due to damage and flooding in 2013 and 2015. It is now open again, and like before, it is only used for pedestrian access to nearby Riverside Park. To visit the bridge, take state highway 52 north from I-76 (Exit 80).

Gorge Bridge – Spanning the Magnificent Rio Grande

El Prado, New Mexico.

Travel out of Taos, New Mexico west on US Highway 64 a short eight miles (13 km) or so and you will come upon one of the largest steel span bridges in the United States. Opened to traffic in 1965, the long span bridge crosses the large gorge that the Rio Grande River spent millennia creating.  The bridge rises some 650 feet (198 m) above the river and covers the 1200 foot (366 m) gorge in three sections, a 600 foot (183 m) center span is flanked on either side by two 300-foot (91.5 m) approach spans.

Weekly Photo Challenge – Bridge

This week, Cheri Lucas Rowlands asks us to think about the things, places or people that connect us. She writes, “You can… capture any type or style of bridge where you are, or go deeper and take a snapshot of something or someone that acts as a bridge in your life.” The entire challenge post can be found here.