Bridges of the Oregon Coast

Images of America: Oregon

by Ray Bottenberg

In the 1920s and 1930s, Oregon's legendary bridge engineer Conde B. McCullough designed a first-rate collection of aesthetic bridges on the Oregon Coast Highway to enhance an already dramatic and beautiful landscape. The six largest of these, at Gold Beach, Newport, Waldport, Florence, Reedsport, and Coos Bay, eliminated the last ferries on the Oregon Coast Highway between the Columbia River and California. McCullough planned to build one bridge each year after completion of the Rogue River Bridge at Gold Beach in 1932, but the tightening grip of the Depression threatened his plans. In 1933, McCullough and his staff worked day and night to finish plans for the remaining five bridges, and in early 1934, the Public Works Administration funded simultaneous construction of them. The combined projects provided approximately 630 jobs, but at least six workers perished during construction. After the bridges were complete, Oregon coast tourism increased by a dramatic 72 percent in the first year.

Genres: History

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 9, 2006

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not as interesting as I thought it was going to be.

A long time ago, I read a fiction book set on the Oregon Coast, and more specifically where the Columbia River dumps into the Pacific Ocean, and the dangerous conditions that are experienced there. I kind of thought that this would be what I was reading about, here -- the dangers of constructing bridges in this kind of environment, but that's not what this is.

Still, this was somewhat interesting. I think it would be of greater interest to someone from Oregon or who lives in the vicinity of one of these bridges.