| Bridge Name: | Columbia River Bridge | ||||||||||||||
| Crosses: | Columbia River | ||||||||||||||
| Locale: | East Wenatchee, Washington / West Wenatchee, Washington | ||||||||||||||
| Maint: | Wenatchee Reclamation District, State of Washington | ||||||||||||||
| Design: | Pin-connected cantilever through truss | ||||||||||||||
| Mainspan: | 520feet | ||||||||||||||
| Length: | 1600feet | ||||||||||||||
| Below: | 85feet[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Open: | 1908 | ||||||||||||||
| Replaces: | Ferry | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates: | 47.4146°N -120.2972°W | ||||||||||||||
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The Columbia River Bridge at Wenatchee, Washington, also known as the Old Wenatchee Bridge and W.T. Clark Pipeline Bridge[2] 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, 1600feet long, with one 200feet Pratt truss between two 160feet cantilever arms, with 240feet side arms and a 60feet girder span. The bridge was purchased by the Washington highway department for $182,000 for highway use. As originally built, the bridge carried a 20.5feet 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.[3]
The bridge was replaced in 1950 by the Senator George Sellar Bridge. The next year the Wenatchee Reclamation District bought the bridge for $1.00, moving the pipes from outside the truss to within. The bridge was opened to foot traffic.[3] In 2007 concerns were raised about the bridge's ability to sustain foot traffic.[4] Repairs were made in 2010.[5]
The bridge currently carries pedestrian and bicycle traffic as part of the Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 16, 1982.[6] The bridge was renamed for irrigation canal builder William T. Clark in 2023.[2]