The Snake River Bridge located on State Route 261

Washington State Route 261

State Route 261 is a state route in the U.S. state of Washington.-Route description:Route 261 begins at U.S. Route 12 near Starbuck. After this, it passes through Starbuck. It travels northwest, passing by Lyons Ferry Park. It then intersects State Route 260 southeast of Washtucna...

 at the confluence of the Snake

Snake River

The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...

 and Palouse River

Palouse River

The Palouse River is a tributary of the Snake River located in the U.S. states of Washington and Idaho. It flows for southwestwards, primarily through the Palouse region of southeastern Washington...

s, near Starbuck, Washington

Starbuck, Washington

Starbuck is a town in Columbia County, Washington, United States. The population was 129 at the 2010 census.-History:Named for railroad official W. H. Starbuck, the town was originally a junction on the main line of the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company. The town was platted in 1894, and...

, USA, is the oldest extant steel

Steel

Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

 cantilever bridge

Cantilever bridge

A cantilever bridge is a bridge built using cantilevers, structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end. For small footbridges, the cantilevers may be simple beams; however, large cantilever bridges designed to handle road or rail traffic use trusses built from...

 in Washington. The bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 (reference number 82004207) and is located next to Lyons Ferry Park.

Original construction

It was originally constructed in 1927 and known as the Vantage Ferry Bridge, where it carried the North Central Highway over the Columbia River

Columbia River

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...

 in Vantage

Vantage, Washington

Vantage is a census-designated place in Kittitas County, Washington, United States. The population was 70 at the 2000 census.-History:The area around Vantage has been occupied by the Wanapum Native Americans since prehistory. A number of well-preserved rock-paintings have been found on the cliff...

, replacing a four-car ferry

Ferry

A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

. By 1923, the ferry was transporting 50,000 people across the river annually, and it was clear that a bridge was needed to replace it. Originally planned to be a privately constructed toll bridge

Toll bridge

A toll bridge is a bridge over which traffic may pass upon payment of a toll, or fee.- History :The practice of collecting tolls on bridges probably harks back to the days of ferry crossings where people paid a fee to be ferried across stretches of water. As boats became impractical to carry large...

, it was strongly opposed by Washington Governor Louis F. Hart

Louis F. Hart

Louis Folwell Hart was the ninth Governor of Washington State from 14 June 1919 to 12 January 1925. He is most remembered for reorganizing the state's administrative structure by reducing the number of agencies and the consequent financial economies.-Early life:Hart was born in High Point,...

 because it would be a toll bridge on a taxpayer-supported highway. Not only that, but the state also stood to lose $900,000 in federal funds for the North Central Highway if a toll bridge were to be built. Instead, the state approved funding for its own bridge.

However, the construction of the Wanapum Dam

Wanapum Dam

Wanapum Dam is a hydroelectric project located on the Columbia River downstream from Vantage, Washington where Interstate 90 crosses the Columbia from Grant County into Kittitas County. It is owned by the Grant County Public Utility District. Its reservoir is named Lake Wanapum.The dam, and its...

 downriver of the bridge in the 1960s flooded the town of Vantage, and state officials decided to replace the existing two-lane bridge, which had become unsafe for high volume traffic, with a new four-lane bridge

Vantage Bridge

The Vantage Bridge is a bridge in the U.S. state of Washington. It carries Interstate 90 across the Columbia River, near Vantage and George, Washington. This section of the river is named Wanapum Lake; it is the reservoir formed by Wanapum Dam...

. The old bridge was dismantled and put into storage.

Meanwhile, at Lyons Ferry, crossings of the Snake River were done by ferry, but the construction of the Lower Monumental Dam caused the river to slow, thus increasing crossing time. State officials then decided to reconstruct this bridge at that location.