Allen Street Bridge disaster

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Allen Street Bridge
Allen Street Bridge 1910.jpg
Allen Street Bridge as it appeared in 1910
Coordinates 46°08′42″N122°54′51″W / 46.14500°N 122.91417°W / 46.14500; -122.91417 Coordinates: 46°08′42″N122°54′51″W / 46.14500°N 122.91417°W / 46.14500; -122.91417
Other name(s)Kelso-Longview Bridge [1]
Characteristics
Design Bascule
Total length600 feet (182.9 m)
Longest span300 feet (91.4 m)
History
Opened1907
CollapsedJanuary 3, 1923
Location
Allen Street Bridge disaster

The Allen Street Bridge was a bridge over the Cowlitz River between Kelso, Washington and Longview, Washington that collapsed on January 3, 1923, killing as many as 35 people. It resulted in the deadliest bridge collapse in Washington history. [2]

Contents

Construction

The bridge was a bascule bridge made entirely of wood with a 600-foot (180 m) central span, built in 1907 to replace an earlier wooden bridge. [3] [4] It was renovated in 1915, but many residents refused to use the bridge due to its poor condition. [5]

Collapse

The collapse occurred the day after a log jam of over 3 million board-feet of runaway log boom piled up against the bridge was cleared. This was concluded by structural engineers to have weakened the bridge. [5] According to another source, the original old, rotten bridge deck had been overlaid by another layer of timbers which, combined with the soaking of the entire deck thickness, overloaded the span. [6]

The collapse occurred during evening rush hour with workers coming home from the Longview mills. [7] A stalled car caused traffic to bunch on the bridge; according to witnesses, the bridge was carrying about 20 vehicles and 100 to 150 pedestrians when a support cable failed for unknown reasons. [8] [4] The two supporting towers fell and the 300-foot center span of the bridge collapsed.

Initial contemporary newspaper reports stated that up to 80 people were killed in the collapse, with some witnesses saying 150. [9] By January 9, reports were that 19 people had been killed. [10] The figure compiled by authorities stood at 17, but probably did not account for many transient workers. Many of the missing bodies were probably carried down the Cowlitz to the Columbia River and then out to sea. [7] An estimate today is that 35 lives were lost. [11] Using even the lowest estimate of 17, as of 2014, the disaster stands as Washington's greatest loss of life caused by bridge failure. [12] [5] [8] [13]

Aftermath

The bridge loss is the first in a list of seventy accidental losses compiled by the Washington State Department of Transportation between 1923 and 1998. [14] This disaster brought about bridge inspection programs conducted by the state agency and counties. [6] [15]

A new four-lane vertical-lift drawbridge, of steel and cement construction, was under construction when the 1906 bridge collapsed. It was to connect Kelso with the new planned city of Longview on the west side of the Cowlitz, at a cost of $228,000. It was built by the Washington Department of Highways and opened to traffic on March 19, 1923. [5] [3] The vertical-lift bridge remained in use until it was closed in 2000 and replaced by a new span. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cowlitz County, Washington</span> County in Washington, United States

Cowlitz County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 110,730. The county seat is Kelso, and its largest city is Longview. The county was formed in April 1854. Its name derives from the anglicized version of the Cowlitz Indian term Cow-e-liske, meaning either 'river of shifting sands' or 'capturing the medicine spirit.' Cowlitz comprises the Longview, WA Metropolitan statistical area, which is also included in the Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA Combined statistical area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelso, Washington</span> City in Washington, United States

Kelso is a city in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Washington and is the county seat of Cowlitz County. At the 2020 census, the population was 12,720. Kelso is part of the Longview, Washington Metropolitan statistical area, which has a population of 110,730. Kelso shares its long western border with Longview. It is near Mount St. Helens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longview, Washington</span> City in Washington, United States

Longview is a city in Cowlitz County, Washington, United States. It is the principal city of the Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Cowlitz County. Longview's population was 37,818 at the time of the 2020 census, making it the largest city in Cowlitz County. The city is located in southwestern Washington, at the junction of the Cowlitz and Columbia rivers. Longview shares a border with Kelso to the east, which is the county seat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cowlitz River</span> River in Washington, United States

The Cowlitz River is a river in the state of Washington in the United States, a tributary of the Columbia River. Its tributaries drain a large region including the slopes of Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, and Mount St. Helens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lewis and Clark Bridge (Columbia River)</span> Historic bridge in Washington state and Oregon, USA

The Lewis and Clark Bridge is a cantilever bridge that spans the Columbia River between Longview, Washington, and Rainier, Oregon. At the time of its completion, it had the longest cantilever span in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelso Multimodal Transportation Center</span>

The Kelso Multimodal Transportation Center is an Amtrak train station located near downtown Kelso, Washington, United States. The station also serves the neighboring city of Longview, which is located just across the Cowlitz River. The station is served by Cascades and Coast Starlight trains. Greyhound Lines provides national and regional bus service, while RiverCities Transit provides local transit. Shuttle vans, taxis and rental cars can also be hired at the station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington State Route 4</span> State highway in Washington

State Route 4 (SR 4) is a 62.27-mile-long (100.21 km) state highway, serving the southwestern region of the U.S. state of Washington. The highway, also known as Ocean Beach Highway, travels east along the Columbia River from U.S. Route 101 (US 101) at Johnston's Landing through Pacific, Wahkiakum and Cowlitz counties to an interchange with Interstate 5 (I-5) in Kelso. SR 4 is designated as part of the Lewis and Clark Trail Scenic Byway, a state scenic byway, as well as part of the National Highway System.

<i>The Daily News</i> (Longview, Washington)

The Daily News (TDN) is the primary newspaper of Longview and Kelso, Washington, and Cowlitz County, Washington. Lee Enterprises acquired the newspaper in 2002, with its purchase of Howard Publications. Howard, in turn, had purchased the paper in 1999 from Ted Natt and John Natt, grandsons of John M. McClelland Sr., ending 76 years of McClelland-Natt family ownership. According to "R.A. Long's Planned City" by John McClelland Jr., McClelland Sr. purchased the paper, which began as a Long-Bell Lumber Company daily, from Robert A. Long, the lumber magnate and founder of Longview. Long founded both Longview and The Daily News in 1923.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington State Route 506</span> Highway in Washington

State Route 506 (SR 506) is an 11.53-mile (18.56 km) long state highway in Cowlitz and Lewis counties, part of the U.S. state of Washington, serving the communities of Ryderwood and Vader. SR 506 begins at the intersection of 2nd and Morse Street in Ryderwood, a community in Cowlitz County, traveling north into Lewis County and turning east past Vader to parallel the Cowlitz River and interchange Interstate 5 (I-5) twice west of Toledo. Originating as Secondary State Highway 1P (SSH 1P) in 1937, the highway was designated in its current form in 1964 and it shared its eastern terminus with SR 505. SR 411 terminated at Vader and both SR 411 and SR 505 were moved away from SR 506 in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington State Route 432</span> Highway in Washington

State Route 432 (SR 432) is a 10.32-mile-long (16.61 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Washington, serving the cities of Longview and Kelso in Cowlitz County. The highway travels east along the Columbia River from an intersection with SR 4 in West Longview through the Port of Longview and the termini of SR 433 and SR 411 in Longview. SR 432 crosses the Cowlitz River on a divided highway and ends at an interchange with Interstate 5 (I-5) in Kelso. SR 432 was established during the 1964 highway renumbering as SR 832, replacing a branch of Primary State Highway 12 (PSH 12) that had been routed through Longview and Kelso since 1937. SR 432 was established in 1968 and originally routed on Nichols Boulevard within Longview and was re-aligned onto its current route in 1991 after the opening of Industrial Way.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McMillin Bridge</span> Bridge in Pierce County, Washington

The McMillin Bridge is a concrete half-through truss bridge crossing the Puyallup River, in Pierce County, Washington, built in 1934.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East 34th Street Bridge</span> Bridge in Tacoma, Washington

The East 34th Street Bridge is a concrete open-spandrel bridge in Tacoma, Washington. The bridge was built in 1937 to replace a wood bridge that had previously spanned the gulch. The bridge is constructed of two rib arches, that are supported by 24-foot (7 m) support legs, with spandrel columns between the arches and the bridge's 485-foot (148 m) deck. The concrete railings on the deck are adorned with urn-shaped lampposts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winnifred Street Bridge</span> United States historic place

The Winnifred Street Bridge is a concrete box girder bridge in Ruston, Washington. It was built in 1941 by S. R. Gray. The bridge has a 215-foot (66 m) deck, and sits 74 feet (23 m) above railroad tracks in a ravine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purdy Bridge</span> United States historic place

The Purdy Bridge is a continuous hollow-box girder bridge that spans 550 feet (170 m) between Henderson Bay, Washington and Burley Lagoon, connecting Purdy, Washington with the Purdy Sand Spit Park and Wauna, Washington. It was built on September 29, 1937, and at the time was the longest continuous box girder bridge in the United States, at a cost of $62,000 from a design by Homer M. Hadley. At the time it was built, Purdy Bridge was the first bridge in the United States to utilize a reinforced-concrete box girder design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington State Route 411</span>

State Route 411 (SR 411) is a 13.48-mile (21.69 km) state highway located in Cowlitz County in the U.S. state of Washington, serving Longview, Kelso, West Side Highway and Castle Rock. The roadway, which parallels the Cowlitz River and Interstate 5 (I-5), begins at an interchange with SR 432 in Longview and travels north past a spur route, under SR 4 and across the Cowlitz River to become concurrent with I-5 Business and end at an interchange with I-5, I-5 Business and SR 504 in Castle Rock. The road first appeared on a map in 1951 and originally signed as Secondary State Highway 12H (SSH 12H) in 1957, SR 411 was established in 1964 and ran from Kelso to Vader. In 1991, the highway was extended south to SR 432 in Longview, the former route becoming SR 411 Spur, and was shortened to I-5 / I-5 Business / SR 504 in Castle Rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nutty Narrows Bridge</span> Bridge for squirrels in Longview, Washington, U.S.

The Nutty Narrows Bridge is a squirrel bridge in Longview, Washington, United States. It spans Olympia Way near R. A. Long Park in downtown Longview, comprising a 60 feet (18 m) catenary bridge with a center section resembling a suspension bridge. The bridge was built by local contractor Amos Peters in 1963 and named by a city councilwoman, in a likely nod to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chow Chow Bridge</span> Former bridge in the Quinault Indian Reservation, Washington

The Chow Chow Bridge was an early, wooden cable-stayed bridge crossing the Quinault River on the Quinault Indian Reservation near Taholah, Grays Harbor County, Washington. It was built for the first time in 1952 and finally removed in 1988. Frank Milward designed the bridge for Aloha Lumber Company.

<i>Cowlitz</i> (sternwheeler) Shallow-draft sternwheeler built for service on the Cowlitz River

Cowlitz was a shallow-draft sternwheeler built for service on the Cowlitz River in southwestern Washington State. The vessel also served on the Columbia River. Cowlitz was in service from 1917 until September 1931, when, not far from The Dalles, Oregon, it sank in the Columbia river in a storm.

RiverCities Transit is a public transit system serving the cities of Longview and Kelso in Cowlitz County, Washington.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Holstine & Hobbs 2005, p. 54.
  2. ↑ "The deadliest bridge collapse in Washington State history". 2018-04-14. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
  3. 1 2 3 Yardley, Donna (December 1, 2000). "Bridging old & new". The Daily News . p. A5. Retrieved January 30, 2020– via Newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  4. 1 2 Driscoll, Matt (2013a). "While it's fresh on everyone's mind today – thanks to the unsettling". Seattle Weekly. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
  5. 1 2 3 4 McClary 2005.
  6. 1 2 Holstine & Hobbs 2005, p. 55.
  7. 1 2 Popular Mechanics 1923.
  8. 1 2 Driscoll 2013.
  9. ↑ United Press 1923.
  10. ↑ Chicago Tribune 1923.
  11. ↑ Haeck 2013.
  12. ↑ Miller & Watson 2011.
  13. ↑ Peninsula Daily News 2013.
  14. ↑ Holstine & Hobbs 2005, p. 52.
  15. ↑ Drone 2013.

Sources

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