Metaline Falls Bridge | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 48°51′54.4″N117°22′23.4″W / 48.865111°N 117.373167°W |
Carries | SR 31 |
Crosses | Pend Oreille River |
Locale | Metaline Falls, Washington |
Maintained by | Washington State Department of Transportation |
Characteristics | |
Design | Warren deck truss |
Total length | 696 feet (212 m) |
Width | 26 feet (8 m) |
Longest span | 240 feet (73 m) |
Clearance below | 20 feet (6 m) |
History | |
Opened | 1952 |
Location | |
The Metaline Falls Bridge carries Washington State Route 31 over the Pend Oreille River in the extreme northeast corner of the state. Officially named the Pend Oreille Bridge, it provides access from the south to the town of Metaline Falls and the Boundary Dam. Completed in 1952, the bridge is a 696 feet (212 m) long and 26 feet (7.9 m) wide combination steel truss and concrete T-beam structure. Consisting of three main Warren deck truss spans, the longest of which is 240 feet (73 m), the bridge carries two lanes of traffic and a pedestrian walkway. [1]
The bridge is a key part of the Pacific Northwest Trail and the International Selkirk Loop, both of which attract many outdoor enthusiasts to the Metaline Falls area. Washington Rock, a favorite climbing venue in the region, is almost directly above the point where SR 31 turns southeast to enter the town which allows climbers to take almost vertical photos of the bridge. [2] Eligible to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places, WSDOT currently classifies the bridge as Functionally Obsolete, [3] The Federal Highway Administration using the National Bridge Inventory rating method, [4] gave the bridge an overall acceptable grade in 2017, with its lowest rating "Fair" for superstructure condition. [5]
A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered wooden bridges typically have a lifespan of only 20 years because of the effects of rain and sun, but a covered bridge can last over 100 years. In the United States, only about 1 in 10 survived the 20th century. The relatively small number of surviving bridges is due to deliberate replacement, neglect, and the high cost of restoration.
Ione is a town in Pend Oreille County, Washington, United States. The population was 428 at the 2020 census.
Metaline Falls is a town in Pend Oreille County, Washington, United States. The population was 272 at the 2020 census.
The Pend Oreille River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately 130 miles (209 km) long, in northern Idaho and northeastern Washington in the United States, as well as southeastern British Columbia in Canada. In its passage through British Columbia its name is spelled Pend-d'Oreille River. It drains a scenic area of the Rocky Mountains along the U.S.-Canada border on the east side of the Columbia. The river is sometimes defined as the lower part of the Clark Fork, which rises in western Montana. The river drains an area of 66,800 square kilometres (25,792 sq mi), mostly through the Clark Fork and its tributaries in western Montana and including a portion of the Flathead River in southeastern British Columbia. The full drainage basin of the river and its tributaries accounts for 43% of the entire Columbia River Basin above the confluence with the Columbia. The total area of the Pend Oreille basin is just under 10% of the entire 258,000-square-mile (670,000 km2) Columbia Basin. Box Canyon Dam is currently underway on a multimillion-dollar project for a fish ladder.
The Aurora Bridge is a cantilever and truss bridge in Seattle, Washington, United States. It carries State Route 99 over the west end of Seattle's Lake Union and connects Queen Anne and Fremont. The bridge is located just east of the Fremont Cut, which itself is spanned by the Fremont Bridge.
The Hood Canal Bridge is a floating bridge in the northwest United States, located in western Washington. It carries State Route 104 across Hood Canal in Puget Sound and connects the Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas. At 7,869 feet in length, it is the longest floating bridge in the world located in a saltwater tidal basin, and the third longest floating bridge overall. It opened in 1961 and was the second concrete floating bridge constructed in Washington. Since that time, it has become a vital link for local residents, freight haulers, commuters, and recreational travelers. The convenience it provides has had a major impact on economic development, especially in eastern Jefferson County.
U.S. Route 195 (US 195) is a north–south United States Highway, of which all but 0.65 miles of its 94.02 miles are within the state of Washington. The highway starts in rural Idaho north of the city of Lewiston as a state highway in an interchange with US 95. As the road crosses into Washington it becomes a state highway that connects communities in the Palouse region of Eastern Washington. US 195 travels north, serving the cities of Pullman, Colfax and Rosalia in Whitman County before continuing into Spokane County to its terminus in the city of Spokane at an interchange with Interstate 90 (I-90).
The Interstate Bridge is a pair of nearly identical steel vertical-lift, Parker through-truss bridges that carry Interstate 5 traffic over the Columbia River between Vancouver, Washington and Portland, Oregon in the United States.
The National Bridge Inventory (NBI) is a database, compiled by the Federal Highway Administration, with information on all bridges and tunnels in the United States that have roads passing above or below them. That is similar to the grade-crossing identifier number database, compiled by the Federal Railroad Administration, which identifies all railroad crossings. The bridge information includes the design of the bridge and the dimensions of the usable portion. The data is often used to analyze bridges and to judge their condition. The inventory is developed for the purpose of having a unified database for bridges to ensure the safety of the traveling public, as required by the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1968. It includes identification information, bridge types and specifications, operational conditions, bridge data including geometric data and functional description, and inspection data. Any bridge more than 20 ft long used for vehicular traffic is included.
The Pend Oreille Valley Railroad is a shortline railroad located in Usk, in northeast Washington.
State Route 31 (SR 31) is a Washington state highway located entirely in Pend Oreille County. The highway, which is 26.79 miles (43.11 km) long, starts at an intersection with SR 20 in Tiger and travels north to the Canada–US border north of Metaline Falls. At the border, SR 31 becomes British Columbia Highway 6 (BC 6). The route parallels the Pend Oreille River for most of its route and the primary functions of the highway is to serve and connect Tiger, Ione, Metaline and Metaline Falls with British Columbia.
The Cogan House Covered Bridge is a Burr arch truss covered bridge over Larrys Creek in Cogan House Township, Lycoming County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It was built in 1877 and is 94 feet 2 inches (28.7 m) long. The bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and underwent a major restoration in 1998. The Cogan House bridge is named for the township and village of Cogan House, and is also known by at least four other names: Buckhorn, Larrys Creek, Day's, and Plankenhorn.
Primary State Highway 6 (PSH 6) was a Washington state highway in the older primary and secondary system that existed from 1937 until 1964 in Spokane and Pend Oreille counties. The road ran from an intersection with PSH 3, U.S. Route 2 and US 395 in Spokane north to British Columbia Highway 6 (BC 6) at the Canada–US border near Metaline Falls, passing its branch route and two secondary routes.
State Route 223 (SR 223) is a 3.81-mile (6.13 km) long state highway located entirely in Yakima County, Washington, United States. It has served the role of connecting the city of Granger to the county seat, Yakima via Interstate 82 and to SR 22 since its establishment in 1967, serving between 4,000 and 8,500 cars per day on average in 2009.
The Buttonwood Covered Bridge is a covered bridge built in either 1878 or 1898 over Blockhouse Creek in Jackson Township, Lycoming County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It uses a queen post with king post truss and is 74 feet 2 inches (22.6 m) long. The bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, and had a major restoration in 1998. It is the shortest and most heavily used of the three covered bridges remaining in Lycoming County.
The Sonestown Covered Bridge is a covered bridge over Muncy Creek in Davidson Township, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania built around 1850. It is 110 ft (34 m) long and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1980. It is named for the nearby unincorporated village of Sonestown in Davidson Township, and is also known as the Davidson Covered Bridge. It was built to provide access to a grist mill which operated until the early 20th century.
The Forksville Covered Bridge is a Burr arch truss covered bridge over Loyalsock Creek in the borough of Forksville, Sullivan County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It was built in 1850 and is 152 feet 11 inches (46.61 m) in length. The bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The Forksville bridge is named for the borough it is in, which in turn is named for its location at the confluence or "forks" of the Little Loyalsock and Loyalsock Creeks.
The Benton City – Kiona Bridge is a steel box girder and cable-stayed bridge carrying two lanes of Washington State Route 225 over the Yakima River in Benton City, Benton County, Washington. The current span was opened to traffic on July 4, 1957 and measures 400-foot-long (121.9 m) by 26-foot (7.8 m) wide. Two bridges had previously connected the cities of Benton City and Kiona before and were located 300 feet (91 m) downstream. The first bridge was open by 1901, and the immediate predecessor bridge was closed and torn down in 1964. The bridge is owned and maintained by the Washington State Department of Transportation, and was added to the Washington Heritage Register on January 25, 2002.
The Metaline Falls–Nelway Border Crossing connects the town of Metaline Falls, Washington with Nelway and Nelson, British Columbia at the Canada–US border. Access is via Washington State Route 31 on the American side and British Columbia Highway 6 on the Canadian side. This is the easternmost crossing in Washington.