Oregon Trunk RR Bridge
Celilo Falls Bridge
Bridge, also known as The Oregon Trunk Bridge was part of a dream of James J. Hill to expand the Great Northern southward to California. With the help of the Northern Pacific the Spokane Portland Seattle was completed in 1908. That same year the two railways proceeded to build a bridge across the Columbia River and built a route to Bend. When the bridge was built all cement piers supporting the bridge were built on dry rock foundation as the Dalles Dam had not yet been built. The Celilo Falls, an ancient Indian fishing spot, and the navigation locks of the same name were directly east of the crossing. The bridge was opened to traffic in 1912.
The bridge’s main structure consists of 7 Parker truss spans, (from north to south) the sixth being the longest bridging the main channel of the Columbia River and the seventh being a swing bridge, for the purpose of allowing shipping traffic to flow up the Celilo Locks. The northern approach was a wye that allowed traffic from east and west to go south. After crossing the Celilo Lock canal the route proceeded east until it turned south following the Deschutes River to Bend.
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Celilo Falls 1947
Celilo Falls (or what remains) today
