US 101 is one of Grays Harbor County’s most important roads. But by the 1960s, it was becoming plagued with traffic problems. To help, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) split a section of the road into east and west-bound routes and built the Hoquiam River-Riverside Avenue Bridge.
Splitting US 101 in Grays Harbor
At the time, US 101 crossed the Hoquiam River over the Simpson Avenue Bridge, built in 1928. Single west and east bound lanes worked for many years, but as traffic increased, so did congestion, especially on busy summer weekends.
It took years of lobbying, but WSDOT finally proposed a solution in the mid-1960s: splitting a section of US 101 through Aberdeen and Hoquiam into east and west bound routes. The highway would also be widened to two lanes.
Simpson Avenue Bridge would handle the eastbound traffic over the Hoquiam River, but a new bridge would be needed to carry westbound traffic over the same river. This new bridge would also replace the aging Eighth Street Bridge, built in 1910.
Building the Hoquiam Riverside Avenue Bridge
The $423,000 Aberdeen-Hoquiam One-Way Couplet Project was awarded to the Interstate Asphalt Co., Inc. of Aberdeen. They began working on widening and resurfacing the 3.4 mile stretch of highway through Aberdeen and Hoquiam in fall 1968. Construction wrapped up in August 1970.
The Simpson River bridge continued to carry east and west bound traffic until the Riverside Avenue Bridge was built.
Riverside Avenue Bridge Delayed in Hoquiam
WSDOT engineers designed the Riverside Avenue Bridge. In February 1969 the state agency awarded the $1.9 million bridge contract to the Willamette-Western Corporation of Portland.
Steelwork was fabricated and erected by Northwest Steel Fabricator Inc. of Vancouver, Washington. Over 600 tons of structural steel, primarily supplied by the Betlehem Steel Corporation’s Seattle plant, were used for the bridge.
John Hart served as project engineer for WSDOT. W.T. Robinson, who would later become chief engineer of the department’s bridge and structures division, was design engineer. Willis B. Horn and Carl M. West served as supervising engineers.
The Riverside Avenue Bridge is a truss bridge with a span length of 233.9 feet and a total length of 464.9 feet. It has a deck width of 27.1 feet, and vertical clearance of 17.7 feet.
Construction should have been completed in 250 working days. It wasn’t.
The project met with several delays. Work slowed during the nationwide General Electric Strike. Lasting from October 1969 to February 1970, it was said to be one of the most expensive strikes in American history. GE manufactured the motor for the bridge’s lift system.
The bridge was delayed again after a structural flaw was discovered in its sheave. The final push for completion began in late March 1971, when workers jury-rigged a cable lift to install the roadway section.
Riverside Avenue Dedicated in 1971
Riverside Avenue Bridge was dedicated on Wednesday, June 30, 1971, just ahead of the Fourth of July weekend. Around 200 people attended the 11 a.m. event.
To open the ceremony, Willamette-Western lowered the bridge to allow a group of young bicyclists to cross to the west side. Then they raised the bridge for speeches at the east end of the bridge.
The bridge took years of lobbying, Rolland “Omar” Youmans, Grays Harbor County Commissioner and former Hoquiam mayor, told the gathered crowd. “This bridge,” he declared “is the result of a concentrated effort of all the people of Grays Harbor County not just the city of Hoquiam.”
The bridge was lowered again for the ribbon cutting. Ribbon cutters were WSDOT Director George Andrews, Miss Grays Harbor Cathy Morehead, Loggers Playday Queen Cindy McLeod, Hoquiam Mayor John Baker and Aberdeen Mayor Walt Failor. The eager crowd then walked across.
