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What a beautiful bridge! We were on our way to meet family in Charleston, OR. Such a treat to come across this old bridge. Gorgeous views from both sides while driving over it. It's a cantilever bridge built in the 1930's. It spans a mile over Coos Bay. At the end of the bridge driving South on highway 101, you come up to the cool neon North Bend sign welcoming you. It's named after it's designer who has designed numerous other bridges in Oregon along highway 101. If you're in the area, I highly recommend driving over it and experiencing the beautiful structure and views! read more
If you've ever driven many miles along US Route 101 you're one of the lucky ones, the California, Oregon and Washington coast lines holds some of the most beautiful scenery you'll ever see, I've been fortunate to have driven the entire coast line over several years and some extended sections multiple times. One of the things I've most admired were the bridges that cross the many rivers, canyons and valleys along the way. All of these bridges are unique in design and presented different challenges for the engineers that were assigned to complete this sometimes daunting task but it was always a labor of love. You also may notice that some of the bridges are eerie similar in design even though they cross a variety of different terrains this is especially true along the sections of highway along the Oregon coast - this particular bridge was engineered by its namesake Conde Balcom McCullough who worked for the Oregon DOT from 1919 - 1935 and returned to service again in 1937 until 1946. McCullough personally designed a number of bridges in Oregon over his lengthy career and aided in the design of over 600 bridges across the continent and abroad. The cantilever design was chosen due to the high volume of traffic passing under it, the 793-foot main span has 145 feet of vertical clearance and is part of a 1,708-foot long steel cantilever span. Overall length, including the concrete approach spans is 5,305 feet. The approach spans are concrete arches more typical of McCullough's designs with main towers rising 280 feet above the water surface, with curved sway bracing in a Gothic arch style. The ends of the bridge are marked by pedestrian plazas meant to provide a viewing point for the bridge and to provide access to the shoreline. The stairs descend in sweeping curves to the park below. This bridge opened in 1936 and at some point will be tagged for replacement so spending a few minutes admiring this historic structure while it's still in service is something to behold.... read more
