The Oregon Coast Highway was constructed piecemeal beginning in 1914 the Umpqua River Bridge is historically significant as one of the five Depression-era bridges that connected the Oregon Coast Highway. The Umpqua River Bridge is the only one of the five coastal bridges to be constructed with a swing span. It is the longest swing span bridge constructed in Oregon, and one of only a few left in the state. Looking at this beautiful structure there's no doubt the Umpqua River Bridge, located in Reedsport, was designed by the famous Oregon Coast bridge engineer Conde McCullough and opened to traffic in 1936. The Umpqua River Bridge includes early examples of use of bowstring arches, and concrete arches, it's as if McCullough's signature design criteria was never challenged during his era. The integrity of this bridge proves the genius behind his engineering and it's no doubt that he became a professor of engineering later in life passing on the decades of knowledge he gained while leading many successful projects.
One purpose of the coastal bridge projects was to provide jobs for people unemployed by the Great Depression. The project aggregated over 2.1 million man hours directly on the bridges. In addition to this, the project benefitted Oregon industries by consuming 16 million board feet of lumber, 54,000 cubic yards of sand, 110,000 cubic yards of gravel, and 182,000 barrels of cement. It was also expected that future revenue from tourism along the highway would increase greatly, to the benefit of both the state and the region and that has been proven to be the case, it's doubtful I would of ever been able to enjoy this beautiful drive without the construction of this bridge.
The total length of this bridge is 2,206'. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 5, 2005. No dedication ceremony occurred at the time the bridge open due to the unavailability of President Franklin Roosevelt. The ceremony was postponed indefinitely. At 3 PM on September 8, 2011, the bridge was opened and closed, followed by a ribbon cutting, and cars from the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s crossed the bridge. It was finally officially dedicated to celebrate its 75th anniversary. read more