The Blue Bridge

US 395 from Kennewick to Pasco

The Blue Bridge, completed circa 1953, was the second highway bridge to cross the Columbia River in the Tri-Cities area. The first bridge, completed in 1922, was about a mile downstream, closer to downtown Pasco and Kennewick. US 410, renumbered US 12 in 1967, was shifted from the old bridge to the Blue Bridge. I think that the Blue Bridge was originally painted the standard green color used for steel highway bridges in Washington State. The bridge was repainted blue sometime in the 1970s or 80s. The Blue Bridge is 4 lane. At some point, a jersey barrier was added to separate opposing traffic.

When I-182 was completed in the Tri-Cities area in Spring 1986, US 12 was moved from the Blue Bridge to I-182. The Blue Bridge was closed for several months so that the cross beams above the roadway could be raised to provide higher vertical clearance for trucks. Also, a pedestrian-bicycle path was cantilevered off the downstream side of the bridge. When the bridge reopened in late 1986, the highway route across the bridge was redesignated as part of US 395.

The photo was taken in September 2001 from the southwest side of the bridge in Columbia Park in Kennewick.