Cable Bridge

Cable Bridge
Cable Bridge
Coordinates	46°13′6.25″N 119°6′13.73″W / 46.2184028°N 119.1038139°W
Carries	Four lanes of SR 397, Sacagawea Heritage Trail
Crosses	Columbia River
Locale	Pasco–Kennewick, Washington
Official name	Ed Hendler Bridge
Maintained by	Washington State Dept. of Transportation
ID number	085555000000000
Characteristics
Design	Cable-stayed bridge
Total length	2,503 ft (762.9 m)
Width	80 ft (24.4 m)
Longest span	981 ft (299.0 m)
Clearance below	48 ft (14.6 m)
History
Designer	John Clark, Arvid Grant, Holger S. Svensson
Opened	September 8, 1978
Statistics
Daily traffic	16,129 (2012), 8,279 (1994)
Location

The Cable Bridge, officially called the Ed Hendler Bridge and sometimes called the Intercity Bridge, spans the Columbia River between Pasco and Kennewick in southeastern Washington as State Route 397. It was constructed in 1978 and replaced the Pasco–Kennewick Bridge, an earlier span built in 1922 and demolished in 1990.

The bridge is one of seven major bridge structures in the Tri-Cities area. The Blue Bridge (another Pasco/Kennewick bridge), the Interstate 182 Bridge that connects Pasco with Richland, the U.S. Highway 12 bridge over the Snake River (Pasco/Burbank), and three railroad bridges are the others. However, the Cable Bridge is the only bridge that carries traffic that is not a freeway.

It was dedicated on September 8, 1978, and was the first major cable-stayed bridge to be built in the United States (and second-longest of its kind in the world at the time).^[4]^[5] It was constructed almost entirely of prestressed concrete, beginning with the towers and followed by the bridge deck, which was cast in individual segments, raised up and secured to each other.

The bridge was named after Ed Hendler, a Pasco insurance salesman, as well as the city's former mayor, who headed up the committee responsible for obtaining the funding for construction of the bridge. Hendler died in August 2001.

A controversial feature of the bridge was added in 1998, when lights were added to illuminate the bridge at night. Many thought this was unnecessary and a waste of both electricity and money. During a power crisis in 2000, the lights were turned off, but they were turned on for one night to honor Hendler's passing. Now the lights are turned on at night, and turned off at 2 am.

In March 2007, the old guardrail system on the bridge, which consisted of steel cables, was replaced with a more rigid system, consisting of steel rails bolted to the original system's mounts on the bridge deck.

The bridge as a status symbol

The Cable Bridge, from the time of its opening, is considered a landmark and symbol of the Tri-Cities.^[6] Every winter, an event known as the Lampson Cable Bridge Run, including mile, five-kilometer, and 10-kilometer foot races, starts at the Kennewick end of the bridge near the Lampson International headquarters. All three share the same starting line. The five- and 10-kilometer events share an indoor finish line at the Lampson Maintenance Shop, while the 1-mile has its own outdoor finish.

At the foot of the Kennewick end is the Tri-Cities Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which has engraved on it the names of the area's dead. The remaining pier of the old Pasco–Kennewick bridge, which was replaced by the Cable Bridge, now serves as a scenic lookout, from which one can view the more recent bridge.

The bridge's sodium vapor lights are planned to be replaced with programmable LEDs that would be able to change color for special events.^[7]

References

^ Weeks, John. "Ed Hendler Bridge". Retrieved 2008-05-27.
^ Walther, R.; Houriet, B.; Isler, W.; Moïa, P.; Klein, J.F. (1999). Cable Stayed Bridges (2nd ed.). London: Thomas Telford Publishing. p. 52. ISBN 0727727737.
^ "SR 397 over COLUMBIA RIVER". BridgeReports.com. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
^ Culverwell, Wendy (September 16, 2018). "The incredible, improbable cable bridge turns 40". Tri-City Herald. p. A1. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
^ Lindblom, Mike (September 9, 2005). "High-Wire Act". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
^ "Ed Hendler Memorial Bridge". Experience Washington. Archived from the original on 2014-07-25. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
^ Culverwell, Wendy (November 13, 2023). "The Tri-Cities cable bridge was a sensation in 1978. LED lights could make it one again". Tri-City Herald. Retrieved December 2, 2023.