Complex sentence: Eventually the washed out bridge was replaced, but the lack of through highway traffic proved advantageous to the city, which evolved into an art colony, then into a destination tourist resort popular throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Split into simpler sentences: Eventually the washed out bridge was replaced, but the lack of through highway traffic proved not a curse but a blessing to the town. It evolved into an art colony, then into a destination tourist resort popular throughout the Pacific Northwest.