The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1922-03-23
BRIDGE WORK =
IN PROGRlz
NEW BRIDGE OF THE GODS TO 1
Structure, Which Will Cost S450,000, |
Be of Classical Design. Con-
crete to Be Poured Soon

Sundays Oregonian carried a cut of
the proposed bridge, to span the CO.
lunlba at Cascade Locks, as visioned
by the engineers.
Concrete for the piers on the Oregon
side for the Bridge Of the Gods will
be poured in the near future by the
oung-McDonald Company, contrac tor.
The span, which is unique. will cross
the Columbia river just below Cascade
Locks, linking the Columbia river and
North Bank highways and forming
l00-mile scenic drive of marvellous
beauty. 1t will cost, complete, ap-
proxmately $450,000.
The bridge is being projected and
will be built under direction Of the
Bridge of the Gods company, With
headquarters in the Chamber of Com
merce building, Portland. The trustees
of the company are Franklin 7.
Griffith, A. l.. Miller. George S. Allen,
w. Z. HaN ley and Joseph r. Harvey.
Dorr +. Keasy is the financial agent.
At the last meeting of the trustees,
Mr.. Griffith was elected president. but
because of numerous other responsible
tiles, later said that he could not serve
in that capacity. Mr.. Miller is vice.
president and Mr.. Allen, secretary
treasurer.
Engineering has progressed On the
pier sites to the point where it ha
been determined there is a first class
rock foundation for the abutmente and
the contractors for the Oregon side
piers are peparing the ground for pour
ing of concrete, which will be operated
on the gravity system. 1t will he
mixed high on the hillside and run
down.
The bridge is of exceptionally beauti-
full architectural design. The features
were worked out by l. A. Thomas, con-
sulting architect, with Engineer Clark,
and its form and composition have
been developed by them in a careful
study Of purpose and expression. their
object being to have it serve as fit
ting climax of the attractive improve.
ments which have been so we'll per-
formed on the highways by other en-
glneers and builders.
The location of the bridge, according
to Mr.. Clark. has been selected with
regard to the. historic background and
the economic features of the day. The
disturbances of ages, he explains, cre-
ated special conditions which have been
encountered in determining the point
for approaches. but also left very de-
sirable foundation for construction of
the span.
Materials upon which to place the
! foundations or the bridge, and the dis
,tance between abutmens at the points
chosen are distinct advantage over
any other position for more than 100
miles along the river, Mr. Clark
states. The North Bank, or Washing
ton highway will in the future handle
great streams of traffic from the In
land Empire, he thinks. as we'll as
from the uplands adjacent to the CO.
lumbia valley, and at the point of
crossing is but one-quaTter of mile
distant from the Columbia River High
way, which annually is becoming more
thickly congested with traffic. This,
he points out, makes the selected loca-
ton the most desirable in the north
west.
The type of bridge selected. while
appearing to the layman as being
somewhat unusual or unique, is in
reality based upon scientific principles
and has many advantages over the ord.
mary form of simple truss or canti-
lever span," said Mr.. Clark. "Bridg-
es like this have been giving satisfac-
tory service for long periods in the
United States, and on the continent of
Europe.
"The Tower bridge over the river
Thames at London and the Tlber
bridge in Rome are of this type; also
the Point bridge in Pittsburgh and the
Grand-avenue bridge in st. Loui-. Sew
eral designs have been prepared for
some of the greatest bridges in the
world, including the Manhattan over
the East river, New York.
"At the point Of crossing the gorge
of the Columbia river is quite narrow
snd severe wind conditions exist at
various seasons of the year Special
provision has been made in the design
for extraordinary and uncertain wind
pressure. The wide spreading legs of
the steel tower provide the opportun-
ity for a wind truss in the plane of the
floor system of sufficient depth to give
adequate stiffness against wind action.
1.-THE floor system does not rest upon
the towers, but through sliding steel
shoe; all wind stresses are delivered at
the legs of the tower and are then
transmitted direct to the masonry. The
concrete piers below the steel work are
carried down to the solid materials
which form the river bed and which
were laid down by the elements IN
ages past and have long since become
stable and thoroughly reliable as
foundation for structure of this mag
nitude. The erection of this bridge,
while appearing difficult, after sutfiei-
ent study by experienced erectors, un-
folds into a comparatively simple oper-
alton when the proper equipment IS
supplied.