The Historic Columbia River Highway, constructed between
1913 and 1922, sought not only to make it easier to transport goods and people
through the Columbia River Gorge but also to enable more people to see the
scenic beauty of the area. And they did come to marvel at both the road and
many waterfalls along the way. Recently,
I had the opportunity to do likewise. We traveled east on I-84 and at the
Bridal Veil Falls exit drove along part of the original highway. I noticed the stone guard rails like those in
this photograph taken about the time the highway opened.
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| Historic Columbia River Highway |
The stone retaining walls and guard rails were built by
expert masons from Italy. They often had
to work dangling over the edge of the cliff. The arches and rounded tops helped
keep water from standing on the road and helped preserve the stonework.
Although the historic highway east of Bridal Veil was closed
as a result of last summer's Eagle Creek fire, we were able to visit Multnomah
Falls, which is close to the highway. It
looks much like it did in 1915.
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| June 2018 |
I had traveled along more of the historical highway many
years ago but one portion I never got to see was the Mitchell Point Tunnel. The
Mitchell headland protruded into the path of the road and the highway engineers
decided that tunneling through it was the best option. Explosives were used to
break the rock but the work had to be carefully done to protect operations of
the railroad below. The rock was then removed by hand, and carried away in
horse-drawn cart. Viaducts were built to
access the tunnel with the holes for the concrete supporting piers dug by hand!
What I would really like to have seen were the five windows created in the
outer wall.
Unfortunately, I first visited to Oregon in 1972 and the
tunnel had already been closed during construction of I-84 and then demolished
in 1966.
To build these enduring highway structures with the limited
equipment (mostly hand tools) then available is awe-inspiring. It’s no wonder the highway was designated as
a National Historical Civil Engineering Landmark.
An illustrated Columbia River Highway map is part of the Circa 1920 exhibition at Benton County Museum in Philomath.
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