If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 756

 

 

 

 

 

McCullough Bridge, North Bend, Oregon

[Photo by Mike Anderson]

 

Featured on this unused color postcard is the Conde McCullough Memorial Bridge that spans Coos Bay on U.S. 101 near North Bend, Oregon.  The card is an André Print with CB-11 and a blurb found at the lower left corner on the reverse.  The blurb states:  “Quiet waters on Coos Bay capture the reflection of McCullough Bridge, Highway 101, on the Oregon Coast.  Photo by Mike Anderson.  J.&H – Portland, Oregon…Printed in Australia by Colorscans.” The deckled/scalloped edges date the card to the 1960s or earlier.

 

This bridge was completed in 1936 and named the North Bend Bridge.  It was renamed the Conde B. McCullough Bridge in 1947 in honor of McCollough who had passed away in 1946.  There are ten other major bridges on the Oregon Coast Highway that were designed under the supervision of McCullough.  The bridge replaced ferries that formerly crossed the bay.  It has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

 

The bridge has a cantilever through-truss design with the main piers supported on piles driven into the bay’s bed.  The piers and concrete structures were built by the Northwest Roads Company of Portland, Oregon.  The Virginia Bridge and Iron Company built the steel sections of the bridge.  The main towers of the cantilever section were made off-site and moved to the bridge site in sections.  The cantilever design was preferred due to the long spans and heavy traffic in the shipping channel.  The main towers rise 280 feet or 8.2 meters above the water.  The overall length of the bridge is 5,305 feet or 1,617 meters.  The main span has 145 feet or 44 meters of vertical clearance.  There are pedestrian viewing plazas  at both ends of the bridge.

 

 Thanks to Bob for sharing the card.

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conde_McCollough_Memorial_Bridge