Cable Bridge

Infobox Bridge
bridge_name = Cable Bridge

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caption =
official_name = Ed Hendler Bridge
carries = Vehicle traffic
crosses = Columbia River
locale = Pasco–Kennewick, Washington
maint = Washington State Dept. of Transportation
id = 085555000000000
designer = John Clark, Arvid Grant, Holger S. Svensson
design = Cable-stayed bridge
material =
spans =
pierswater =
mainspan = convert|752|ft|m|1|abbr=on [cite journal | url=http://www.aaajourney.com/magazine/2007_0910/outandabout.asp | title=Out & About | journal=Journey | publisher=AAA | date=September/October 2007 | accessdate=2008-05-28]
length = convert|2503|ft|m|1|abbr=on [cite web | url=http://www.johnweeks.com/cablestay/pages/csb21.html | title=Ed Hendler Bridge | first=John | last=Weeks | accessdate=2008-05-27]
width = convert|80|ft|m|1|abbr=on
height =
load =
clearance =
below = convert|48|ft|m|1|abbr=on
traffic = 8,279 (1994)
begin =
complete =
open = September 1978
closed =
toll =
map_cue =
map_

map_text =
map_width =
coordinates = coord|46|13|6.25|N|119|6|13.73|W|region:US_type:landmark|display=inline,title
lat =
long = 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 1995. The bridge is one of three bridge structures in the Tri-Cities area, the Blue Bridge (another Pasco/Kennewick bridge) and the Interstate 182 Bridge, that connect Pasco with Richland, are the others.

The bridge is the first in the United States to use a 'cable-stayed' design [cite news | url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/pacificnw09112005/coverstory.html | title=High-Wire Act | publisher=The Seattle Times | first=Mike | last=Lindblom | date=September 11 2005 | accessdate=2008-05-27] and is constructed almost entirely of prestressed concrete. The bridge towers were constructed first, with 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, Washington insurance salesman 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.fact|date=May 2008 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 2am.

In March of 2007, the old guard rail 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, has proved to be a popular landmark in the Tri-City area, so much so it has become an unofficial symbol of the area. [cite web | url=http://www.experiencewa.com/v5/poi/poi.aspx?poiId=8666 | title=Ed Hendler Memorial Bridge | publisher=Experience Washington | accessdate=2008-05-27] Every winter, an event known as the Cable Bridge Run, a 10-kilometer foot race, starts at the Kennewick end of the bridge near the Neil F. Lampson Company's headquarters.

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.

References