Astoria-Megler Bridge (place)

The Astoria-Megler Bridge is a bridge than spans the Columbia River between the city of Astoria in Oregon and the Megler region of Washington. While Astoria, at the south end of the bridge, is a city, "Megler" is a region, and the northern terminus of the bridge is in an uninhabited location. The bridge is 4.1 miles long, and was completed in 1966. Two of the designers were Ivan D. Merchant for the state of Oregon and George Stevens for the state of Washington. The bridge replaced a ferry, and completed US Highway 101 as a road-only route from southern California to the tip of the Olympic Peninsula. The bridge has one central span with steel trussing and with a very high clearence, allowing ships to pass underneath, with most of the bridge being a long causeway.

There are many definitions of what a bridge is, and many ways to measure their length. But the Astoria-Megler Bridge may be the longest bridge over a river in the United States. The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is five times as long, but that is over a lake, not over a river. And when the Columbia River arrives at its mouth, it is a wide, deep river with a strong flow. And the Pacific Ocean is also tempestuous here. It is probably only that the bridge is about eight miles inland, protected by Cape Lookout on the Oregon side, and Cape Disappointment on the Washington side, that allows the bridge to exist at all. Even as it is, the bridge seems precarious, especially on a foggy day (which is many in this location), disappearing into the distance. Although not the most extraordinary bridge from a decorative point of view, it is an engineering marvel, and one that allows easy transportation that would otherwise require a 100 mile long detour all the way to Longview, Washington.