The Cable Bridge, officially called the Ed Hendler Bridge and sometimes called the Intercity Bridge, spans the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

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 1990. The bridge is one of seven major bridge structures in the

Tri-Cities Tri-Cities most often refers to: *Tri-Cities, Tennessee, United States *Tri-Cities, Washington, United States Tri-City, Tricity or Tri-Cities may also refer to: Populated places Americas Canada *Tri-Cities (British Columbia), consisting of Co ...

area. The Blue Bridge (another Pasco/Kennewick bridge), the

Interstate 182 Bridge The Interstate 182 (I-182) Bridge, officially the Lee–Volpentest Bridges, is the collective name for a pair of bridges carrying Interstate 182 over the Columbia River between Pasco and Richland in the U.S. state of Washington. They are nam ...

that connects Pasco with Richland, the U.S. Highway 12 bridge over the

Snake River The Snake River is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest region in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, in turn, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Snake ...

(Pasco/Burbank), and three railroad bridges are the others. However, the Cable Bridge is the only bridge that carries traffic that is not a freeway. It was dedicated on September 8, 1978, and was the first major cable-stayed bridge to be built in the United States (and second-longest of its kind in the world at the time). It was constructed almost entirely of prestressed concrete, beginning with the towers and followed by 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 insurance salesman, as well as the city's former mayor, 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. 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 2 am. In March 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. Every winter, an event known as the Lampson Cable Bridge Run, including mile, five-kilometer, and 10-kilometer foot races, starts at the Kennewick end of the bridge near the

Lampson International Lampson International is a crane manufacturer located in Kennewick, Washington established in 1946 by Neil F. Lampson. ( Lampson Stadium in Kennewick is named after this same man.) Lampson operates one of the largest crane fleets in the United St ...

headquarters. All three share the same starting line. The five- and 10-kilometer events share an indoor finish line at the Lampson Maintenance Shop, while the 1-mile has its own outdoor finish. 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

{{Crossings navbox , structure =

Crossings Crossings may refer to: * ''Crossings'' (Buffy novel), a 2002 original novel based on the U.S. television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' * Crossings (game), a two-player abstract strategy board game invented by Robert Abbott * ''Crossings'' ...

, place =

, bridge = Cable Bridge , bridge signs = , upstream = Blue Bridge , upstream signs = US 395

, downstream = Railroad Bridge , downstream signs = Tri-Cities, Washington Cable-stayed bridges in the United States Bridges completed in 1978 Towers in Washington (state) Bridges over the Columbia River Bridges in Benton County, Washington Bridges in Franklin County, Washington Road bridges in Washington (state) 1978 establishments in Washington (state) Steel bridges in the United States Concrete bridges in the United States