The Veterans Memorial Centennial Bridge (formerly known as the Bennett Bay Centennial Bridge) is a

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

. The bridge carries

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

over a valley above Bennett Bay, an arm of

Lake Coeur d'Alene Lake Coeur d'Alene, officially Coeur d'Alene Lake ( ), is a natural dam-controlled lake in North Idaho, located in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. At its northern end is the city of Coeur d'Alene. It spans in length and range ...

. Construction of the bridge began in 1988 and used a balanced cantilever to build sections at an average rate of a week. It was completed in 1991 and opened the following year as part of the last major project to complete Interstate 90 east of Coeur d'Alene, at a cost of $16 million. The bridge was initially named the Bennett Bay Centennial Bridge, to commemorate the

centennial {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at a ...

of Idaho, despite a long-standing state policy against adopting official bridge names. In 1992, the bridge was renamed the Veterans Memorial Centennial Bridge, in honor of Idaho's

military veterans A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

. The bridge is a segmental concrete box girder bridge; it is long, wide, and carries four traffic lanes above the valley floor. It was designed by

HNTB HNTB Corporation is an American infrastructure design firm. Founded in 1914 in Kansas City, Missouri, HNTB began with the partnership made by Ernest Emmanuel Howard with the firm Waddell & Harrington, founded in 1907. Considered as one of the m ...

References

{{reflist Monuments and memorials in Idaho Bridges completed in 1991 Buildings and structures in Kootenai County, Idaho Transportation in Kootenai County, Idaho Road bridges in Idaho Interstate 90 Bridges on the Interstate Highway System 1991 establishments in Idaho Concrete bridges in the United States Box girder bridges in the United States