The Cable Bridge, officially called the Ed Hendler Bridge and sometimes called the Intercity Bridge, spans the Columbia River between Pasco and

Kennewick Kennewick () is a city in Benton County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located along the southwest bank of the Columbia River, just southeast of the confluence of the Columbia and Yakima rivers and across from the confluence of the C ...

in southeastern

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

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 area. The Blue Bridge (another Pasco/Kennewick bridge), the Interstate 182 Bridge that connects Pasco with Richland, the U.S. Highway 12 bridge over the Snake River (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 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 ...

. It was dedicated on September 8, 1978, and was the first major

cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern ...

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 Prestressed concrete is a form of concrete used in construction. It is substantially "prestressed" ( compressed) during production, in a manner that strengthens it against tensile forces which will exist when in service. Post-tensioned concreted i ...

, 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 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 Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

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 , place = Columbia River , 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