High Steel Bridge
High Steel Bridge is a truss arch bridge that spans the south fork of the Skokomish River on Forest Service road #2202 near the city of Shelton, Washington in Mason County, Washington. The High Steel Bridge was the second of two large steel arches to be erected by the Simpson Logging Company on Forest Service land in 1929. These bridges carried a single railroad track across formidable chasms opening up expansive tracts of previously inaccessible timber on the Olympic Peninsula.[1]
High Steel Bridge | |
|---|---|
 High Steel Bridge | |
| Coordinates | 47°22′05″N 123°16′48″W |
| Carries | Passenger vehicles and logging trucks, formerly trains. |
| Crosses | South fork, Skokomish River |
| Locale | Mason County, Washington |
| Official name | Forest Service Road 2202 |
| Maintained by | United States Forest Service |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Truss arch |
| Material | Steel |
| Total length | 685 ft (209 m)[1] |
| Height | 375 ft (114 m)[1] |
| History | |
| Designer | American Bridge Co. |
| Opened | 1929[1] |
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| Location | Shelton, WA |
| MPS | Historic Bridges/Tunnels in Washington State TR |
| NRHP reference No. | 82004265 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | July 16, 1982 |
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The High Steel Bridge's 685 ft (209 m) steel riveted webbed arch rises 375 ft (114 m) above the Skokomish River's South Fork, placing it among the top twenty highest bridges in the United States. The building materials—which included a considerable amount of concrete for the footings, lumber for the decking, concrete forms, and railings, and 750 tons of steel—were hauled by rail across the recently completed Vance Creek Bridge.[1]
The American Bridge Company, a subsidiary of the U.S. Steel Products Company at the time of construction, was the contractor for the $131,000 structure. The Simpson Logging Company spent an additional $100,000 in lumber in the construction of the bridge. The total cost of the bridge was paid from the proceeds of timber subsequently hauled across it.[1]
