The Old Wenatchee Bridge was the first automobile bridge to cross the Columbia River.

Bridges are iconic by nature, constructions of metal and concrete that often dominate a landscape. I’ve been charmed by them since I was a child. As a Lower Columbian, I’ve been steeped in the lore of the magnificent Astoria Bridge since my arrival decades ago.

I’ve read the statistics, heard the stories, and driven the span innumerable times, but started to wonder about other bridges that cross the Columbia.

One colleague recently asked me how many there are. I had to admit that I had no idea, but a wanderlust-inspired thought told me I must try to cross them all.  So began a late winter quest to drive every Columbia River bridge in the United States in just three days.

Just 40 miles upriver, Julia Butler Hanson Bridge at Cathlamet is an anomaly. Some don’t consider this bridge to cross the Columbia as it only crosses the Cathlamet channel from Cathlamet to Puget Island, not the main river channel, but I’ll include it anyway.

Next, the Lewis and Clark Bridge at Longview is familiar to most who travel to Portland. Like many other bridges along the river, it was first built by a private company and sold to the State of Washington.

The channel that runs between Portland and Vancouver is the site of the Interstate Bridge, which carries Interstate 5, and the Glen L. Jackson Bridge which carries Interstate 205. These two bridges account for the greatest amount of traffic of all Columbia crossings.

Moving on to the Columbia Gorge, scenery dazzles near the Bridge of the Gods at Cascade Locks, the Hood River -White Salmon Bridge, The Dalles Bridge and finally the Biggs Rapids Bridge. These four bridges, built with steel grates that amplify the sounds of passing cars, are what some kids once called “buzz bridges.”

East of the Gorge, Interstate 84 is the main commercial artery of Central Oregon, moving great numbers of vehicles along without crossing a mountain pass. On the Washington side of the river, the two-lane State Route 14 winds along the north shore of the Columbia and shows off Washington’s wine country and pristine grazing lands.

Here, the Umatilla Bridge carries Interstate 82 and U.S. Highway 395 onto Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, known as Washington’s Tri-Cities.

Three crossings interconnect these cities, Blue Bridge carries U.S. Highway 395, The Pioneer Memorial Bridge is a concrete girder bridge that carries U.S. Highway 197 and State Route 12, and the Cable Bridge, a flamboyant design carrying U.S. Highway 397, catches the eye from afar, especially at night. Here, the Columbia nearly doubles in volume from its confluence with the Snake River.

Following State Route 240 to the northwest near The Hanford Nuclear Reservation, The Vernita Bridge t Desert Aire has a peaceful aura for me. It crosses at the Hanford Reach, the only section of the river in the U.S. that is free-flowing. Above Bonneville Dam, the river is essentially a series of lakes impounded by the dams.

Like most of the crossings, the Vantage Bridge on Interstate 90 is surrounded by beautiful views. This one passes the Gorge Amphitheater, on to Spokane.

Wenatchee is home to two crossings, the George Seller Bridge and the Odebashian Bridge. The Old Wenatchee Bridge has the distinction of being the first automobile bridge to cross the Columbia. Today, it shares the span with a gigantic water pipe carrying water to the apple orchards on the east side, but no longer carries traffic.

Just upstream from Chelan Falls, U.S. Highway 97 crosses the river at Beebe. This span and the next at Brewster were built by apple companies and later sold to the state of Washington. Along this stretch, apple orchards cover the hills around the river. Both the Grand Coulee Bridge at Coulee City and the Bridgeport Bridge were created to facilitate the construction of dams.

Just two more bridges remain before the Columbia crosses into Canada. The Kettle Falls Bridges were once built to raise State Route 2, U.S. Highway 395 and the Kettle Falls International Railway from rising waters after the opening of Grand Coulee Dam. When the dam opened in 1939, nearly 2000 miles of salmon spawning grounds were closed off and many thousands of salmon perished.

As I roll into Northport, Washington on the third night of my jaunt across the Northwest, the last bridge of my journey looms over U.S. Highway 25. Northport shares one trait with Astoria, both were once boat-building towns. The shipyards in Northport built shallow draft steamers for the Kootenai Lakes trade in Canada.

After my three-day journey has come to an end, I am tired and ready for a stop. At 121 years old, Kuk’s Tavern is the oldest building in Northport and it retains a great deal of history. Here, an hour passes before the bartender taps me on the shoulder. “Hey Pal, wake up, I gotta close this place,” he said.