Tri-Cities blue bridge to get $33.5M year-long makeover. Get ready for traffic headaches

Wendy Culverwell
·4 min read
2

The Tri-Cities’ busiest Columbia River span is getting a $33.5 million paint job starting in January.

The project won’t alter the blue bridge’s famous color, but it will snarl traffic for a full year.

The four-lane blue bridge, also known as the Pioneer Memorial Bridge, carries Highway 395 over the Columbia River, linking Pasco and Kennewick.

Faded paint and rust are showing on the girders of the four-lane blue bridge over the Columbia River, linking Pasco and Kennewick. The last time it was repainted was in 1995.
Faded paint and rust are showing on the girders of the four-lane blue bridge over the Columbia River, linking Pasco and Kennewick. The last time it was repainted was in 1995.

About 66,000 vehicles a day travel on the 1950’s era structure that’s a key north-south route from Oregon to northern destinations, including Spokane.

Southern Road and Bridge, a Florida bridge contractor, began preparing a staging area below the bridge in early December. Traffic control measures begin on Jan. 3 and paint blasting starts a few days later.

Air Force Blue

Blasting off old paint, inspecting the metal surface and painting five — yes five — coats of “Air Force Blue” will continue through early 2025.

Until then, motorists can expect snarled traffic from lane closures, a 45-mph speed limit and expensive fines if they speed or drive recklessly on the 2,500-foot span.

The Washington State Patrol will monitor traffic. Fines double in work zones.

Meagan Lott, spokeswoman for the Washington State Department of Transportation, advises motorists to use different routes, particularly during peak commute hours. Tri-Citians have two good alternatives.

The blue bridge is getting a $33.5 million paint job that won’t change the color of the Pasco-Kennewick span, but will tie up traffic for a year.
The blue bridge is getting a $33.5 million paint job that won’t change the color of the Pasco-Kennewick span, but will tie up traffic for a year.

The Ed Hendler (aka cable) bridge carries Highway 397 between Kennewick and Pasco, while the Glenn Lee-Sam Volpentest (aka Interstate 182) bridges link Pasco and Richland.

Know before you go

Those who venture into the work zone can expect to find outside lanes closed. Lott said regular drivers should check the website for updates on the bridge’s status.

Southern Road and Bridge is currently building a staging area that includes a containment system to collect paint as it is blasted from the bridge with a fine metallic powder.

A snowy Rattlesnake Mountain is framed by the Highway 395 blue bridge in 2016.
A snowy Rattlesnake Mountain is framed by the Highway 395 blue bridge in 2016.

The process includes a vacuum system that collects debris and diverts it to a machine, where it is separated. The paint is disposed of safely and the blasting materials are recycled.

The system aims to keep material out of the river and off the roadway.

Once paint is stripped, the bridge will be inspected for rust, bad rivets and bolts.

The Federal Highway Administration’s National Highway Performance Program is footing the bill.

It is DOT’s largest undertaking in the Tri-Cities in 2024.

“The blue bridge is obviously in need of some painting,” Lott said.

The U.S. 395 Pioneer Memorial Bridge, also known as the blue bridge across the Columbia River in the Tri-Cities, needs a new coat of paint to preserve and maintain structural integrity.
The U.S. 395 Pioneer Memorial Bridge, also known as the blue bridge across the Columbia River in the Tri-Cities, needs a new coat of paint to preserve and maintain structural integrity.

Last repainted in 1995

Repainting the bridge in 1995 cost $1.8 million at the time — $3.5 million in today’s dollars — according to Tri-City Herald archives.

The 1995 project was much more limited in scope. It involved painting the trusses, not the top and bottom of the bridge.

The blue bridge is the oldest of the three Columbia River bridges in Tri-Cities. Construction began in September 1951 and it was dedicated on July 30, 1954. It cost $7 million to build — $80 million in 2023 dollars.

It was joined by the cable bridge in 1978 and the Lee-Volpentest twin bridges, which opened in 1984 and 1986.

It was not, however, the original Columbia River crossing.

That honor rests with the original green bridge, a narrow toll bridge that opened between Kennewick and Pasco in October 1922 at a cost of $480,000, or $8.8 million today.

A 1948 view of the green bridge over the Columbia River linking Kennewick and Pasco, which was built in 1922 to complete the northern route of the trancontinental highway from the east to west coast.
A 1948 view of the green bridge over the Columbia River linking Kennewick and Pasco, which was built in 1922 to complete the northern route of the trancontinental highway from the east to west coast.

Before the original green bridge, local motorists relied on ferries to cross the Columbia or, for special occasions such as cross-town football match ups, chartered trains.

The green bridge faded after the blue bridge opened and was eventually demolished after the cable bridge opened alongside it.

A bit of history

As bridges rise and fall, the blue bridge has its own storied history.

On opening day in 1955, mayors, beauty queens, newspaper publishers and other bigwigs lined up to be the first motorists to progress across the structure.

They were thwarted by a group of boys on bicycles who dashed in front of the gathered vehicles and were the first to go across.

A flag pole was added to the top of the bridge in 1986 during a re-decking project. The 15-by-25-foot U.S. flag is replaced when it becomes tattered with support from the Glenn M. Sickels Post 34 of the American Legion.

The Tri-Cities’ busiest Columbia River span, the blue bridge, is getting a $33.5 million paint job starting in January. The painting project will snarl traffic for a full year.
The Tri-Cities’ busiest Columbia River span, the blue bridge, is getting a $33.5 million paint job starting in January. The painting project will snarl traffic for a full year.

The bridge was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places to honor the engineering involved to construct it.

Go to bit.ly/48dYtgn for more information on the paiting project.

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