PlacesPages: Kelso #3: Allen Street Bridge

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Kelso #3: Allen Street Bridge

Allen Street Bridge on September 5, 2005.

The first Allen Street Bridge washed out in a flood in 1906. It was replaced that same year with a 600-foot bascule bridge of entirely wood construction. The bridge was renovated in 1915, but by 1920 was generally known to be dangerous. In 1922, construction began on a new steel Allen Street Bridge alongside the old bridge.

Historical Photo:
Fishermen on the Cowlitz with 2nd Allen Street Bridge in the background (University of Washington Library)

On the evening of January 3, 1923, the middle span of the old bridge collapsed under the weight of heavy traffic. Although nearby boats in the Cowlitz River rescued people, at least 35 people were killed. To this day, the Allen Street Bridge collapse is Washington's worst bridge disaster.

The 700-foot steel Allen Street drawbridge opened March 19, 1923, but with only two lanes it was found to be inadequate as traffic increased. Construction of the four-lane Peter Crawford-Cowlitz Way Bridge in 1952 only bought time.

Amtrak Cascades train at the Kelso Station, with the old Allen Street Bridge in the background, on January 11, 1999.

The above picture shows the first run of Amtrak's Cascades service, with the steel Allen Street bridge in the background, on January 11, 1999.

Mural showing the old Allen Street Bridge on September 5, 2005.

The old Allen Street bridge is also depicted in its early days in the background of a mural on a building at the west end of the current bridge.

Allen Street Bridge on December 17, 2005.

In 2000, a new four-lane concrete Allen Street Bridge was built and the old bridge demolished. The new bridge also crossed over the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad line, eliminating a railroad crossing, and required demolition of many old buildings in downtown Kelso.

Allen Street Bridge on November 27, 2008.

Beginning in 2001, the Kelso Bridge Market was held beneath the bridge on Sundays in the summer for local farmers and craft merchants. The market relocated to West Kelso in 2010, and again to Longview as the Downtown Bridge Market in 2012.

Allen Street Bridge on November 29, 2008.

The eastern approach to the old 1922 Allen Street Bridge, including an original plaque and concrete guardrails, survives today as Rotary Landing, a small scenic overlook built by the Kelso Rotary Club.

Rotary Landing on November 27, 2008.