August 29, 1964
In northwestern Oregon, a vertical lift bridge crossing Youngs Bay was opened. This 4,200-foot (1,300-meter)-long structure, which is called the New Youngs Bay Bridge, carries two lanes of U.S. Route 101 (US 101) between the cities of Astoria and Warrenton. Construction on this bridge began in March 1963. The Old Youngs Bay Bridge is located about two miles (3.2 kilometers) away. This 1,766.2-foot (538.3-meter)-long bascule bridge was opened in 1921 and it carries a business loop of US 101 across Youngs Bay.
The dedication of the New Youngs Bay Bridge was held despite soaking rain that Saturday afternoon. Approximately 100 people braved the inclement weather to attend the event. Mark Hatfield, who was governor of Oregon from 1959 to 1967 and then served as one of the state’s U.S. senators until 1997, was not able to be there. He was represented by his executive assistant Warne Nunn. Glenn Jackson, chairman of Oregon Highway Commission, was the emcee for the festivities. A key part of the ceremony took place when Nunn joined Carol Pedersen, who had been crowned Miss Oregon of 1964, in snipping a red ribbon to formally inaugurate the bridge.
Photo Credit: Steve Morgan (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Steve_Morgan) – licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en
For more information on the New Youngs Bay Bridge is available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Youngs_Bay_Bridge
Transportation History 