Coos Bay Bridge, Oregon Coast Highway, Nearing Completion - 1936

This photo was taken on May 24th, 1936, shortly before the Coos Bay Bridge opened on June 6th. The bridge replaced regular quarter-hour ferry trips across the bay. Construction equipment and support platforms are still visible in prepartion for the grand opening.

It was the longest of five major bridges designed by McCullough to open on the Oregon Coast in 1936 - the last links across water required for the completion of Highway 101, which would extend along the coast from California to Washington.

Known as McCullough's favorite bridge, it was renamed as the Conde McCullough Memorial Bridge in 1947, the year after he died.

-- This photo is restored and printed by Old Oregon from the original negative, courtesy of the Clackamas County Historical Society.