The Intercity Bridge

The Intercity Bridge. A Concrete Ribbon Over the Columbia River. In 1967, the Intercity Bridge Committee, headed by Ed Hendler, initiated replacement of the old Pasco-Kennewick Bridge which resulted in the building of the new Intercity Bridge., The Intercity Bridge was the first major cable-stayed bridge in the United States and the second largest concrete cable-stayed bridge in the world. The bridge is made up of a continuous concrete girder, 2,503 feet long, 80 feet wide, 7 feet thick, and supported over its major part from steel cable stays. The three main spans are 407, 981, and 407 feet in length. Two towers support the steel stay-cables. The suspended parts of the concrete bridge girder were assembled in place over the Columbia River from precast, prestressed concrete elements, weighing 300+ tons each, by far the largest ever manufactured and used in the assembly of a permanent structure in the United States at that time., Unique at its time, the completed work contains: , 42,000 cubic yards of concrete (half in the bridge girder). , 7,392,000 feet (1,400 miles) of 1.4" diameter (6mm) high strength wire in the bridge cables. , 838,000 pounds of prestressed steel. , 4,940,000 pounds of reinforcing and other steel., Project construction began in August, 1975, and the new bridge was opened to traffic on September 16, 1978 for a total cost of approximately $23,000,000., The new bridge was designed by Arvid Grant and Associates and constructed by Peter Kiewit Sons.