Skip to main content

Idaho's Hansen Bridge over the Snake River Canyon

Image
By


Spanning about 350 feet high above the Snake River Canyon in Idaho's Magic Valley is the Hansen Bridge, which is officially known as the Veterans Memorial Bridge. Perhaps not as well known as the Perrine Bridge about 8 miles west in Twin Falls, the Hansen Bridge was where the first crossing of the Snake River Gorge in the Twin Falls area was situated. Located on ID 50 and the Thousand Springs Scenic Byway a few miles north of the small town of Hansen, the current Hansen Bridge was built in 1966 to replace an aging suspension bridge built in 1919 at the same spot. The modern day Hansen bridge has 3 main steel girder spans set atop two of the highest piers ever built in the United States at 338 feet. The central span of the bridge is 258 feet long with two side spans of 200 feet and an approach span of 102 feet.

At the time of its completion in 1919, the original Hansen suspension bridge was the highest bridge in North America. Prior to the bridge opening, crossing the Snake River was done by rowboat. The single lane decking on the original bridge was make of wooden planks and was so narrow that two wagons could pass only if using extreme caution. The suspension bridge was replaced when it had finished living its usefulness and improvements in automotive technology had necessitated that a modern bridge be built. There are a few artifacts remaining from the old bridge at a parking area and overlook located next to the bridge.

Named for the nearby town of Hansen, there was a bit of a controversy surrounding the bridge's name when the modern bridge opened in 1966. During the 1960s, controversy erupted when an Idaho Department of Highways publication stated and repeated by a Twin Falls Times-News article that the bridge was named for pioneer brothers John and Lawrence Hansen. Readers complained about the error, saying the Hansen brothers had no connection to the bridge. A 1967 letter by W.F. Brewer, a former Twin Falls County Commissioner, explained the name and ended the controversy. “I suggested calling it the Hansen Bridge as the town of Hansen was the nearest geographical designated spot, and the town of Hansen was my home,” Brewer wrote. “The name was not given in honor of any man or men...” That letter is now on file at the Idaho State Historical Museum in Boise.

Today, you can check out the bridge by driving it on ID 50, just south of I-84. There is a parking area next to the bridge where you can see the Snake River Canyon, the bridge as it towers over the river and some historic artifacts about the old suspension bridge. It is also a nice little stopover on the way to Shoshone Falls if you are coming from the east.

Approaching the Hansen Bridge on ID 50 westbound.

That is quite a drop down to the Snake River.

Snake River Canyon looking to the west.

A look at the top of the Hansen Bridge.

Bridge plaque stating that the Hansen Bridge was named after pioneer builders Lawrence Hansen and John F. Hansen. It was later clarified that the bridge was named after the nearby town of Hansen, as they wanted to use a geographical point of reference for the bridge name.

Idaho historic marker explaining the back story behind the original Hansen Bridge.

Bridge marker from the original Hansen Bridge.


How to Get There:



Sources and Links:
Bridgehunter - Veterans Memorial Bridge
Highest Bridges - Hansen 1966
MagicValley.com - Hidden History: The 1st Hansen Bridge

Labels:
Location: Hansen Bridge, ID-50, Hansen, ID 83334, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tulare Lake returns

By
During the winter of 2023 California experienced one of the wettest seasons in recent decades.  Enough snow and water were deposited into the Sierra Nevada Mountains that the runoff was enough to partially reform Tulare Lake within San Joaquin Valley.  Tulare Lake was once the largest lake west of the Mississippi River by surface area.  Tulare Lake has been largely dried for the past century due to irrigation divisions and upstream impoundments.  This blog will examine the history of Tulare Lake and its recent return.  Pictured as the blog cover is Tulare Lake from 19th Avenue in Kings County during early May 2023.  Tulare Lake can be seen near its maximum extent below on the 1876 P.Y. Baker Map of Tulare County .   Part 1; the history of Tulare Lake Tulare Lake is the largest remnant of Lake Corcoran.  Lake Corcoran once covered much of the entire Central Valley due to being it being located at a in natural low point from where mountain run-off would accumulate.  Lake Corcoran is thou
1 comment
Read more

Former US Route 101 through Sargent

By
  Sargent is a ghost town and siding of the Southern Pacific Railroad located in southern Santa Clara County.  The original alignment of US Route 101 was aligned through Sargent via what is now known as Old Monterey Road.  Sargent was bypassed gradually due to shifts of the alignment of US Route 101 which occurred during 1941 and 1950.  Pictured as the blog cover is a view on Old Monterey Road which is now no longer accessible to the general public.  Below is a scan of the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Santa Clara County which depicts the original alignment US Route 101 through Sargent.   Part 1; the history of US Route 101 in Sargent Sargent lies on land which was once part of Rancho Juristac.  During 1856 James P. Sargent purchased Rancho Juristac and plotted what was known as Sargent Ranch.  By 1869 the Southern Pacific Railroad coast line reached the relocated town site of Gilroy.  The Southern Pacific Railroad coast line would be constructed through Chittenden Pass by 1871 whic
Post a Comment
Read more

California State Route 60/Former US Route 60/70 through the Moreno Valley Badlands west to Riverside

By
This past month I drove California State Route 60 through the Moreno Valley Badlands westward towards the City of Riverside.  CA 60 through the Moreno Valley Badlands was once part of the corridors of US Route 60 and US Route 70. The present route of CA 60 is a 70 mile (76 counting multiplex) slice of former US 60 between downtown Los Angeles east to I-10 near Beaumont.  The vast majority of CA 60 aside from a small section in the Moreno Valley Badlands is presently a freeway grade. For me CA 60 holds some personal history as it was the route I used most frequently accessing work sites in the Inland Empire circa 2011-2013.  Despite what many others probably would say I always really enjoyed the Moreno Valley Badlands portion of CA 60.  Considering I frequently worked on US 60 through Arizona and New Mexico the route holds even more appeal.  I even have a CA 60 shield hanging up in my garage. Part 1; History of Roadways in the Moreno Valley Badlands CA 60 between B
Post a Comment
Read more