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

The case to move Interstate 73 in Southern Ohio onto US 33

By
Every decade or so, Ohio pushes to revisit the proposed Interstate 73 that would connect Michigan to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  It's been happening since Congress legislated the route in 1991.  Within Ohio, Interstate 73 generally follows the US 23 corridor from Portsmouth through Columbus to Toledo, and into Michigan. Since High Priority Corridor Five was created , Ohio has really done nothing to move forward with Interstate 73.  Sure, there have been feasibility studies here and there.  But actual dollars and construction just haven't occurred. The US 33 Nelsonville Bypass appears to have been built to Interstate standards. However, Ohio has been slowly upgrading US 33 to a full freeway through Southeastern Ohio.  Bypasses of Lancaster and Nelsonville opened in 2004 and 2013, respectively.  Other sections of two-lane road are being twinned, some to freeway or, at a minimum, to expressway standards.  Currently, a $274 million widening project in...
Post a Comment
Read more

Local Sign Find - The last remnant of Business Interstate 95 between Kenly and Rocky Mount , NC

By
As you head north on Interstate 95 at Exit 107 for Kenly and US 301, you'll notice something odd about the overhead sign for the exit.  Peeling off the sign for all that can see is the word 'NORTH' off-center from the US 301.  This old sign (probably close to original from when this section of I-95 opened - more on that in a little bit) gives a hint to a short-lived Business Interstate Route that ran from here to Rocky Mount. The last hint of the Kenly-Wilson-Rocky Mount Business I-95 (Shaun White - August 2020) Interstate 95 in North Carolina has a unique history.  But one of the overlooked and forgotten pieces of Interstate 95 in North Carolina is the 38 mile section between Kenly and Rocky Mount.  When opened to traffic in late 1978, it was the next to last piece of Interstate 95 in North Carolina to open replacing a four lane US 301 from Battleboro through Rocky Mount and Wilson to eventually tying back into the Interstate in Kenly. Though it was not delayed in l...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nostalgia fast food with style - Returning to Rax

By
Nostalgia. It sells. It evokes, and more accurately, warps memories of days gone by.  Things were better, simpler, and we eat it up. Nostalgia can make you drive three hours and over a hundred miles out of your way just to reconnect with a dying fast-food restaurant you last enjoyed in the early to mid-90s.  That person was me - that restaurant was Rax. I could go on about Rax's history, but in short, Rax was briefly a very popular roast beef fast-food chain.  Growing up in the 80s and early 90s in Western PA, Rax was the good fast-food spot.  The milkshakes.  (Personally, the chocolate chip milkshake was heaven.)  Uncle Alligator Kids Meal with the chocolate chip cookie. Take that McDonald's Happy Meal!  The fancy salad and hot foods bar.  Going to Rax was special.  Like so many similar restaurants, various investments, management decisions, etc., led Rax to almost disappear overnight.  By the time I graduated college in late 1999, abou...
Post a Comment
Read more