Grand Coulee Bridge Grand Coulee Bridge The Grand Coulee Bridge, or Columbia River Bridge at Grand Coulee Dam, is a steel thru cantilever truss bridge built in 1934-1935. It carries Washington State Route 155 across the Columbia River immediately below Grand Coulee Dam, near the city of Grand Coulee, Washington. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. The bridge was built to transport heavy equipment across the Columbia river during the construction of the dam, and thereafter as permanent highway bridge. As such, it was designed to carry a heavier load than was typical. The bridge is supported
Grand Coulee Dam interest in irrigation projects. The Bureau of Reclamation, desirous of a major project that would bolster its reputation, was focusing on the Boulder Canyon Project that resulted in the Hoover Dam. Reclamation was authorized to conduct a study in 1923, but the project's cost made federal officials reluctant. The Washington state proposals received little support from those further east, who feared the irrigation would result in more crops, depressing prices. With President Coolidge opposed to the project, bills to appropriate money for surveys of the Grand Coulee site failed. In 1925, Congress authorized a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers study