"The place where the old highway veers off from Jack Falls Road is obscured by piles of earth and brush [maybe in 2008, not in 2014, see below]. Foot access to the abandoned section is possible at this point, though the walk demands long pants and waterproof boots; it is heavily overgrown and covered with seasonal running water. In addition, a portion of the hillside on the west end has collapsed onto the old roadbed."

Prescott Point Viaduct

Michael C. Taylor, Road of Difficulties: Building the Lower Columbia River Highway

Half-viaducts, such as the one built at Prescott Point, were the engineers' solution to skirting hillsides. They resembled viaducts except that the inside bents consisted only of footings and were anchored to the hillside.

Viaducts served three general purposes: (1) to span a cleft, (2) to raise the roadbed, and (3) to skirt hillsides. The Miller Creek Viaduct which appears at the base of Newberry Road just west of Linnton is a good example of a full viaduct spanning a cleft (in this case, Newton Creek). This viaduct was replaced and it is no longer to tell that a viaduct is in this location.

What is the difference between a bridge and a viaduct? Bridges are discrete structures and nearly always more ornamental in appearance. Their supporting columns are usually equal in length, while those of viaducts are usually unequal. Viaducts are always a part of the road while bridges are, well, bridges, which sometimes open or swivel, raise or lower. You can never miss a true bridge, but viaducts -- and especially half-viaducts -- go unnoticed by motorists. (One architectural definition of a viaduct is "a series of arches making a long, bridge-like structure," but it may be that highway engineers simply enjoy messing with our minds.)

Michael C. Taylor, Road of Difficulties: Building the Lower Columbia River Highway

Early surveys noted that the slope was unstable and problems began to crop up almost as soon as grading was completed. "Several slides have occurred," state highway engineer Herbert Nunn reported in 1918, "narrowing the roadbed in some places to about eight feet and making it very dangerous." Contractor Oscar Lindstrom, a man accomplished in this sort of hill work, oversaw the installation of a half viaduct seventy-five feet long and containing three cubic yards of concrete and more than two tons of reinforcing steel. Its railing has been described as "standard guard" and this is what it seems to be in postcards of the era, but when observed today it is obvious that some modification has taken place.

Bridgehunter.com: Prescott Point Viaduct

Overview: Abandoned concrete tee beam bridge on Former US 30

Location: Rainier, Columbia County, Oregon

Status: Derelict/abandoned

History: Built 1918

Design: Tee beam

Inventory number: BH 80674 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Comments: Posted August 22, 2019, by Kirk J.Poole, Portland, Oregon

Viaduct is still there in 2019, covered in several hundred pounds of blackberry bushes and tree limbs strewn all over. Would be mighty white if Columbia County would restore this crown piece of the Lower Columbia River Highway before it does suffer moderate to severe structural and topside damage.

Below: "The Columbia River Highway between Prescott Point and Little Jack Falls shortly after the stretch was paved." (Mershon, Columbia River Highway 36)

The photo below was taken from the approximate site of the one above in 2014, trees now obscure the views from 1920 and earlier...

"Other devices used to brace the section and make it safe included 214 linear feet of rubble-masonry walls built on a steep slope and topped by standard-bridge and arched-masonry railings."

In this c. 1918 photo below, the falls is very visible from this point, along with the old stone arches and the white fence. Today, the trees have reclaimed the view.

The photos above seems to match fairly well with the photo below, except for the current photo is shot a little closer in, excluding the fence.

In 2014, the old fence approaching the falls was essentially intact through its entire length, though it had seen much better days.

"...at the site of Little Jack Falls, visitors will find a large gap where the road has washed away. It's clear that a viaduct, rather than a simple culvert, would have made more sense in this location."

In 2014, crossing the washout at the falls to get to the lower Prescott Point fragment was possible, but a bit treacherous. Six years later, I am not sure if it is possible at all, so to access the lower fragment, it is probably best to come in from the east end where it connects with the current alignment of Highway 30.

Past and Present Views Along the Columbia River Highway

There are some good photos in this post!

Kirk J. Poole, January 6, 2020

I'm considering a mid-January expedition to Prescott Point. I can bring my string trimmer for some tight spots. I've really been waiting to go back there and try to get as far as Jack Falls. Then, later in early Spring, I want to approach the north end by blazing a trail from the south end.

It's all level ground. It's been calling my name since August!!! How about 2 or 3 people meet me there and see another RARE segment of road with lots of walls and viaducts.

Just give me a shout. I'm retired, so I can go any time and bend my schedule to match others' days off, etc.

This is only about 50 miles out of Portland. An easy 1-hour trip.

Links

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