Washington Roads - WA 104




West end of the route at its parent (as for all 10x routes in WA).


The Hood Canal Floating Bridge is the third longest floating bridge in the world, behind only WA 520 and I-90 EB, and the longest over brackish/salt water. These photos head east toward Kitsap Peninsula.


Back west into Jefferson County and the Olympic Peninsula. Notice that there are two towers, one on either side of the road. What I have been able to find indicates that there is an east control tower and a west control tower. Why two are needed, I don't know.


A panorama, at least in spirit, from south along Hood Canal, west across Olympic Peninsula, to the north and Hood Head.


Views from Salsbury Point just north of the bridge on the Kitsap side show that there is a draw span in the middle in addition to the fixed spans on either side. I'm sure it doesn't have to open often, but there are two cases: a ship too tall to pass beneath the trusses, or weather sufficiently severe that waves need a passage to avoid tearing the bridge in two. In fact, this happened in 1979 despite the draw span being open, with the pontoons flooding under hurricane-force winds. The bridge remained closed until 1982 and the old ferry was temporarily reinstituted in that time.


Coming out from the park on Whitford Rd. at Wheeler St., then out to where WA 104 WB turns onto the bridge. Wheeler St. was the old through route of WA 21, which followed WA 3 to this point and WA 104 beyond here. When the bridge opened in 1961, Washington was still using the old numbering system, so the new bridge replaced the ferry as part of WA 9E until 1964. Wheeler St. was mainly cut off by the toll plaza being on the east side of the bridge, obviating the ability to fit an overpass. Oh, yeah, this bridge was tolled, just like the other floating bridges were, even the one on I-90 (when it was still US 10). That ended in 1985 once the bridge reopened from the storm and it was ruled that WSDOT's use of Federal dollars required them to go toll-free.

Onto US 101
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