Is it too late to save Idaho’s iconic Rainbow Bridge? | Opinion
Is it time for Idaho’s iconic Rainbow Bridge to cross over the, well, Rainbow Bridge?
After 92 years of blistering hot summers and bitterly cold winters and millions of vehicles traversing it, the Idaho Transportation Department says the bridge is becoming unsafe. ITD is working on plans to replace the bridge, which was built in 1933 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Before we get out the sledgehammers and wrecking ball, let’s pause for a moment.
When I say the bridge is iconic, I mean it. Millions of people have traveled on or under that bridge over the past 92 years.
For so many Idahoans, seeing that bridge means a summer vacation on Cascade or Payette lakes, skiing at Tamarack or Brundage or heading for a rafting trip down the river.
I, like so many others, have fond personal memories of the bridge. Shortly after we moved to Idaho in 2006, my wife and I bought a little pop-up camper, and we would take our two boys camping every summer at a campground in Donnelly on Lake Cascade starting when they were 2 and 5.
I half-jokingly would tell everyone in the car to hold their breath while we crossed the bridge so it wouldn’t collapse while we were on it. It became our version of the snow troll that people let in or out of their car over the cattle guard on the way to Bogus Basin.
The Rainbow Bridge, officially known as the North Fork Payette River Bridge, turns to the right as you head north toward Cascade, Donnelly and McCall, so you can see its elegant profile as you approach it.
To me, it’s always been a gateway, a symbol that now we are on vacation.
It’s a beautiful bridge
The Rainbow Bridge, about 2.5 miles north of Smiths Ferry on Idaho 55, is an open-spandrel, reinforced concrete arch structure spanning the North Fork of the Payette River. In addition to the two distinctive arches that rise 50 feet above the river and span 189 feet, decorative elements include rail posts incorporated in the guardrail above four arch piers along with decorative protuberances and indentations.
“Rainbow Bridge, the largest single-span concrete arch structure in Idaho, remains today as a major achievement and not only reflects the leading edge of bridge engineering of its time, but also exemplifies a conscious effort to meld a modern structure with a picturesque natural setting,” according to a description of the bridge on its nomination form to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. “The bridge’s enduring popularity among residents and travelers alike is a tribute to its design.”
Here’s how the Idaho Statesman described the bridge in 1934:
“Only too often the works of men in the wilderness are a blot on the landscape. Roads make great ugly scars through the forest; bridges are stark, graceless structures of red painted steel work. And with this in mind many people were privately concerned when it was announced that the state would build a bridge across the Payette River in the beautiful canyon above Smiths Ferry. . . . But they were needlessly concerned. The bridge now completed and ready for next summer’s use is one of the most beautiful structures of any kind in the state. Its flowing lines of concrete, which will age to something approximating a weathered sandstone. Its curves melt into the contour of the surroundings with perfect harmony. Its suave approach lines and the sweep of its arch seem as if hewn out of native rock.”
While ITD is planning on building a new bridge to replace it, the question becomes, “What to do with the old bridge?”
Options for saving the bridge
ITD has offered proposals to save the bridge:
Scenario 1 ($20.3 million): Completely replace everything but the historic arches. Complete additional repairs in 2070.
Scenario 2 ($50.4 million): Retain as much of the historic structure as practical. Continue repairs every 25 years.
Scenario 3 ($48.4 million): Only repair the elements in the worst condition. Continue repairing every 10–15 years as the bridge deteriorates.
ITD officials say that in each of these scenarios, Idaho 55 traffic would not be able to use the bridge, and there would be no safe access for pedestrians. The bridge would still have to be maintained every 10-15 years — just so people could look at it, according to ITD.
Preservation Idaho is urging Idahoans to comment on ITD’s plans and support any one of the preservation options.
Preservation Idaho makes a few arguments: Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever; the Rainbow Bridge is a historical and engineering landmark; it’s a cultural icon and scenic landmark; it has community and interpretive value; and preserving it would be environmentally, culturally and fiscally responsible, pointing out that demolition is both costly and environmentally wasteful, in its own right.
Comments are open only through Aug. 10, so if you want to have your say, better get it done soon.
Nostalgia vs. expense
When it comes to things the state spends our money on, I’d rather spend $50 million on preserving the bridge than on school vouchers, say.
But $50 million is a big price tag, not to mention future maintenance costs, just to have something to look at.
As one Idaho Way reader wrote to me: “Nostalgia gets expensive. We should be practical.”
But as another reader so eloquently put it: “While our government, state and federal, finds myriad creative ways to waste our money, it would please me to see a genuine consideration to preserve this piece of Idaho history, actually one that has been pictured in nearly every media selling our state to the world for years. And I am fully aware preservation of this bridge would be expensive, and seen by many as a waste of taxpayer money. However, would we all not like to see design renderings and cost analysis of what our money would bring us? I know no one who will ever dance in our new national ballroom. I know many who regularly marvel at our little bridge over a scenic by-way.”
Is it too late to save the Rainbow Bridge? If so, it is perhaps a lesson in taking care of nice things. Maybe we should have been taking better care of the Rainbow Bridge along the way.
I will tell you one thing: We should keep the Rainbow Bridge, if for no other reason than to hide the ugly replacement bridge options ITD has put forth.
Based on the designs presented, I am reminded of the Statesman’s description 90 years ago of “stark, graceless structures of red painted steel work.”
I’d feel a lot better about tearing down the old bridge if it were to be replaced with a bridge that matches the grandeur and beauty of the current one.
I’d be willing to say goodbye to the Rainbow Bridge, but only if we build another bridge that will be one that we can marvel at and be proud to call the Rainbow Bridge for the next 92 years and not “a blot on the landscape.”
Scott McIntosh is the opinion editor of the Idaho Statesman. You can email him at smcintosh@idahostatesman.com or call him at 208-377-6202. Sign up for the free weekly email newsletter The Idaho Way.
