Historic Hood River
Road Construction
Notes
This fine ODOT image shows widening of I-80N (now I-84) at Mitchell Point in July 1966. Traffic on the Columbia River Highway, which had been dedicated in 1916, quickly outgrew the scenic route. The “river level route” was in discussion/planning not very many years later. This view really helps show the challenge fitting the highway and the railroad in the same right of way on fill in the Columbia River. In 1953 a two lane highway was constructed around the point, which in 1966 was widened to four lanes.
In this view you can see the old highway as it approaches Mitchell Point. You can see the ledge which used to be the tunnel, which was blasted away to make room and provide fill for the highway/railroad. I have been studying available photographs to better understand how much of the hillside was removed in 1953 and 1966. While it’s often described as if the gorge face was shaved back the width of the tunnel, the reality is much more of Mitchell Point was removed. The shape of the feature was changed dramatically, with enormous amounts of material removed at both ends. In this view the space has already been created for additional lanes, but recognize the two lanes you see here had previously been right up against Mitchell Point.
An unrelated discovery in this image is the amount of timber floating in Drano Lake. I didn’t realize timber operations along the Little White Salmon continued into this era. We previously saw this view of the Oregon Lumber Company operations there roughly 70 years earlier. Remember the tugboat “Pearl” which used to ferry logs from Drano Lake to the mill at Viento?
Tags: 1960s, Columbia River Highway, construction, I80N, I84, Mitchell Point, Mitchell Point Tunnel, ODOT, road construction
L.E.
I remember large log rafts in Drano. Perhaps in my time they were Broughton logs.
Arlen L Sheldrake
Passed Brother John W. who spent his career with ODOT always regretted the loss of the Mitchell Point tunnels and said ODOT should have saved them.
Pat A
Deconstructing is always a part of construction.
Sadly loosing Mitchell point tunnel was part of the equation here.
My family and I worked in road construction. And have removed more than one old relic of the past.
Jacquie Kinney
My great aunt and uncle Mr. and Mrs. Virgil Dusenberry, back in 1945, had a restaurant and motel in Hood River. What a beautiful place it was back then.