Historic Hood River
Road Construction, circa 1937
12-5-2025
Notes
This little dump truck was helping raise the height of the approach road to the Hood River White Salmon Interstate bridge in time for the inundation caused by the Bonneville Dam project. Fortunately there’s a man standing next to it for scale. It’s hard to imagine how many loads it took to build this road which we still use today (approximate position shown below). You can compare it to this dump truck used in the 2008 Waterfront Park Construction.
You can see some of the forms used to build the concrete bridge piers in the foreground. Many new piers needed to be built as part of this 1937-1940 reconstruction of the 1924 bridge.
Category: Downtown Hood River
Tags: 1930s, Bonneville Dam, bridge, dump truck, Hood River White Salmon Interstate Bridge, truck
Tags: 1930s, Bonneville Dam, bridge, dump truck, Hood River White Salmon Interstate Bridge, truck
Pat A
My dad had a little antique dump truck like that, 2 maybe 3 yards capacity. Dumped by pulling a chain over a post.
The Volvo rock truck in the 2008 picture is 20 tons capacity, so about 4 of the old truck and its load fit in the modern truck.
I see two men, one driver and the spotter in today’s photo
Roger Sheldrake
Not sure I’m that brave–to stand on the down slope of that operation?!
Arthur Babitz
Roger, not only is he standing downhill from the truck, he seems to have a shovel or rake to help direct the flow of the gravel.
starboard
jeesh, it looked to me like he was relieving himself1