One of the duties of our forest engineers is to help provide safe access to the forest by inspecting & maintaining the safety of structures like the High Steel Bridge on the Olympic National Forest. The historic High Steel Bridge, erected by Simpson Logging Company in 1929, is among the only open long span structures remaining in Washington State that functioned as part of a logging railroad. Its steel construction was particularly unusual, and reflected the evolution in the use of logging railroads.
The bridge was converted for vehicle use in 1964 and eventually the Olympic National Forest took possession of the bridge. The High Steel Bridge requires an expert crew using an under-bridge inspection truck to examine the bridge’s critical components including: the foundation, the entire steel arch, paint and the deck condition.