MISSION, Ore.-A new Thornhollow Bridge is now open on the Umatilla Indian Reservation after being damaged by flooding in 2020 and ultimately removed.
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR), Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), and Umatilla County representatives held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 8 to open the new bridge about 13 miles east of Mission.
“During the flooding we saw a number of disasters, but one of the major ones was the bridge loss here,” CTUIR Board of Trustees Chair N. Kathryn Brigham said.
The original bridge, considered the closest river crossing for those living north of the Umatilla River in the Thornhollow area, was heavily damaged by flooding in February 2020 and removed in 2022, forcing residents to detour north or south of the site, according to the CTUIR.
“It’s great to have this open again because a number of tribal people had to go to Cayuse, to Mission or Walla Walla, and that’s no longer needed because they have a choice that’s much closer and much safer,” said Brigham.
According to ODOT Region 5 Manager Ken Patterson, Thornhollow Road is not a federal aid road, so funding for the bridge was not guaranteed after it was removed.
However, a provision in COVID relief funds allowed for off-system bridges, and because Umatilla County had begun the engineering process for a new bridge, ODOT was able to fund it, according to the CTUIR.
The Thornhollow Bridge project was budgeted through ODOT’s Local Bridge Program at a cost of $5.3 million, including design engineering, construction, right-of-way, and construction costs, and the county provided a 10.27 percent match.
HP Civil Inc. of Salem applied roadway approaches and installed the bridge over the Umatilla River.
“I just want to thank everyone in the community who wanted to see this open again,” said Dani Schulte, CTUIR Planning Department senior planner. “I think this persistence is what really got this done. It was a long project, and it probably would have been even longer if we hadn’t had the people in the community demanding it.”
While the official ribbon-cutting was May 8, construction of the Thornhollow Bridge concluded with striping of the roadway on April 20, and traffic has been crossing the bridge since April 21.
