Building The Colombia River Highway: They Said It Couldn’t Be Done, by Peg Willis

This book, written by a lifelong resident of the Pacific Northwest, is clearly a labor of love for both the beauty of creation in the Colombia River gorge area between Portland and The Dalles, also for the immense spirit of public service and intestinal fortitude in the face of criticism among those brave and intrepid souls who designed and built the infrastructure of US that remains now as the Historic Colombia River Highway. The author deserves to take a place as one of the local historians of repute when it comes to Oregon history [1], especially as this book is well-written, well-researched with helpful documentation in the endnotes, including some personal interviews, and filled with photos, some of them by the author, which inspire the reader to take the time to travel along the historical road and see the bridges and tunnels and viaducts and curves of a road that was designed by artists even if it was somewhat nightmarish for the engineering of the time. The one sour note is that the author appears to lack a bit of sympathy for the taxpayers who were asked to foot the bill for the beautiful roads and structures, especially in light of the fact that building a road close to talus slopes and waterfalls has made continual maintenance necessary and expensive.

In terms of its contents and organization, the author begins with by generously acknowledging the help she received in writing the book and in her decision both to write about the history of the construction of the Colombia River Highway and its aftermath as well as including some details about the little-known but striking people who designed and built it. It is in fact these people that the book begins by discussing, which are an eccentric arrangement of people, most of whom were wanderers or vagabonds who possessed shallow roots and often highly difficult personal backgrounds, including a family history of mental illness, difficult recovery from typhoid fever and polio-induced paralysis, spousal abandonment, and the like. The first quarter of the book or so is filled with biographical essays about the men and women, two of whom became governors of Oregon, whose names are mostly lost to history, whose tenacity and spirit of public service drove the construction of the Colombia River Highway on. The author then discusses the design and construction of the highway itself, the challenges that were faced, the constraints of seeking to limit the grade to 5 degrees or less, the often beautiful structures like the Chanceleteer’s Inn and the Vista House (which was completed at eight times its original budget due to the whimsical and visionary artistic designs made for it), as well as numerous bridges, tunnels, and viaducts which remain elegant and beautiful and functional structures for use by pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers even today. The book is full of maps and pictures and is written by someone who clearly loves the solving of logistical and engineering problems as well as engineering worth that is both practical as well as aesthetically pleasing.

Given what it is set out to do, to better inform others about who motivated and encouraged the building of the Colombia River Highway, from the Italian and German-American stonemasons involved in carving and placing the marble work, to the loggers and newspapermen and engineers and politicians who were involved in promoting and designing the work, to the woman whose hospitality and gracious hosting smoothed over difficulties and created an atmosphere where seemingly impossible problems could be solved, this book serves its appointed tasks admirably. It is a work of first-rate local Oregon history, it gives credit where it is due to the men and women who made the Colombia River Highway possible, it provides explanations of technical and aesthetic achievement, and it encourages its readers to go out and see the historical highway for itself, and get to know some of the history behind the sights, and an appreciation that thanks to some brave men and women who refused to be daunted by the immense challenge of the task, Eastern and Western Oregon are connected by well-designed roads that allow for the free passage of trade and travelers along the gorge, whether by land or by river, and that the work was done by people whose skill in engineering and design was matched by an appreciation for the wonders of God’s creation. Let the same be said of all of us who seek to wrestle with contemporary problems.

[1] See also:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2015/10/31/book-review-hidden-history-of-civil-war-oregon/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2015/12/19/book-review-lincoln-and-oregon-country-politics-in-the-civil-war-era/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2015/11/20/book-review-fighting-for-paradise/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2013/07/05/book-review-wicked-portland/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2013/01/10/book-review-portland-names-and-neighborhoods/