The White River Bridge, connecting the Enumclaw and Buckley Foothills Trail segments, is yet to be built. But the permitting process has begun..
White River Bridge
The new trail bridge will cross the White River about 1/4 mile upstream from the current highway bridge, which was built in 1949.
This picture from the Enumclaw side shows the trestle in 1887, soon after its construction. The highway and road bridge had not yet been built.
The trestle was rebuilt,
The flood of 1906 took out trestle and some of the highway. Note the suspended rail in the foreground.
only to be destroyed again a few years later. It was rebuilt once more.
The center section of the trestle rested on concrete abutments.
In the early 1870s, Enumclaw area residents had to cross the White River by horseback to reach Wilkeson for supplies and mail. James Johnson, who arrived in Boise in 1875, set up a cable ferry. It often capsized, and several people, including four mailmen, drowned making the dangerous crossing. Finally, a footbridge was built to span the unpredictable rapids.
The highway (now 244th St E in Enumclaw and River Avenue in Buckley) went under the railroad before crossing the river.
The highway bridge was about to be removed, following the completion of the new 410 bridge in 1949. The segment going up the hill became the base for the current trail.
Some of the bridge supports are still in place. This is the trestle abutment on the Buckley side.
This is the trestle support on the Enumclaw side by Boise Creek.
The White River Trestle was first built in 1887 and torn down nearly 100 years later in 1982.