I took this image of the 60 year-old Ridgefield NWR access bridge (in Ridgefield, WA) back in January 2013, at the end of a shooting day. The refuge is at the far end of the bridge in the photo. It is an old one-lane, wood plank bridge which is now being replaced by the construction of a brand new two-lane, 526 foot, concrete bridge just to the south (left side of photo) of this old one. They are leaving the old bridge up as long as possible to allow visitors to the refuge while the new span is being built. Due to construction, access to the refuge has been severely reduced to weekends only, since March of 2019, and this limited access is to continue at least into the spring of 2020. So, at some point in the near future, this old bridge will be no more. It was built around 1960, for about $40,000, by farmers who owned the land before becoming the refuge. I’ve been a frequent visitor to the refuge for wildlife photography since late 2006. In a way, I hate to see this old bridge go but there’s no turning back now.
Canon 5D Mark III, 1/100, f14, ISO 800, 24mm, 18Jan2013
