The History of Deception Pass

Deception Pass Bridge
Deception Pass Bridge, connecting Whidbey Island to Fidalgo Island is a popular spot for photographers looking to capture the beauty of the Puget Sound. A Public Works Administration project was built by workers from the Puget Sound Construction Company. Completion of the bridge allowed the United States Navy to build Naval Air Station Whidbey Island and helped Oak Harbor, Washington flourish.

In the spring of 1792, Joseph Whidbey, master of the HMS Discovery and Captain Vancouver's chief navigator, sailed through the narrow passage that is now called Deception Pass and proved that it was not really a small bay as charted by the Spaniards (hence the name "Deception"), but a deep and turbulent channel that connects the Strait of Juan de Fuca with the Saratoga Passage.

In the early years of the 20th Century, travelers of the horse-and-buggy era used an unscheduled ferry to cross from Fidalgo Island to Whidbey Island. To call the ferry, they banged a saw with a mallet and then sat back to wait.

The bridge, one of the scenic wonders of the Pacific Northwest, is actually two spans, one over Canoe Pass to the north, and another over Deception Pass to the south. Construction began in August 1934, and the completed bridge was dedicated at noon on July 31, 1935. The Wallace Bridge and Structural Co. of Seattle, Washington provided 460 tons of steel for the 511-foot Canoe Pass arch and 1130 tons for the 976-foot Deception Pass span. The cost of construction was just $482,000!

In September 1982, the bridge was declared a National Historic Landmark.

It cost more to paint the spans in 1983 than it did to build them in 1935. They were painted again in 1997.

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