Umtanum Creek Footbridge in Ellensburg, Washington

A cable suspension footbridge in Washington's Yakima Canyon has outlasted the railroad era it was built to serve. Constructed in 1885 to connect workers at a Northern Pacific Railway camp at Umtanum Creek, it proved sturdy enough to carry the Ford Model As that began using it when an automobile highway opened through the canyon in 1925. When the railroad camps closed and automobile travel dominated, most of the cable bridges from that era were torn down—but not Umtanum. According to Atlas Obscura, hikers and fishers continued to use the aging bridge for decades until safety concerns and preservation efforts led to its full restoration in early 2021, with the work carefully maintaining its historic design.

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