White Bird bypassed 1975
White Bird Hill Summit is a mountain pass in the northwest United States, located in north central Idaho on U.S. Highway 95. In Idaho County, it is midway between White Bird and Grangeville. The summit elevation of the highway is 4,245 feet (1,294 m) above sea level, through a substantial cut.
White Bird Hill Summit
White Bird Hill Summit is located in the United StatesWhite Bird Hill Summit
Show map of the United States
Show map of Idaho
Show all
Elevation
4,245 ft (1,294 m)
Traversed by
US 95
Location
Idaho County, Idaho, U.S.
Range
Clearwater Mountains
Coordinates
45.844°N 116.237°W
Nearing the summit of the climb from the south, about to enter the road cut at the top.
The modern multi-lane highway was completed 46 years ago,[1] following ten years of construction which concluded with the opening of the bridge at the base over White Bird Creek in June 1975.[2][3][4][5][6] The treeless northbound grade climbs 2,700 feet (825 m) in seven miles (11 km), an average gradient of over 7%.[5]
The contract for the original road, 22 miles (35 km) from the mouth of White Bird Creek at the Salmon River to Grangeville, was awarded in late 1918.[7] Completed in 1921 and first paved in 1938, it rose slightly higher to 4,429 feet (1,350 m), due to the absence of a summit cut. Located to the east, the old road was twice the length and had a multitude of switchbacks ascending a treeless slope. On the present highway, the descent north of the summit is less dramatic as the grade drops less than 850 feet (260 m) in the forest with few curves onto the Camas Prairie towards Grangeville at 3,400 feet (1,035 m).
White Bird Hill Summit marks the divide between the Salmon River and the Camas Prairie. The Battle of White Bird Canyon of the Nez Perce War occurred in the valley south of the summit in 1877. The summit is named after Chief White Bird, a leader of the Nez Perce tribe.[8]
Highway – US 95 – to Lewiston (north) and Grangeville (south)
The city is two miles (3 km) west of U.S. Route 95, which connects it to Craigmont to the east and Lewiston to the northwest, via the Lapwai Canyon.
Until 1960, US 95 was routed through Winchester on this spur and descended Culdesac Hill (46.332°N 116.633°W), considered the worst of the three major grades (White Bird, Lewiston), all of which were extremely twisty. The new route through Lapwai Canyon was built in three years and reduced the distance by over 4 miles (6.4 km) and saved 25 minutes of driving time. The earlier road was completed in 1923. The first organized road race on the old road took place in 1964; among the participants in the hill climb was Bob Knievel of Butte, Montana, later known as Evel Knievel.
The timber trestles of the former Camas Prairie Railroad are visible throughout the area.
Horseshoe Bend sits along State Highway 55, the primary north–south route out of Boise, 23 miles (37 km) to the south and accessed over the 4,242-foot (1,293 m) Spring Valley summit, a.k.a. “Horseshoe Bend Hill.” Highway 55 was designated the “Payette River Scenic Byway” in 1977. The new multi-lane grade was completed in fall 1991; the old curvier road is to the west, long plagued by landslides and closures.
The Old Spiral Highway, near Lewiston, Idaho, circa 1920.
Branching off of Idaho State Highway 128 (just east of the Washington-Idaho transition from Washington State Route 128), the “Old Spiral Highway” and former 10-mile segment of U.S. Route 95 in Idaho climbs 2,000 vertical feet (610 m) of the riverbank north of the confluence of the Snake and the Clearwater Rivers. The summit is at (elev. 2,756 ft (840 m)), following a very twisty road (64 curves) that was opened in 1917. It was the primary route north until it was replaced sixty years later, and received an award as one of the best-engineered stretches of mountain highway at the time. It was decommissioned in 1977, when it was replaced by the current alignment of U.S. Route 95 in Idaho
The 1950s rock and roll hit by singer-songwriter Charlie Ryan titled “Hot Rod Lincoln” tells of an actual race on that hill. The lyrics of the song were changed variously to say San Pedro or The Grapevine in later versions, but the Ryan claimed at later performances that he was inspired by Lewiston Hill.
The north end of the Old Spiral Highway joins with U.S. Route 95 in Idaho and U.S. Route 195 on the Washington-Idaho border.
The Old Spiral Highway U.S. Route 95 up Lewiston Hill
The newer multi-lane grade of U.S. Route 95 ascending the slope to the north of Lewiston is often simply referred to as “Lewiston Hill” by local residents. It was constructed from 1975 to 1977, yields a straighter and steeper sweeping “Z” descent to the east, then back to the southwest, and is approximately seven miles (11 km) in length.
Ferdinand Bypass 1993
Northbound U.S. Route 95 was formerly routed westward through town as Main Street, first passing underneath the railroad tracks. Exiting town, old US-95 then resumed northward, following a descending tributary into Lawyers Creek Canyon. Two miles (3 km) north of Ferdinand, the old highway passed underneath a 493-foot (150 m) timber railroad trestle, Bridge #40, 122 feet (37 m) high, (photos) of the Camas Prairie Railroad, then descended into the canyon to cross the creek into Lewis County. Before climbing a tributary up to Craigmont, the highway briefly paralleled a 1,488-foot (454 m) steel railroad trestle (Bridge #38) near its base, its track 287 feet (87 m) above the creek.
After years of planning, the highway was re-routed in 1993; the straighter US-95 now bypasses Ferdinand on its east side and stays east of the railroad and above the canyon. It crosses Lawyers Creek on a 919-foot (280 m) bridge (photo) which opened in October 1991 and passes over the site of the previous 82-foot (25 m) bridge, built in 1948.
