Past to Present

Before the bridge was completed in 1935, the only way to cross Deception Pass was by boat.

If you wanted to take your car from Whidbey to Fidalgo Island in 1929 your crossing would look like this, aboard the MV Acorn.

Your captain could have been Berte Olson, the first female ferry captain on Puget Sound.

The ferry made several runs daily from Hoypus Point on Whidbey Island to Yokeko Point on Fidalgo Island.

Today you can still see evidence on the ferry landing at each site.

Imagine how different you journey today would be without the Bridge.

In 2007 the Washington Department of Transportaion (WSDOT) began replacing the original guard rails on the approaches to the Deception Pass Bridge. The original rails were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s.

The new rails were designed to meet modern safety needs and honor the work done by the CCC. More than 700 cars crossed the bridge the first hour it opened. In 2008, fourteen to sixteen thousand cars a day crossed the Deception Pass Bridge on average. WSDOT funded these signs as part of the Guard Rail replacement project. To Learn More, visit the Pass Island Overlook and the South Bridge Parking Lot.

(Photo caption, right side: Section of original rails near Pass Lake.)

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Deception Pass
Deception Pass
Deception Pass
Deception Pass
Deception Pass
U.S. Navy Patrol and Reconnaissance Memorial
Douglas Fir
Ship Harbor
Island Flyer
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