Prior to completion of the first span of the I-5 Bridge in 1917, steam ferries provided passenger service between Vancouver and Portland. Bridge construction was initiated through collaboration between the two cities, and construction costs were paid for through collection of a 5-cent per vehicle toll that ended in 1929. 

The bridge is 3,528 feet long, and the center lift span rises to a height of 174 feet when fully open to allow vertical clearance for water traffic passing beneath the bridge. The 278-foot lift spans are the longest in Washington State. From 1917 through 1940, streetcars shared the bridge with motor vehicles. In 1958 a western span for southbound traffic was added. The bridge is co-owned by the Oregon and Washington departments of transportation.

• Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.