Construction of the Ariel Dam had created Lake Merwin with a water depth of 90 feet (27 m) at the site, requiring a new bridge that did not need to have support piers in the water.

The road deck, stiffened by a steel Warren truss, is 50 feet (15 m) above the high water line of the reservoir.

Only the central span is slung from the cables, with separate unloaded cables acting as backstays running from the 88.75-foot (27.05 m) tall towers to concrete anchorages in the canyon's rocky sides.

The bridge deck is made of timbers with an asphalt overlay.

The counties transferred the bridge to the Washington State Department of Highways in the late 1930s and it was refitted in 1957–58 with steel approach spans.