Until 1935, the gap between Fidalgo Island and Whidbey Island at Deception Pass could only be crossed by boat. In 1924 a small ferry called the Deception Pass began running between Yokeko Point and Hoypus Point under the ownership and operation of Berte Olson, the first female captain in Washington. Service was often infrequent and frequently canceled because of turbulent water, and patrons summoned the ferry by striking an old saw with a mallet. Fares were 50 cents for a car and driver and 75 cents for larger vehicles. Olson, though barely five feet tall, was regarded as formidable and for years fought construction of a bridge, even persuading the governor to veto a funding bill that had passed the state legislature unanimously. Whidbey Island residents had begun lobbying for a bridge to Fidalgo Island, which had already been linked to the mainland in the 1890s, but after decades of broken promises and two vetoes, construction finally began in August 1934 during the Great Depression. The Wallace Bridge and Structural Company built the two-span bridge for $420,000, with much of the labor done by local unemployed farmers and with Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees assisting on the approach routes by blasting rock with dynamite. Construction took just under 12 months. The bridge was completed on July 25th and dedicated on July 31st, 1935; a delay of one day occurred when the final section did not fit because summer heat had expanded the steel, and at 4 a.m., after the steel cooled, the last piece was lowered into place. The ferry went out of service shortly after the bridge was completed.