A bridge crossing the Columbia River in Sunnyslope north of Wenatchee had been proposed since the 1960s to bypass a section of US 2 through downtown Wenatchee that crossed the Columbia River on the Senator George Sellar Bridge.^[3] Early proposals favored a bridge at either Walla Walla Point in northern Wenatchee or Olds Station on the north side of the Wenatchee River; the latter option won out. Construction began in 1971 and was completed in 1975, including a narrow bicycle/pedestrian trail and two highway lanes, which were later expanded to four. The bridge was dedicated by 300 people, including local mayors and state highway officials, on September 5, 1975.^[4] US 2 was re-routed onto the bridge and the old alignment later became State Route 285.^{[citation needed]}

The bridge was renamed in May 1991 for Richard Odabashian, a state transportation commissioner from Cashmere.^[3] The pedestrian trail on the bridge was originally 5 feet (1.5 m) wide until it was expanded to 10 feet (3.0 m) in 2001, to eliminate a major bottleneck on the Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail and allow bicycles to pass.^[5]