 The bay is named for the Youngs River, which was discovered in 1792 by William Robert Broughton of the Vancouver Expedition.The river was named for Admiral Sir George Young of the Royal Navy.There are two road bridges that cross the bay, with the busiest being the new Youngs Bay Bridge, a vertical-lift bridge completed in 1964, that spans approximately and is a two-lane part of U.S. Route 101 running north to south.