Spokane Street Viaduct
| West Seattle Bridge | |
|---|---|
The West Seattle Bridge from the 12th Avenue South Viewpoint on Beacon Hill.
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| Coordinates | 47°34′15″N 122°21′01″W / 47.570945°N 122.350338°WCoordinates: 47°34′15″N 122°21′01″W / 47.570945°N 122.350338°W |
| Carries | vehicles |
| Crosses | Duwamish Waterway |
| Locale | Seattle, Washington |
| Other name(s) | Jeanette Williams Memorial Bridge |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | segmental, cantilever |
| Total length | 2,607 ft (795 m) |
| Clearance below | 140 ft (42.6 m) |
| History | |
| Opened | July 14, 1984 |
The high-level West Seattle Bridge, officially the Jeanette Williams Memorial Bridge, is a cantilevered segmental bridge that serves as the primary connection between West Seattle and the rest of the city. It was built between 1981 and 1984 after the previous bascule bridge was deemed inoperable as a result of being struck by the freighter Antonio Chavez in 1978.
The bridge spans the east and west channels that form the mouth of the Duwamish River at Elliott Bay, crossing over Harbor Island. Its main approaches are Fauntleroy Way S.W. from the west and the Spokane Street Viaduct from the east. The viaduct continues east to Interstate 5 at Columbian Way (exit 163), forming a three-mile (5 km) arterial between West Seattle and I-5. The navigational clearance height of the high-level West Seattle Bridge is 140 feet (42.6 meters).
The low-level Spokane Street Bridge of swing-span design spans the west channel of the Duwamish River immediately north of the high-level bridge. The low-level bridge carries the surface-level Spokane Street and has a navigational clearance of 45 feet (13.7 meters).
The original bridge was a low-level bascule bridge constructed in 1924. By the 1970s, it was one of Seattle's worst bottlenecks, due to the large number of ships in Duwamish Waterway and the frequent bridge openings. City leaders began planning a higher bridge, without a drawbridge, in the 1960s.
Planning for the bridge was hampered by difficulties in receiving funding. In large part, this is because the bridge was not a designated highway. A 1968 Forward Thrust ballot measure included $16.7 million in funding for the bridge, largely to receive votes from West Seattle residents. Other funding sources included a state program for funding urban streets and money from a maintenance fund.
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Wikipedia