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South Park Bridge

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Coordinates: 47°31′45.5″N 122°18′50.7″W / 47.529306°N 122.314083°W / 47.529306; -122.314083
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South Park Bridge
New South Park Bridge in 2022
Coordinates47°31′45″N 122°18′50″W / 47.5293°N 122.314°W / 47.5293; -122.314
CrossesDuwamish River
LocaleSouth Park, Seattle, Washington
Maintained byKing County, Washington
Characteristics
DesignDouble-leaf bascule
Total length1,285 feet (392 m) (original bridge)[1]
Longest spanBascule span: 190 feet (58 m) (two 95-foot leaves)[1]
History
DesignerHNTB
Constructed byKiewit-Massman
Construction start2011
Opened2014
Location
Map

The South Park Bridge (also called the 14th/16th Avenue South Bridge) is a double-leaf bascule bridge in Seattle, Washington, United States. Opened in 2014, the current bridge replaced a 1931 bascule bridge that carried the same name and had been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The bridge is operated by the King County government.[2] It carries automobile traffic over the Duwamish River[2] near Boeing Field, just outside the city limits of Seattle, and is named for the nearby South Park neighborhood of Seattle.

First bridge

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14th Avenue South Bridge
The first South Park Bridge, now demolished, in 2007
LocationSpans Duwamish River,
Seattle, Washington
Coordinates47°31′45.5″N 122°18′50.7″W / 47.529306°N 122.314083°W / 47.529306; -122.314083
Built1931 (1931)
Built byKing County Engineering Department[1]
Architectural styleScherzer Rolling Lift bascule
Demolished2011
MPSHistoric Bridges/Tunnels in Washington State TR
NRHP reference No.82004228[3]
Added to NRHPJuly 16, 1982

The original bridge was a Scherzer rolling lift double-leaf bascule bridge constructed in 1929–31. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, as the 14th Avenue South Bridge.[1] As of around 2009, about 20,000 vehicles used the bridge daily, and it was a main connection to South Park's main business district.[4]

The original bridge was already in poor condition when it was further damaged by the Nisqually earthquake of 2001. In 2002, King County inspectors gave the bridge a score of 6 out of a possible 100, per Federal Highway Administration criteria, and the rating later fell to as low as 4.[5][6] This compares to a score of 50 for the I-35W Mississippi River bridge, which collapsed in August 2007. However, due to a lack of county, state and federal funding for a proposed replacement project, the South Park Bridge continued to operate in its deteriorated condition.[7]

Although plans to build a new bridge were ready, the project failed to receive a $99 million federal TIGER I grant in early 2010.[8] The bridge was finally closed June 30, 2010, at 7:00 p.m.[7] Earlier that month, King County secured $10 million toward the replacement of bridge.[9] Dismantling of the bridge began in late August 2010, with removal of the lift span sections,[10] even while the outlook for the proposed replacement project remained unclear. County officials subsequently secured funds for replacement of the entire bridge, and work to replace the bridge began in May 2011.

Second bridge

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In August 2010, the County submitted a grant application for $36.2 million in federal funds from the second round of federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grants, TIGER II, for replacement of the original bridge.[11] On October 15, 2010, it was announced that the project had been awarded $34 million in TIGER II financing, filling the funding gap and allowing work to replace the bridge to move forward.[12][11] In March 2011, King County announced that the new bridge would be constructed by Kiewit-Massman, a joint venture of Kiewit Infrastructure West Company and Massman Construction Company.[13] Construction of the new bridge began in May 2011.[14][15]

A ceremonial grand opening event was held for the newly completed South Park Bridge on June 29, 2014, and it officially opened to traffic the following day, June 30, 2014.[16][17]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Lisa Soderberg (June 1980). "Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation (OAHP) Inventory: 14th Avenue South Bridge" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  2. ^ a b King County 2005 Bridge Report, p. 24. Accessed online 2009-04-28.
  3. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  4. ^ Gutierrez, Scott (December 20, 2009). "Seattle Transportation Watch". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  5. ^ John Iwasaki (November 3, 2005). County looking at five plans to fix or replace South Park Bridge, Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Accessed online 2009-04-27.
  6. ^ Keith Ervin (July 6, 2006). "South Park Bridge on its last legs". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2007-03-26.
  7. ^ a b "South Park Bridge". King County road services. King County, Washington. March 23, 2010. Archived from the original on March 29, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. ^ South Park Bridge funding rejected West Seattle Herald, 2010-02-17
  9. ^ Ervin, Keith (June 25, 2010). "South Park Bridge funding ramps up quickly with added $10 million grant". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
  10. ^ Seattle Times Staff (August 31, 2010). "Spans removed from South Park bridge". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
  11. ^ a b "Funding for the new South Park Bridge". King County. October 15, 2010. Archived from the original on June 3, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  12. ^ Goldsmith, Steven (October 15, 2010). "Murray: Final $34M found for South Park Bridge". Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
  13. ^ "Kiewit-Massman named apparent low bidder to construct South Park Bridge" (Press release). King County, Washington. March 8, 2011.
  14. ^ Gutierrez, Scott (May 5, 2011). "South Park celebrates groundbreaking on new bridge". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
  15. ^ "Breaking of giant piñata marks start of construction for new South Park Bridge". King County Transportation News Center. May 5, 2011. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
  16. ^ "South Park Bridge". King County Transportation. June 16, 2014. Archived from the original on June 18, 2014. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  17. ^ "South Park Bridge". King County Transportation. June 30, 2014. Archived from the original on July 9, 2014. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
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