Talk:West Seattle Bridge

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United States: Washington / Seattle

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One year in: A look back at the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge (SDOT Blog: March 25, 2021)

Untitled[edit]

I'm not sure of the actual length of the bridge; if someone could determine this and update the article accordingly it would be appreciated. BurntSky 00:29, 3 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I know it's been almost six years, but I managed to find a source from the city itself giving the length of the bridge as 2607 ft. I am a little uncertain about that number, as it seems a little too small after looking on Google Maps and both estimating the length and noting how the bridge looks like it should be longer than the First Avenue South Bridge (which is not the case according to the number in that article). But it might just be due to how they choose the points they want to measure between. If anyone can find anything better or more conclusive, that would be great. 71.231.76.242 (talk) 08:44, 3 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Previous bascule bridge[edit]

Do we have an article anywhere that covers the previous bascule bridge? It can be seen in this photo (thumb) of the current bridge under construction. - Jmabel | Talk 21:48, 17 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

@Jmabel: - we do now: "West Spokane Street Bridge". Your 1983 photo of the West Seattle Bridge under construction is a fantastic photo. From what I understand, there were two old bridges: 1) the first bascule bridge constructed in 1924. 2) a second bascule bridge constructed some other time. The Chavez rammed the northern bridge (the elder(?) bridge that carried eastbound traffic). I'm not sure if the 1983 photo was taken after the northern bridge was torn down, since if it was still fully intact, it presumably it would have been visible in the 1983 photo. My hunch is that the eastbound bridge was torn down by 1983, but someone with better access to Seattle research libraries (than me, down in San Francisco) should look that up. Having ridden over the Spokane Street Bridge bicycling on my way to work many times many years ago, I have a visceral feel for the area, but that doesn't help me come up with useful citations. Regardless, that photo belongs in either the "West Spokane Street Bridge" article or the "West Seattle Bridge" article (or perhaps both).-- RobLa (talk) 02:52, 8 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

@RobLa: Not my photo, actually, came from Seattle Municipal Archives.

1924 is the north bridge, the one that was hit.

The south bridge was 1930. I believe it was not demolished until the first of the present-day bridges was complete (1983?) - Jmabel | Talk 03:44, 8 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Merge with Spokane Street Bridge?[edit]

It seems as though the history of upper bridge and the lower bridge are hopelessly intertwined. Both bridges are replacements for the #West Spokane Street Bridge, and were the partly the result of Forward Thrust, not to mention when the Chavez rammed into the West Spokane Street Bridge. I suppose that someone could create a West Spokane Street Bridge article instead of merging Spokane Street Bridge and West Seattle Bridge, but something should be changed. -- RobLa (talk) 08:29, 4 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Separate bridges with separate designs should have separate articles. I do think having an article on the old bridge would be helpful as well. Sounder Bruce 21:02, 4 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]
- Okay, I've started Draft:West Spokane Street Bridge. Can we try making that article suitable for publishing as West Spokane Street Bridge, and remove a lot of the prose that I copied out of West Seattle Bridge from the article about the latter bridge (that opened in 1984)? -- RobLa (talk) 17:46, 5 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Ramps to West Seattle Bridge[edit]

On 3 May 2023, potholes on a ramp leading from Highway 99 to the West Seattle Bridge were discovered to be actually a hole through the elevated concrete ramp. Deteriorated concrete will require repairs initially estimated at 10 days. 2601:600:9080:F3C0:F959:378B:AAC5:AB4F (talk) 01:09, 4 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]