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University Bridge (Seattle)

Coordinates: 47°39′11.1″N 122°19′12.4″W / 47.653083°N 122.320111°W / 47.653083; -122.320111
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University Bridge
University Bridge in July 2018 as seen from the taller Ship Canal Bridge
Coordinates47°39′11.1″N 122°19′12.4″W / 47.653083°N 122.320111°W / 47.653083; -122.320111
CarriesEastlake Avenue
CrossesPortage Bay
LocaleSeattle, Washington
Characteristics
DesignBascule bridge
Longest span218 ft (66 m)[1]
History
OpenedJuly 1, 1919
University Bridge
LocationSpans Lake Washington Ship Canal,
Seattle, Washington
Built1915–1919
MPSHistoric Bridges/Tunnels in Washington State TR
NRHP reference No.82004254[2]
Added to NRHPJuly 16, 1982
Location
Map

The University Bridge is a double-leaf bascule bridge in Seattle, Washington that carries Eastlake Avenue traffic over Portage Bay between Eastlake to the south and the University District to the north. It opened on July 1, 1919, and was extensively rebuilt from 1932 to 1933.[3] It is included in the National Register of Historic Places.

History

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The bridge opened in 1919 under the name of Eastlake Avenue Bridge (also then known as the Tenth Avenue Northeast Bridge). It got its current and proper name on June 30, 1919.[4]

By 1930, the bridge had begun to deteriorate enough for an extensive refit to be ordered: the timber trestle approaches were replaced with ones made out of concrete and steel, the control towers were rebuilt, and the wooden paving was replaced by the first application of open steel-mesh grating in the United States. Wooden paving had to be replaced every ten years or so; the steel-mesh grating has been replaced once, in 1990. The reconstructed bridge was opened April 7, 1933.[4]

Originally, and until 1940, the bridge was crossed by streetcars of the Seattle Municipal Street Railway.[5]: 36, 99  From 1940 to 1963 and again since 1981, trolleybuses of the Seattle trolleybus system have used the bridge.[6]: 221, 223  Since 1984 (with the closure of the 1911 Cambie Street Bridge in Vancouver, Canada), the University Bridge and Seattle's Montlake Bridge have been the only movable bridges in the Western Hemisphere still crossed by trolleybuses.[7]: 7  (The two trolleybus routes currently using the University Bridge are King County Metro routes 49 and 70.)[7]: 7 

The University Bridge is one of four double-leaf bascule bridges spanning the Lake Washington Ship Canal that were collectively added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, the others being the Ballard Bridge, the Fremont Bridge, and the Montlake Bridge.[8]

In 2014, its electronic controls were replaced after several components had worn out and caused multi-hour delays to lift and lower the bridge.[9] During especially hot summer days, the University Bridge needs daily dousings with cool water to avoid expanding so much that they bind.[10]

Sinkhole

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On May 2, 2007, a 24-inch (61 cm) water main broke near the south end of the University Bridge, creating a 10-foot-deep (3.0 m) sinkhole forcing the closure of the bridge.[11] The sinkhole also swallowed two unoccupied parked cars. The water main break compromised water quality and pressure in a large part of the Eastlake neighborhood, making tap water brown and unpotable. Many restaurants and other businesses were forced to close. There was concern for the integrity of a 40-inch main adjacent to the smaller one that broke. With the bridge closed, surface traffic between Seattle's University District and Downtown areas was heavily impacted. It was reopened on May 3, 2007, after city workers poured about 40 cubic yards of stabilizing concrete-sand slurry around the southern base of the bridge.[12]

Occupy Seattle

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On November 17, 2011, the University Bridge was shut down by demonstrators for about an hour and a half during the evening rush hour, snarling traffic around the University District. The demonstrators included Occupy Seattle protesters, students, union workers, and church leaders. The protests were part of a national Day of Action against cuts to infrastructure, health care, and education spending.[13]

Pictures

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  • Undergoing major reconstruction in 1932.
    Undergoing major reconstruction in 1932.
  • The bridge viewed from the east, with Ship Canal Bridge in the background.
    The bridge viewed from the east, with Ship Canal Bridge in the background.
  • The bridge at sunset, viewed from the west
    The bridge at sunset, viewed from the west
  • View from the south end
    View from the south end
  • Bridge while open
    Bridge while open

References

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  1. ^ Rapp, F. A. (April 8, 1920). "Three Double-Leaf Bascule Bridges at Seattle, Wash". Engineering News-Record. Vol. 84, no. 15. New York City: McGraw-Hill Publishing. pp. 718–722. ISSN 0891-9526. OCLC 6316228. Retrieved September 17, 2024 – via The Internet Archive.
  2. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  3. ^ Long, Priscilla (March 27, 2001). "Seattle's University Bridge opens on July 1, 1919". HistoryLink. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Myra L. Phelps, Public Works in Seattle: A Narrative History: the Engineering Department, 1875-1975 (Seattle: Seattle Engineering Department, 1978)
  5. ^ Bergman, Mike (2021). Seattle's Streetcar Era: An Illustrated History, 1884–1941. Pullman, Washington: Washington State University Press. ISBN 978-0-87422-407-8. OCLC 1260341017.
  6. ^ Bramley, Rod (November–December 2021). "Not So Sleepless in Seattle, Part 3: The 1980s". Trolleybus Magazine. No. 360. UK: National Trolleybus Association. pp. 212–225. ISSN 0266-7452.
  7. ^ a b Bramley, Rod (January–February 2024). "Not So Sleepless in Seattle, Part 7: The 2020s". Trolleybus Magazine. No. 373. UK: National Trolleybus Association. pp. 4–16. ISSN 0266-7452.
  8. ^ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form". National Park Service. October 31, 1984. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  9. ^ Lindblom, Mike (March 11, 2024). "Seattle's University Bridge undergoing a reboot". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  10. ^ Lindblom, Lindblom (August 4, 2017). "Seattle's University Bridge getting regular baths to protect it from the heat". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  11. ^ "Massive sinkhole swallows cars, shuts down water service in Eastlake". Seattle P-I. May 2, 2007. Retrieved March 21, 2009.[permanent dead link‍]
  12. ^ Green, Sara Jean; Lindblom, Mike; Gilmore, Susan; Carter, Mike (May 3, 2007). "U. Bridge open again after repairs". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on December 4, 2008. Retrieved March 21, 2009.
  13. ^ Lindblom, Mike (November 17, 2011). "University Bridge seized in rush-hour rally for jobs". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on March 15, 2012. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
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