Spokane Street Bridge

The Spokane Street Bridge is a concrete double-leaf swing bridge that crosses the Duwamish River, connecting Harbor Island to West Seattle. It has a 146.3 m (480 foot) span. Its construction was finished in 1991.

Each 7,500 ton leaf of the bridge floats on a 100" steel barrel in hydraulic oil. It is claimed [ [http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/bridges.htm SDOT - Bridges and Roadway Structures ] ] to be the only bridge of its type in the world and it has received several awards for its innovation, including the Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award of the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1992.

The bridge was featured in a 2007 episode of "Really Big Things" shown on the Discovery Channel.

In order to open the bridge, vessels should use a horn, blasting 1 prolonged, followed rapidly by 3 short blasts. If the bridge can open immediately, it will respond with the same series of blasts, and the vessel should proceed to the opening. If the bridge cannot open immediately, it will respond with 5 short blasts instead. Alternatively, vessels can contact the tower on VHF ch13 low power, hailing "South Spokane Street Bridge". It is to be noted that CH13 is also used by the Washington State Ferry system for coordinating docking, so this channel is often congested.

References

External links

* [http://www.hamiltonengr.com/bridges.asp Hamilton Engineering]

Coordinates: coord|47|34|17|N|122|21|12|W|Crossings navbox
structure = Crossings
place = Duwamish River
bridge = Spokane Street Bridge
bridge signs =
upstream = West Seattle Bridge
upstream signs =
downstream = Elliott Bay
downstream signs =