The Murray Morgan Bridge, also known as the 11th Street Bridge or City Waterway Bridge, is a

vertical-lift bridge A vertical-lift bridge or just lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck. The vertical lift offers several benefits over other movable bridges such as the bascule and swin ...

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Pa ...

. It originally opened February 15, 1913, to replace an 1894 swing-span bridge. The bridge connects downtown with the tidal flats, it spans the

Thea Foss Waterway The Thea Foss Waterway, formerly the City Waterway, is a north–south inlet of Commencement Bay separating downtown Tacoma, Washington, from the Port of Tacoma. History The City Waterway was created in 1902 through a dredging operation proposed ...

, originally known as the City Waterway. Designed by noted bridge engineering firm

Waddell & Harrington Waddell & Harrington was an American engineering company that designed bridges from 1907 to 1915. It was formed in 1907 as a partnership of John Alexander Low Waddell (1854–1938) and John Lyle Harrington (1868–1942) and was based in Kansas C ...

, the bridge has some unusual features: higher above the water than most lift bridges, construction on a variable grade and an overhead span designed to carry a water pipe. The bridge structure also contained a series of switchback ramps that connected what is now Cliff Street with Dock Street. According to the Department of Transportation, the towers are above the water, with the road deck above the water level at zero tide. It was modified and updated in 1957 and was used to route State Route 509 through the tidal flats. The bridge was bypassed in the late 1990s when State Route 509 was routed around the edge of the tidal flats (see East 21st Street Bridge). While

WSDOT The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT or WashDOT, both ) is a governmental agency that constructs, maintains, and regulates the use of transportation infrastructure in the U.S. state of Washington. Established in 1905, it i ...

wanted to tear down the bridge, the City of Tacoma convinced the state to transfer ownership to the City. In the past, the bridge has been heavily used by commuters and emergency services in connecting the Port of Tacoma with downtown Tacoma. In 2007, the bridge was closed because of safety concerns and the general wear and tear that the bridge had suffered in its near 100-year lifespan. Soon afterwards, the city began a large rehabilitation project to completely overhaul all aspects of the bridge. In 2010, the bridge began periodically opening to bikes and pedestrians. In February 2013, the bridge re-opened to all traffic.

Name

Originally known as the 11th Street Bridge, it was renamed May 21, 1997, to honor Tacoma-born

Murray Morgan Murray Cromwell Morgan (1916–2000) was an author and historian of the Puget Sound region. Throughout his life he was also a writer, journalist, and political activist. He was a history teacher at Tacoma Community College. Early life Murray Morga ...

(1916–2000), the best-known Pacific Northwest historian of his generation, and author of "Skid Road", a history of

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of ...

. Morgan was a bridge tender on the bridge during the 1950s. In fact, he wrote most of "Skid Road" during quiet periods on the job.

Closure

The bridge was officially closed to vehicles on October 23, 2007, due to "life safety concerns". The bridge re-opened February 2013 after a large rehabilitation project.

Opening

On February 1, 2013, the bridge re-opened after a large rehabilitation project was completely finished. Down from four lanes to two, the bridge is now solid black (its original color) and features antique-esque lighting (actually LED bulbs) to celebrate the bridge's centennial anniversary. The outer two lanes were converted to larger pedestrian paths and bike lanes. An elevator connects pedestrians and bikes to Dock Street below the bridge. The bridge's environmental impact has been lessened; a new water runoff system routes rainwater to tanks that contribute to a

rain garden Rain gardens, also called bioretention facilities, are one of a variety of practices designed to increase rain runoff reabsorption by the soil. They can also be used to treat polluted stormwater runoff. Rain gardens are designed landscape sites t ...

on the east side of the bridge. The computers, cables, and motors that operate the lift in the center of the structure were also updated.

Damage

On December 15, 2010, it was discovered that thieves had broken into the mechanical room and stolen wiring from the control panel used to raise the bridge for ship traffic on the Foss Waterway. As part of the rehabilitation project, the computers and electrics in the bridge were replaced.

References

External links