The West Seattle Bridge, officially the Jeanette Williams Memorial Bridge, is a
cantilevered
A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...
segmental bridge
A segmental bridge is a bridge built in short sections (called segments), i.e., one piece at a time, as opposed to traditional methods that build a bridge in very large sections. The bridge is made of concrete that is either cast-in-place (constru ...
that serves as the primary connection between
West Seattle
West Seattle is a conglomeration of neighborhoods in Seattle, Washington, United States. It comprises two of the thirteen districts, Delridge and Southwest, and encompasses all of Seattle west of the Duwamish River. It was incorporated as an i ...
and important highways such as
State Route 99 (and the
tunnel through downtown), the
Spokane Street Viaduct, and
Interstate 5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...
. It was built between 1981 and 1984 after the previous
bascule bridge
A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- or ...
was deemed inoperable as a result of
being struck by the
freighter ''Antonio Chavez'' in 1978.
The high-level bridge was closed in March 2020 after cracks in the underside were found to be growing rapidly, necessitating a major repair amid the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. The
Seattle Department of Transportation
The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is a municipal government agency in Seattle, Washington that is responsible for the maintenance of the city's transportation systems, including roads, bridges, and public transportation. The agency ...
conducted repairs over a two-year period and reopened the bridge on September 17, 2022.
Construction
The bridge spans the east and west channels that form the mouth of the