The Lake Washington Ship Canal, which runs through the city of

Seattle 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 regio ...

, connects the fresh water body of Lake Washington with the salt water inland sea of

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

. The

Hiram M. Chittenden Locks The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, or Ballard Locks, is a complex of locks at the west end of Salmon Bay in Seattle, Washington's Lake Washington Ship Canal, between the neighborhoods of Ballard to the north and Magnolia to the south. The Ballard L ...

accommodate the approximately difference in water level between Lake Washington and the sound. The canal runs east–west and connects Union Bay, the

Montlake Cut The Montlake Cut is the easternmost section of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, which passes through the city of Seattle, linking Lake Washington to Puget Sound. It was completed in 1916 and is approximately long and wide. The center channel ...

Portage Bay Portage Bay is a body of water, often thought of as the eastern arm of Lake Union, that forms a part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal in Seattle, Washington. To the east, Portage Bay is connected with Union Bay—a part of Lake Washington— ...

Lake Union Lake Union is a freshwater lake located entirely within the city limits of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is a major part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, which carries fresh water from the much larger Lake Washington on the east to ...

, the

Fremont Cut The Fremont Cut is a canal in Seattle, Washington, United States, that connects Lake Union to the east with Salmon Bay to the west. It is part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal linking Lake Washington to Puget Sound, and is long and wide. ...

Salmon Bay Salmon Bay is a portion of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, which passes through the city of Seattle, linking Lake Washington to Puget Sound, lying west of the Fremont Cut. It is the westernmost section of the canal and empties into Puget Sound' ...

, and

Shilshole Bay Shilshole Bay is the part of Puget Sound east of a line drawn northeasterly from Seattle's West Point in the southwest to its Golden Gardens Park in the northeast. On its shores lie Discovery Park, the Lawton Wood section of the Magnolia neighb ...

, which is part of the sound.

History

The ship canal project began in 1911 and was officially completed in 1934. Prior to construction of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, otherwise known as the Salmon Bay Waterway, water used to exit Lake Washington via the Black River which flowed from the south end of Lake Washington into the Duwamish River. As early as 1854, there was discussion of building a navigable connection between Lake Washington and Puget Sound for the purpose of transporting logs, milled lumber, and fishing vessels. Thirteen years later, the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

endorsed a canal project, which included a plan for building a naval shipyard on Lake Washington. In 1891 the

US Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

started planning the project. Some preliminary work was begun in 1906, and work began in earnest five years later. The delays in canal planning and construction resulted in the U.S. Navy building the

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, officially Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres (0.7 km2) on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington in uninterrupted ...

Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerto ...

, which is located across the Sound from Seattle.

Early efforts

For centuries, people had been dragging boats between the lakes, giving names like "carry a canoe" ''sxWátSadweehL'' to the crossing points. In 1854 Seattle pioneer

Thomas Mercer Judge Thomas Mercer (March 11, 1813 – May 25, 1898) was a pioneer associated with the early history of Seattle. Biography Early life Mercer was born in Harrison County, Ohio on March 11, 1813, and was the eldest son of Aaron and Jane (Dicker ...

proposed canals connecting

and Lake Washington to

in a speech at the first Independence Day celebration of the Seattle area's first permanent white settlement, shortly after its founding. Mercer gave the lakes the names they are presently called, over the original

Lushootseed Lushootseed (txʷəlšucid, dxʷləšúcid), also Puget Salish, Puget Sound Salish or Skagit-Nisqually, is a language made up of a dialect continuum of several Salish tribes of modern-day Washington state. Lushootseed is one of the Coast Salish ...

names used by the

Duwamish Duwamish may refer to: * Duwamish tribe, a Native American tribe in Washington state * Duwamish River, in Washington state * ''Duwamish'' (fireboat) See also * Elliott Bay Elliott Bay is a part of the Central Basin region of Puget Sound. It is ...

, ''tenas Chuck'' or ''XáXu7cHoo'' ("small great-amount-of-water") for Lake Union and ''hyas Chuck'' or ''Xacuabš'' ("great-amount-of-water") for Lake Washington. Lake Union was chosen to suggest the future canals merging the waters, and Lake Washington for

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

In 1860 local landowner Harvey L. Pike tried to dig a ditch by himself with pick and shovel at Montlake to transport logs between

and Union Bay, in the hopes of increasing the value of his property along the route. Giving up on digging the first Portage Canal himself, in 1871 he joined Thomas Burke and Daniel Gilman in incorporating the Lake Washington Canal Company, deeding his land to the company. Instead of finishing the canal, the company instead built a tramway to carry coal brought by barge across Lake Washington. In 1883,

David Denny David Thomas Denny (March 17, 1832, Part II: Chapter 3, p. 203 – November 25, 1903) was a member of the Denny Party, who are generally collectively credited as the founders of Seattle, Washington, USA. Though he ultimately underwent bankr ...

and Burke hired a crew of Chinese laborers to complete the canal at Montlake, creating a channel that included a lock, capable of floating logs down from Lake Washington to Lake Union. The Army Corps of Engineers investigated Puget Sound for military defense purposes and chose Lake Washington as the best location for a Naval base, due to the security of the waters, proximity to supplies of fresh water, coal and timber, and the less corrosive effect on wooden ship hulls of a

fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

port. A report by Lieutenant Thomas H. Hardy of October 13, 1871, forwarded to Congress by Army General Barton S. Alexander of the Board of Engineers of the Pacific Coast said the coal fields of

Seattle Coal and Transportation Company Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, two miles east of

Lake Sammamish Lake Sammamish is a freshwater lake east of Seattle in King County, Washington, United States. The lake is long and wide, with a maximum depth of and a surface area of . It lies east of Lake Washington and west of the Sammamish Plateau, a ...

, supplied 1,500 tons per month of

steam ship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

grade coal, and potentially twice this amount. The route directly across the narrowest part of Seattle, that is, Semple's Canal from Leschi straight across to present-day

Harbor Island Harbor Island is an artificial island in the mouth of the Duwamish River in Seattle, Washington, US, where it empties into Elliott Bay. Built by the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company, it was completed in 1909 and was then the largest art ...

, was rejected in this report because of the 200 to 300 foot height of the hills that would have to be cut through. The route via the Black and

Duwamish River

Navigation

Traffic

Navigation starts at Webster Point in Lake Washington and continues to Shilshole Bay. Speed limit is 7 knots with more restrictions including 2.5 knots for entering and exiting the locks. Canal traffic signals present 1,000 feet (304.8 m) each side of the Montlake Bridge and east of the

Fremont bridge Fremont Bridge may refer to: * Fremont Bridge (Portland, Oregon) * Fremont Bridge (Seattle) The Fremont Bridge is a double-leaf bascule bridge that spans the Fremont Cut in Seattle, Washington. The bridge, which connects Fremont Avenue North an ...

and west of the

Ballard Bridge The Ballard Bridge, also known as the 15th Avenue Bridge, is a double-leaf bascule bridge in Seattle, Washington. It carries 15th Avenue NW over Seattle's Salmon Bay between Ballard to the north and Interbay to the south. The Ballard Bridge foll ...

. Vessels 300 tons (272.15 metric tons) and vessels with a tow may not pass a red signal. Other Vessels should use caution for on coming large commercial traffic.

Drawbridges

All bridges can be contacted on channel 13 for an opening or use horn. Horn blasts of one long, at least four seconds, and one short, of about a second, can be used to request an opening. A reciprocal response from a bridge is acknowledgement that the information has been received and the bridge will open in time. Bridges may hold for up to ten minutes before opening. five short blast from a bridge means that the bridge will not be opening. Normal bridge opening restrictions are separated by operator the City of Seattle and Washington State Department of Transportation. All non-self-propelled vessels, craft, or rafts navigating this waterway for which the opening of any draw is necessary shall be towed by a suitable self-propelled vessel while passing the draw.

Sewage and stormwater mitigation

During heavy or prolonged rain, stormwater runoff and overflowing wastewater from neighborhoods along the Ship Canal is dumped into the waterway. The practice was found to be polluting Salmon Bay and Puget Sound with an average of 130 spills per year dumping of untreated wastewater. The U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

and

Washington State Department of Ecology The Washington State Department of Ecology (sometimes referred to simply as "Ecology") is the state of Washington's environmental regulatory agency. Created in February 1970, it was the first environmental regulation agency in the U.S. predating ...

ordered the Seattle city government to address the issue, signing a consent decree in 2016 to plan a diversion system. The system will use a tunnel running along the north side of the canal with access stations at five sites in Fremont, northern Queen Anne, and Ballard before reaching a pump station, where wastewater can continue to the

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

sewage treatment plant. The pump station in Ballard is planned to be a cylinder covered in a steel lattice structure that reaches in height; it is expected to cost $100 million. The tower's design evokes the local maritime industry and is inspired by

crab pot Crab traps are used to bait, lure, and catch crabs for commercial or recreational use. Crabbing or crab fishing is the recreational hobby and commercial occupation of fishing for crabs. Different types of traps are used depending on the type o ...

s; the lattice will include

light-emitting diode A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (cor ...

s that are programmed to display colors that represent local weather or the pumping station's status. The project is expected to cost $570 million to construct, with 65 percent of funding sourced from

Seattle Public Utilities Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) is a public utility agency of the city of Seattle, Washington, which provides water, sewer, drainage and garbage services for 1.3 million people in King County, Washington. The agency was established in 1997, co ...

and the remaining 35 percent from the King County government. The project had originally been estimated to cost $423 million, but limited supply in the area's busy construction market caused cost overruns. Construction on the tunnel is planned to begin in June 2021 with the launch of a

tunnel boring machine A tunnel boring machine (TBM), also known as a "mole", is a machine used to excavate tunnels with a circular cross section through a variety of soil and rock strata. They may also be used for microtunneling. They can be designed to bore throu ...

, named "

Mudhoney Mudhoney is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1988, following the demise of Green River. Its members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner, bassist Guy Maddison and drummer Dan Peters. Orig ...

" in honor of the local

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

band following a public contest. It is expected to be completed in 2025.

Canal crossings

The Canal's crossings, from east to west, are: * the University Link Tunnel carrying

Link light rail Link light rail is a light rail rapid transit system serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is managed by Sound Transit in partnership with local transit providers, and consists of two non-connected lines: t ...

under the canal * the

Montlake Bridge The Montlake Bridge is a double-leaf bascule bridge that carries State Route 513 (Montlake Boulevard) over Seattle's Montlake Cut—part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal—connecting Montlake and the University District. It is the easternmo ...

carrying State Route 513 (Montlake Boulevard NE) over the

* the University Bridge carrying Eastlake Avenue over

* the

Ship Canal Bridge The Ship Canal Bridge is a double-deck steel truss bridge that carries Interstate 5 (I-5) over Seattle's Portage Bay (part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, after which it is named) between Capitol Hill and the University District. The ca ...

carrying

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 ...

over

* the

George Washington Memorial Bridge The Aurora Bridge (officially called the George Washington Memorial Bridge) is a cantilever and truss bridge in Seattle, Washington, United States. It carries State Route 99 ( Aurora Avenue North) over the west end of Seattle's Lake Union an ...

(commonly called the

Aurora Bridge The Aurora Bridge (officially called the George Washington Memorial Bridge) is a cantilever and truss bridge in Seattle, Washington, United States. It carries State Route 99 ( Aurora Avenue North) over the west end of Seattle's Lake Union an ...

) carrying Aurora Avenue N. ( State Route 99) over the west end of

* the

Fremont Bridge Fremont Bridge may refer to: * Fremont Bridge (Portland, Oregon) * Fremont Bridge (Seattle) The Fremont Bridge is a double-leaf bascule bridge that spans the Fremont Cut in Seattle, Washington. The bridge, which connects Fremont Avenue North an ...

connecting 4th Avenue N. to Fremont Avenue N. over the

Northern Pacific Railroad The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by 38th United States Congress, Congress in 1864 and given ...

Ship Canal Bridge near the west end of the Fremont Cut 1914–1976, no longer extant. * the

carrying 15th Avenue over

* pedestrian crossing only at the

* the

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

's Salmon Bay Bridge over

An additional crossing for transit, bicycles, and pedestrians between the Ballard and Fremont bridges was proposed by Mayor

Mike McGinn Michael McGinn (born December 17, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician. He served as mayor of the city of Seattle, Washington, and is a neighborhood activist and a former State Chair of the Sierra Club. In what was characterized as a "s ...

in 2012, but funding to study its feasibility were rejected by the

Seattle City Council The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-lar ...

. A new

crossing, carrying the

Ballard Link Extension Link light rail is a light rail rapid transit system serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is managed by Sound Transit in partnership with local transit providers, and consists of two non-connected lines: t ...

near the existing Ballard Bridge, is planned to be constructed in the 2030s.

Seattle landmarks

The Lake Washington Ship Canal and the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. The

, along with the

are City of Seattle Designated Landmarks (ID #107995).Landmarks Alphabetical Listing for M
, Individual Landmarks, Department of Neighborhoods, City of Seattle. Accessed December 28, 2007.

Notes

External links

{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Seattle Water transport in Seattle Ship canals Canals in Washington (state) National Register of Historic Places in Seattle Canals on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state) Canals opened in 1934 1934 establishments in Washington (state)