South Park Bridge

Support Pier

The South Park Bridge has never really been on sure-footing since its completion in 1931. Initially built on soft soil, the pilings were driven far short of glacial till – the substandard concrete deteriorated for decades then was further damaged in the Nisqually earthquake of 2001. The bridge has since been given a sufficiency rating of 4 out of a possible 100 by inspectors. The bridge that collapsed in Minnesota in 2007 was given a 50 rating shortly before the catastrophic failure that killed 13 people.

Though the county has spent $250,000 yearly to maintain and repair the bridge, the damage has been deemed as too extensive to continue safe operation and the bridge has been scheduled to close permanently on June 30, 2010. Interestingly, once the bridge is closed the moveable spans will be left in the open position to maintain the river as a navigable waterway. The bridge spans the Duwamish River and connects the South Park neighborhood’s main business district – the loss of the bridge could be devastating to an already fragile neighborhood.

A new $130 million dollar bridge is already planned though the county does not currently have all the funds to start the project. Earlier this year, South Park lost a $30 million dollar grant to Seattle as the new bridge was not considered “shovel ready”. The federal stimulus grant was awarded to Seattle to fix Mercer Street in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood.