First Avenue South Bridge : Notes Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

First Avenue South Bridge

Highway drawbridge in Seattle, Washington, United States

47°32′32″N 122°20′04″W / 47.54222°N 122.33444°W / 47.54222; -122.33444Carries

SR 99CrossesDuwamish RiverLocaleSeattle, WashingtonCharacteristicsDesignBascule bridgeTotal length3,010 ft (920 m) (northbound)^[1]
2,895 ft (882 m) (southbound)^[1]HistoryOpened1956 (northbound)
1997 (southbound)Location Map

The First Avenue South Bridge is a pair of double-leaf bascule bridges built between 1956 and 1998 that carry State Route 99 over the Duwamish River about three miles (5 km) south of downtown Seattle, Washington.

The present day northbound span was built in 1956 to connect the industrial areas northeast of the Duwamish to the residential neighborhoods to the south and southwest. Between 1996 and 1998, the drawspan was retrofitted and the approaches completely demolished and rebuilt. The southbound span opened in February 1997 and carried traffic in both directions for two years while the northbound span was rebuilt.^[2]^[3]

In 2001, the southbound span was damaged by the Nisqually earthquake, knocking its piers 3 inches out of alignment, and was closed briefly for repairs.^[4]

From the original construction to February 1995 when the retrofit began, the First Ave S bridge had the highest motor vehicle accident rate in Washington State.^{[citation needed]}

Notes

^ ^a ^b "Bridge List" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. May 2010. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
^ Beers, Carole (February 2, 1997). "New Duwamish span opens while old one is fixed". The Seattle Times. p. B1.
^ "Bridges". Seattle Department of Transportation. 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
^ "First Avenue bridge to close this weekend for repairs". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 2001-03-08. ^{[dead link]}

References

Chuck McGowan. "The First Avenue South Bridge project". — memoirs of a civil engineer working for the WSDOT on the First Avenue South Bridge

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to First Avenue South Bridge.

Bridges and tunnels in and around Seattle

Bridges

Road	Alaskan Way Viaduct Ballard Bridge Cowen Park Bridge East Channel Bridge Evergreen Point Floating Bridge (1963) Evergreen Point Floating Bridge (2016) First Avenue South Bridge Fremont Bridge George Washington Memorial Bridge (Aurora Bridge) Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge Jose Rizal Bridge Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge Magnolia Bridge Montlake Bridge North Queen Anne Drive Bridge Schmitz Park Bridge Ship Canal Bridge South Park Bridge Spokane Street Bridge 20th Avenue NE Bridge University Bridge West Seattle Bridge West Spokane Street Bridge
Rail	Salmon Bay Bridge Wilburton Trestle

Road

Alaskan Way Viaduct
Ballard Bridge
Cowen Park Bridge
East Channel Bridge
Evergreen Point Floating Bridge (1963)
Evergreen Point Floating Bridge (2016)
First Avenue South Bridge
Fremont Bridge
George Washington Memorial Bridge (Aurora Bridge)
Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge
Jose Rizal Bridge
Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge
Magnolia Bridge
Montlake Bridge
North Queen Anne Drive Bridge
Schmitz Park Bridge
Ship Canal Bridge
South Park Bridge
Spokane Street Bridge
20th Avenue NE Bridge
University Bridge
West Seattle Bridge
West Spokane Street Bridge

Rail

Tunnels

Road	State Route 99 Tunnel Aubrey Davis Park (Mercer Island Lid) Battery Street Tunnel Convention Center-Freeway Park Lid Mount Baker Tunnel
Rail	Beacon Hill Tunnel Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel Great Northern Tunnel Northgate Link tunnel University Link tunnel
Utility	Brightwater sewage tunnel