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Murray Morgan Bridge

Tacoma, US

Murray Morgan Bridge

The Murray Morgan Bridge, also known as the 11th Street Bridge or City Waterway Bridge, is a vertical-lift bridge in Tacoma, Washington. 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, o

riginally known as the City Waterway. Designed by noted bridge engineering firm Waddell & Harrington, 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 207 feet 1.75 inches (63.1381 m) above the water, with the road deck 60 feet (18 m) 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 wanted to tear down the bridge, the City of Tacoma convinced the state to...

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