page_title: West Seattle Bridge
section_title: West Seattle Freeway
hierarchical_section_title: West Seattle Bridge / West Seattle Freeway
caption_attribution_description: sea0815 047
context_page_description: The high-level West Seattle Bridge, officially the Jeanette Williams Memorial Bridge, is a cantilevered segmental bridge that serves as the primary connection between West Seattle and the rest of the city. It was built between 1981 and 1984 after the previous bascule bridge was deemed inoperable as a result of being struck by the freighter Antonio Chavez in 1978.
  The bridge spans the east and west channels that form the mouth of the Duwamish River at Elliott Bay, crossing over Harbor Island. Its main approaches are Fauntleroy Way S.W. from the west and the Spokane Street Viaduct from the east. The viaduct continues east to Interstate 5 at Columbian Way, forming a three-mile arterial between West Seattle and I-5. The navigational clearance height of the high-level West Seattle Bridge is 140 feet.
  The low-level Spokane Street Bridge of swing-span design spans the west channel of the Duwamish River immediately north of the high-level bridge. The low-level bridge carries the surface-level Spokane Street and has a navigational clearance of 45 feet.
context_section_description: The Spokane Street Viaduct section was one of Seattle's first freeways, built in 1940. Upon completion of the West Seattle Bridge in 1984, the road comprising the Spokane Street Viaduct and the West Seattle Bridge was referred to as the "West Seattle Freeway". However, a series of fatalities led to recognition that the aging Spokane Street Viaduct portion was unsafe to be used as a high-speed roadway. In 1997, the Seattle City Council unanimously adopted a resolution to lower the speed limit and to request that the WSDOT remove the word "Freeway" from signs marking the entrances to the Spokane Street Viaduct and the West Seattle Bridge. The West Seattle Bridge was renamed as the Jeanette Williams Memorial Bridge on July 6, 2009, in honor of councilmember Williams, who had been instrumental in securing political support for the construction of the bridge. However, all directional signs continue to carry the name "West Seattle Bridge."
  From 2008 to 2013, the Spokane Street Viaduct section between Interstate 5 and State Route 99 was rebuilt and widened. The widened roadway has three lanes in each direction and shoulders. A new westbound on and off ramp was built at 1st Ave S and replaced the dangerous 4th Ave S off-ramp. A new eastbound off-ramp to 4th Ave S opened August 16, 2010.
caption: Aerial view of the Spokane Street Viaduct taken 2010 (before widening) facing west. The Interstate 5 interchange is in the foreground, and the West Seattle Bridge is in the background.
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