Safety Concerns Close Murray Morgan Bridge (23. October 2007, 15:15 by Derek Young) ~

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 23, 2007

LM 07-229

Contact: Lisa Murdock, Communications Manager, 360-357-2789

Safety Concerns Close Murray Morgan Bridge

TACOMA – After informing City of Tacoma officials, the Washington State Department of Transportation announced today that the 94-year old Murray Morgan Bridge in Tacoma is closed to all vehicular traffic effective immediately. Traffic is routing over the nearby State Route 509 bridge. During the past few weeks WSDOT bridge engineers have been conducting a comprehensive inspection of the bridge. They found additional structural deterioration and determined that the bridge must be closed to vehicular traffic to ensure public safety. WSDOT will still allow pedestrians and bicyclists to use the bridge for now.

“Governor Gregoire and I both believe that public safety is a top priority and our aggressive bridge inspection program demonstrates our commitment,” said WSDOT Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond. “Sometimes these inspections reveal information that forces tough decisions. After years of working with the city to keep this bridge safely open to traffic, information from our most recent inspection indicates that WSDOT must close the bridge immediately. I understand that the 11th Street corridor is important to Tacoma’s economic development and I will continue to work closely with city officials and community members to support their interests.”

The 1,748-foot-long Murray Morgan Bridge, formerly called the 11th Street Bridge, spans the Thea Foss Waterway. As early as 1997, the city and WSDOT have been in discussions about the future of this corridor and whether to replace, rehabilitate or remove this structure. In 2002, WSDOT reduced the bridge from four lanes to two lanes and imposed a 10-ton weight limit to prohibit all heavy vehicles, except emergency response vehicles, from crossing the bridge. The exemption for emergency response vehicles is no longer allowed due to the current condition of the bridge.

The decision to close the bridge was a difficult one given the bridge’s historic past and the high level of interest from local residents to keep it operational. Opened to traffic in 1913, the bridge was built to provide access from the downtown area to the industrial area in the tide flats. In 1997, WSDOT opened the SR 509 cable-stay bridge, which today carries about 28,000 vehicles over the waterway daily. In comparison, the Murray Morgan Bridge currently carries about 1,300 vehicles daily.

The Murray Morgan Bridge is only one of the nearly 3,200 bridges on Washington State’s highways that WSDOT inspects on a regular basis. Most bridges are inspected every two years, however for several years WSDOT has inspected the Murray Morgan Bridge every six months because of its poor condition.

For more information visit:
www.wsdot.wa.gov/regions/olympic/murraymorganbridge.htm.