The state will speed up the next inspection of Tacoma’s 94-year-old Murray Morgan Bridge due to heightened concerns about bridge safety following this week’s disaster in Minnesota.
Like the Interstate 35W bridge that collapsed Wednesday in Minneapolis, the Murray Morgan is a steel-truss bridge. And it’s No. 1 among 20 Pierce County bridges labeled “structurally deficient” like the Minneapolis span was.
Officials had planned to examine the Morgan bridge sometime in September, but they decided Friday to move up the inspection to later this month or early September, said Kevin Dayton, administrator for the state Department of Transportation’s Olympic Region. It will include not only an examination of the overall structure, but also a detailed inspection of the mechanical and electrical lift elements, he said.
“We’re very, very concerned about the bridge,” Dayton said.
Based on the findings, the DOT could recommend closing the span, which links downtown Tacoma to the Tideflats.
City officials hope it doesn’t come to that, but they agree that safety is the top priority, said Bill Pugh, Tacoma’s assistant city manager and public works director.
City and state officials have been talking for years about what to do with the Morgan bridge, formerly known as the 11th Street Bridge. The DOT, which owns the bridge, had planned to demolish it in 2006, saying it had outlived its useful life and was beyond repair. The structure opened in 1913, and decades of corrosion have taken a toll.
But city officials, spurred by a grass-roots effort, managed to stall its demolition.
In 2005, the City Council authorized then-City Manager Jim Walton to negotiate with the state to return the bridge to the city. The state put together an approximately $25 million funding package to help pay for repairs, but the cost of fixing the bridge is far higher, and city officials have been unwilling to take over ownership until more money can be found.
State inspectors have been examining the bridge every six months, and there’s a 10-ton vehicle weight limit.
Pugh and City Manager Eric Anderson met Thursday with Dayton to discuss the bridge. The meeting had been scheduled long before Wednesday’s collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis. But the meeting gained urgency because of the heightened safety awareness, Dayton said.
One option that city officials suggested is to make “moderate improvements,” rather than a full rehabilitation or restoration, to extend the life of the bridge before transferring it to city ownership, Dayton said. State officials are looking at the possibility, he said.
The cost of a full bridge restoration was an estimated $77 million, according to a consultant’s report to the city in October 2004.
Mayor Bill Baarsma called the bridge discussion a “critical issue” that needs to be addressed soon.
“It’s unfortunate. It should have been resolved years ago,” he said.
The Morgan bridge was once an important link between downtown and the Port of Tacoma. It became less important after the state rerouted Highway 509 from the East 11th Street corridor.
It serves about 4,600 cars per day, Dayton said. The lift span opens about 100 times per year.
Even with less traffic, City Council members still believe the bridge serves an important economic development purpose and could play a role in the development of the Thea Foss Waterway.
Jason Hagey: 253-597-8542
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