In 1907, the Second Spokane Street drawbridge is completed, connecting Seattle to the newly annexed West Seattle. The wood structure has two 80-foot spans and a roadway 20 feet 4 inches wide. It carries vehicles and streetcars.
The low-level construction was highly problematic. Since the bridge also carried West Seattle's water supply, every opening required a laborious disconnection and reconnection of the water mains. When a ship or a boat traveled up or down stream, West Seattle went without water. By 1913, the need for a higher bridge became serious. In 1917, it was replaced by a larger and higher, but still temporary bridge.
Sources:
Myra L. Phelps, Public Works in Seattle: A Narrative History, The Seattle Engineering Department 1875-1975, (Seattle: Seattle Engineering Department, 1975), 39-40.
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