Montlake Bridge

Montlake Bridge
Montlake Bridge from the west
Coordinates47°38′51″N 122°18′14″W / 47.6475°N 122.304°W / 47.6475; -122.304
Carries SR 513 (Montlake Boulevard)
CrossesMontlake Cut
LocaleSeattle, Washington
OwnerWSDOT
Characteristics
DesignBascule bridge
Total length344 ft (105 m)
Clearance below46 ft (14 m)
History
DesignerSeattle Department of Engineering, Edgar Blair, Harlan Thomas, A. H. Albertson
OpenedJune 27, 1925
Statistics
TollFree
Montlake Bridge
LocationSpans Lake Union Ship Canal, Seattle, Washington
Coordinates47°38′50″N 122°18′17″W / 47.64722°N 122.30472°W / 47.64722; -122.30472
Arealess than one acre
Built1913
Built byWallace Equipment Company (steel fabrication and erection)
EngineerJ. D. Blackwell, A. Munster, D. W. McMorris
MPSHistoric Bridges/Tunnels in Washington State TR
NRHP reference No.82004242
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJuly 16, 1982
Designated SEATLDecember 13, 1979
Location
Interactive map of Montlake Bridge

The Montlake Bridge is a double-leaf bascule bridge that carries State Route 513 (Montlake Boulevard) over Seattle's Montlake Cut—part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal—connecting Montlake and the University District.

It is the easternmost bridge spanning the canal. The bridge is 344 feet (105 m) long, and was designed by the Seattle Department of Engineering with advisory architects Edgar Blair, Harlan Thomas, and A. H. Albertson. The bridge and its control towers were purposefully designed in the Collegiate Gothic style used by architect Carl F. Gould for many buildings on the University of Washington campus. It provides a clearance of 46 feet (14 m) and is reported as providing 48 feet (15 m) of vertical clearance above the mean regulated level of Lake Washington for the central 100 feet (30 m) of the bascule span. It is one of four original bascule-type drawbridges over the Ship Canal, the others being the Ballard, Fremont, and University bridges. It was the last one to be completed, has the highest clearance of the four, and is the only one that is part of the state highway system. It is also one of six bascule bridges based on a design derived from the Chicago bascule bridge, but is unique because of its trunnion supports, employed to avoid a patent infringement lawsuit by the Strauss Bascule Bridge Company.