Aurora Bridge | |
|---|---|
 The main span of the bridge in 2015, looking west. The suspended truss is visible at the center of the cantilever arch structures. | |
| Coordinates | 47°38′47″N 122°20′50″W / 47.6464°N 122.3472°W |
| Carries |  SR 99 (Aurora Avenue North) |
| Crosses | Lake Union |
| Locale | Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Official name | George Washington Memorial Bridge |
| Maintained by | Washington State DOT |
| ID number | 0001447A0000000 |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Mixed, cantilever and truss |
| Total length | 2,945 ft (898 m) |
| Width | 70 ft (21 m) |
| Longest span | 475 ft (145 m) |
| Clearance below | 167 ft (51 m) |
| History | |
| Opened | February 22, 1932 |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 61,998 (2017)[1] |
Aurora Avenue Bridge | |
| Location | Aurora Avenue North over Lake Washington Ship Canal, Seattle, Washington |
| Coordinates | 47°38′47″N 122°20′51″W / 47.64639°N 122.34750°W |
| Built | 1931–32 |
| Built by | U.S. Steel Products Corp. |
| Architect | Jacobs & Ober |
| MPS | Historic Bridges/Tunnels in Washington State TR |
| NRHP reference No. | 82004230[2] |
| Added to NRHP | July 16, 1982 |
The Aurora Bridge (officially called the George Washington Memorial Bridge) is a cantilever and truss bridge in Seattle, Washington, United States. It carries State Route 99 (Aurora Avenue North) over the west end of Seattle's Lake Union and connects Queen Anne and Fremont. The bridge is located just east of the Fremont Cut, which itself is spanned by the Fremont Bridge.
The Aurora Bridge is owned and operated by the Washington State Department of Transportation.[3] It is 2,945 ft (898 m) long, 70 ft (21 m) wide, and 167 ft (51 m) above the water.[3] The bridge was opened to traffic on February 22, 1932, the 200th anniversary of the birth of its namesake, George Washington, a Founding Father and first president of the United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
The bridge has been the site of numerous fatal incidents over the years. It is a popular location for suicide jumpers and several reports have used the bridge as a case study in fields ranging from suicide prevention to the effects of pre-hospital care on trauma victims. In 1998, a bus driver was shot and killed while driving over the bridge, causing his bus to crash and resulting in the death of one of the passengers. In 2015, five people died and fifty were injured when an amphibious duck tour vehicle crashed into a charter bus on the bridge in an incident that also involved two smaller vehicles.
- ^ "2018 Traffic Report" (PDF). Seattle Department of Transportation. December 2018. p. 11. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
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