The Ballard Bridge, also known as the 15th Avenue Bridge, is a double-leaf

bascule bridge A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- or ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, Washington. It carries 15th Avenue NW over Seattle's Salmon Bay between Ballard to the north and Interbay to the south. The Ballard Bridge follows the Fremont Bridge in the east in the succession of bridges spanning the

Lake Washington Ship Canal The Lake Washington Ship Canal, which runs through the city of Seattle, connects the fresh water body of Lake Washington with the salt water inland sea of Puget Sound. The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks accommodate the approximately difference in ...

, which connects

Lake Washington Lake Washington is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle. It is the largest lake in King County and the second largest natural lake in the state of Washington, after Lake Chelan. It borders the cities of Seattle on the west ...

in the east to

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected m ...

in the west. Built in 1917, it has an opening span of and a total length of . The approaches of the bridge were originally timber trestles. It also carried a

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...

. In 1939, the timber approach spans of the Ballard Bridge were replaced as a

Public Works Administration The Public Works Administration (PWA), part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Reco ...

project. The deck was surfaced with concrete and the rails for the streetcar were removed. In 1982, it was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

. In recent years bicyclists have complained that improvements are needed to address safety concerns.

Gallery

File:Seattle - Ballard Bridge under construction, 1916.jpg, Ballard Bridge under construction, 1916 Image:Ballard Bridge-1.jpg, The bridge, up Image:Ballard Bridge-2.jpg, The bridge, down

Notes

External links

Seattle Department of Transportation: Ballard Bridge
{{Authority control 1917 establishments in Washington (state) Ballard, Seattle Bascule bridges in the United States Bridges completed in 1917 Bridges in Seattle Drawbridges on the National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Seattle Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state) Towers in Washington (state)