The Mark Clark Bridge is a

girder bridge A girder bridge is a bridge that uses girders as the means of supporting its deck. The two most common types of modern steel girder bridges are plate and box. The term "girder" is often used interchangeably with "beam" in reference to bridge d ...

that carried a State Route 532 across the

Stillaguamish River The Stillaguamish River is a river in the northwestern region of the U.S. state of Washington. It is mainly composed of two forks, the longer North Fork Stillaguamish () and the South Fork Stillaguamish. The two forks join near Arlington. Fro ...

between

Stanwood, Washington Stanwood is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, Snohomish County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The city is located north of Seattle, at the mouth of the Stillaguamish River near Camano Island. As of the 2020 United States ...

, and

Camano Island Camano Island is a large island in Possession Sound, a section of Puget Sound. It is part of Island County, Washington, and is located between Whidbey Island and the mainland (Snohomish County) by the Saratoga Passage to the west and Port Sus ...

. It is the only form of road access to Camano Island from 1950 until 2010, when it is demolished. The bridge is named for

Mark W. Clark Mark Wayne Clark (1 May 1896 – 17 April 1984) was a United States Army officer who fought in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. He was the youngest four-star general in the U.S. Army during World War II. During World War I, he wa ...

, a decorated Army officer who spent time on Camano Island. The water surrounding Camano Island is too shallow for ferry service, which made this bridge a critical link for island residents and visitors. The bridge replaced an earlier

swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that can be rotated horizontally around a vertical axis. It has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravit ...

that opened in 1909 and is part of the first highway between Stanwood and Camano Island. Shortly after the highway is incorporated into the state highway system in 1945, a $615,000 replacement is planned by the state government at the request of Stanwood, Camano Island, and the former town of East Stanwood. It is dedicated on July 23, 1950, and is connected to a new highway bypassing Stanwood and East Stanwood.

Replacement

The

Washington State Department of Transportation The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT or WashDOT, both ) is a governmental agency that constructs, maintains, and regulates the use of transportation infrastructure in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. Establi ...

(WSDOT) began construction of a new Stillaguamish River bridge in the summer of 2009. The Mark Clark Bridge is found to be too narrow and vulnerable in the event of a major earthquake. The new bridge is designed with a width of to accommodate a four-lane highway, while initially configured for two-lane traffic, and include a wide

shoulder The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone) as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder m ...

for bicyclists and pedestrians. On August 17, 2010, the new Camano Gateway Bridge opened to traffic. As a result, the Mark Clark bridge is closed to traffic and later demolished.

References

Buildings and structures demolished in 2010 Demolished bridges in the United States Transportation buildings and structures in Snohomish County, Washington Road bridges in Washington (state) {{Washington-bridge-struct-stub