Murray Morgan Bridge Reopens to Pedestrians

Tara March 31, 2010

I’m happy to hear they are making strides in repairing the bridge, and not replacing it.

Weyland Duir March 31, 2010

Was ammused that most of the dignataries at this morning’s ribbon cutting actually had little to nothing to do with the preservation of Murray Morgan Bridge. A couple even opposed it in the past. Now that it’s beginning to happen, I guess all the past nay-saying is water under the bridge.

artifacts March 31, 2010

Interesting to note that both Seattle and Everett are demolishing steel lift and swing bridges this year. Tacoma seems to be getting its distinctive sense of self narrative back after the embarrassing Luzon fiasco.

Is it just me or has the road system in the port area devolved into a chaotic tangle without the city link the Morgan Bridge provides? Just an observation.

Squid March 31, 2010

artifacts: yes, the Port area is a chaotic, potholed tangle now. The divots in St. Paul Road are beyond belief.

WesS April 1, 2010

Aww, I loved having it all to myself when I walked the bridge. Now I’m gonna have to stay on the sidewalk?

offbroadway April 1, 2010

Thank you, Denny.

K. Malone April 1, 2010

Now this, this one is important… Its a very good thing that some of Tacoma retains its optimism at all times…

As Stuart Wilde said, “You have to settle into the uncertainty of things and be comfortable with it. Never voice negativity even if things are not going well. Your world is changing, there’s always tomorrow, all will work out fine in the end… Powerful consciousness about life and money is only habit. Agree to change your habits if that’s what it takes.”

Tacoma, are we ready to change our habits?

Mofo from the Hood April 1, 2010

I walked past the 11th & A ST side of the Murray Morgan Bridge yesterday, about 4pm, and I didn’t see anybody using it. Concrete barriers still block cars from the roadway entrance, but now that it’s legal for other lightweight means of crossing, I still didn’t see anybody risk walking or riding a bicycle across the bridge.

And that brought to mind an episode of my younger days when I once bought a 20 year old Datsun 240z. The heyday of that rolling marvel of technology and metal sculpture had been long past, and though its tech highlights had been superceded, that car had a poetic magnetism that rivaled the Murray Morgan Bridge.

Then one day I removed a wheel and tire from the car. When I put it back on and was wrenching tight the last of the four chrome wheel nuts, my final heave-ho busted the aged metal-fatigued bolt right off the car.

So there it was, my poetic thrill of a sports car, now blantantly revealed as evidence that things made of metal will rust and crumble.

Sometimes I reach back into my closet and grab my box of photos that I coaxed my girlfriend to shoot of me sitting in the Z-car’s driver seat. I had dreams then. I was going to restore that icon and prove to the world what a great service I was providing. Then one day I drove over to a local body & paint shop to get an estimate for a new glossy white paint job. “$3000.00,” the guy said.

Forget it. $3000.00 worth of paint wasn’t going to change the fact that the sleek Z-car was an aged metal-fatigued hunk of steel – unsafe, and at any price it was little more than a poetic thrill.

I decided that it would be a lesser risk to walk or ride my bike.

Thorax O'Tool April 1, 2010

It’s a step, and that’s good. But I’m holding off on champagne and celebrations until the bridge is repaved, repainted and reopened to vehicle traffic.

Jesse April 1, 2010

Why the hoopla here? The bridge isn’t fixed. You can’t use it for what it is intended – to drive across — so it’s not fixed.

Why is the Mayor out there celebrating something fractionally done? Most Tacoma city projects are done half-assed and this is no exception. I realize they’re waiting on money to fix the rest but to have a celebration? Look around Tacoma. Most of her problem is that half-assed projects seem to be the norm and perfectly fine.

Raise the bar.

Altered Chords April 1, 2010

Kinda like having a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Jackson Building. “hey it’s 1/2 way done – Let’s CELEBRATE!!!”

artifacts April 2, 2010

Jesse and Mofo,
Jeez folks you have to rocognize turnpoints not just total tranformations. If your whole range of perception is either Union Station restored or Luzon demolished your missing where all the action is and reporting at the level of network news.

Mofo you may be celebrating your ingenius forsight in dumping that Z-car but if you check your other investments I wonder how many have appreciated comparably in value. Plus you could be looking so cool in that classic machine thinking about timeless aesthetics and the importance of some folly in your life. Maybe you can find another just like it and if the chase goes well and you fix it up a little you can cruze over the Morgan Bridge in a couple years.

rick April 2, 2010

I can think of no better way to spend $38MM, plus future federal funds, than this project. Oh, wait… yes, yes I can think of better ways to spend $38MM, plus future federal funds. As it turns out, I can think of LOTS of better ways to spend $38MM, plus future federal funds. Of course, I don’t have the unbiased perspective of an architectural consultant who specializes in restoring old buildings and benefits directly from similar projects. If I were such an unbiased architectural consultant, I too would inform Mofo that his particular opinion is not valid. But I am not. What I am is simply confused by the over-the-top affinity to save the (insert old thing here) at any cost.

Mofo from the Hood April 2, 2010

Thanks artifacts. I walk past your office all the time—-I remember when it was a former florist shop—-it sits across N 2nd from the wacky Casablanca Apartments.

It is true that I’ve spoken in favor of safety considerations with regards to the Murray Morgan Bridge and also the Luzon.

Somewhere in the Exit 133 archives there may still be evidence of my criticism’s of those who neglected routine maintenance of each structure.

But even if we were to suppose that the neglect of each structure was politically motivated, the physics of any structure can reach a point of deterioration that politics or even money cannot make right.

If the Murray Morgan Bridge is still stable, then count me in as one who would support necessary repairs.

In my view, closing the direct highway between 11th & A ST and Marine View Drive was one of the biggest blunders of a traffic engineering non-plan that has, for decades, continually restricted some of the most used streets in Tacoma’s commercial history.

Jesse April 2, 2010

Artifacts: You said we need to recognize turnpoints and not just total rehabs. I get that. But what I don’t get is a gov’t that would let a bridge decay to the point it cannot be used for anything and then have the balls to celebrate the ability to WALK across it. They should not be celebrating. They should be appologizing for having standards for Tacoma that are so low that no other similar or neighboring town would tolerate.

Similarly, I don’t want to see endless talk since 2003 about another streetcar line and another politician with their picture in front of T-Link as if they’ve done ANYTHING with streetcar since 2003. I want to see it done and ride those new lines. I don’t expect to hear about the Elks lodge plans until 2020, I expect to be drinking wine there on St Patty’s Day 2012 as planned. I don’t want to see the MLK LID talked about to death until 2020, I want to see machinery out there doing actual work.

Results, results, RESULTS!

notme April 2, 2010

Wow, no good deed goes unpunished. The celebration on the bridge was to mark: 1. completion of the wire rope replacement so the bridge could be re-opened to pedestrian and bicycle use; and 2. the transfer of ownership of the bridge from WSDOT to the City.

Seems like reasonable things to make note of to me. There will probably be another event when the bridge is closed again to do the major restoration work later this year and then another one in 2012 or 2013 when the restoration of the center span is complete and the bridge reopens to peds, bikes AND cars.

It is just a little event, costs almost nothing to put on, and demonstrates that progress is being made on projects which sometimes just take too long to get underway.

We can all rant about the poor job WSDOT did in maintaining the bridge in the 50+ years they owned it, but I’d rather celebrate the success that was marked by that little ceremony.

Jesse April 2, 2010

Celebrating the bridge cables being done is like an 18 beer a day alcoholic celebrating a day when they “only” had 16 beers.

Until sobriety happens for a while, I wouldn’t celebrate.

artifacts April 3, 2010

Hey Rick dump the surly edge and think about a bigger picture if you are going to throw big numbers around and whine about fixing the fixable when we can send it all to the landfill and buy a shiny new one. (Long sentence but I was on the phone with my broker).
Mofo is most often smart and right and I completely agree with him about the 11th Street corridor from downtown to northeast Tacoma. The same leadership that brought us the Port’s planning insight at Maytown has convinced citizen’s like you that we should abandon the Morgan Bridge. You and the Port may be right but here are some reasons I don’t think so.
In the long run a direct connection between our most expansive waterfront and the city center is fundamental (we are a port city-check it out).
Monies spent on restoration and maintenance are much more likely to end up in local households because smaller local firms can compete for competitively bid public projects. The new Narrows bridge, for example, was constructed by an international construction firm that brought in materials and labor from elsewhere and even the tolls we pay are headed directly out of this economy for generations.
The Morgan Bridge is part of our cultural narrative; it broke the waterfront control of the NP railroad in 1912 and symbolizes the price we Tacomans are willing to pay to shape our own path independent of outside forces. Mayor Angelo Fawcett got recalled for having the city confront the railroad by building the bridge.
And it is already built and fixable in small phases. Observe the progress on transportation projects in the city to the north where more often than not, indecision, delay and grandiosity result in really expensive slow.

crenshaw sepulveda April 3, 2010

I just love this exchange:

“Hey Rick dump the surly edge and think about a bigger picture if you are going to throw big numbers around and whine about fixing the fixable when we can send it all to the landfill and buy a shiny new one. (Long sentence but I was on the phone with my broker).”

We have a surly edge with Rick and this wonderful pretentious edge with artifacts telling us they are talking on the phone with their “broker” while writing this.

Every consultant on the face of the earth could disappear overnight and the world would not skip a beat and the tax payers could save huge amounts of money on worthless studies issued at insane prices.

Pretentious, moi? Oh artifacts, you are very wise and important indeed.

captiveyak April 3, 2010

Your statement about consultants is a tiddle-tad broad, CS. I can’t think of a single profession that would stand up to accusations of occasional or frequent waste. I’m not sure who else would do the work consultants do. Contractors? Common sense proletariat? Visionary collectives? I think consultancy is a lovely way to make an honest middle class living. And I’m a lovely taxpayer.

But that’s beside the point. Artifact’s points are very reasonable. It is also generally reasonable to conserve funds. In fact, I can only think of one occasion in which someone said, “think of the cost! Let’s do what we can to trim it down!” and got laughed out of the room. The goods being discussed were probably illegal. I don’t know my human trafficking laws very well. It makes sense to have a direct link from downtown to the port. Talk to the guys at our World Trade Center. They might have some interesting things to say about it.

Morty April 3, 2010

I for one am pleased that the bridge is walkable again. It is the best please to go to get out of the office, get some exercise and a little air. I love the bay and port views and always stop to watch the long trains thundering along below. Would be great to see it fully open to traffic but for now I will be out enjoying just as soon as the weather breaks.

rick April 4, 2010

Hello Artifacts, and Happy Easter. I appreciate that you took some time to make some semblance of a case for investing in the Murray Morgan Bridge. Despite your many, weary platitudes that serve as a basis for going forward with such an endeavor, I simply have unanswered questions and concerns about the significant financial investment, and about the necessity for that particular 11th street route being maintained at all, and if so, whether renovation or replacement of the current structure is the best long term solution and whether there exists a long term strategic plan that makes this route a critical need, and whether current alternatives coupled with other smaller investments may suffice, though to be clear I am certainly open to being convinced that this all makes perfect sense, and if my concerns qualify as whining, then I’ll accept your charge, though I think those are fair questions to ask and speaking of questions, is everyone at Artifacts Architectural Consulting a contemptuous, arrogant prick, or is it just you? (Long sentence but I was on the phone with ~~your~~ WHO CARES)

notme April 4, 2010

Rick (and others): There are many reasons to restore the Murray Morgan Bridge. I respect the opinion of those who disagree. Personally I think it is really cool that the most economical and efficient method of restoring an important urban cooridor is the rehabilitation of an historic bridge. Would it be important to fix the bridge if the cooridor were unimportant? Maybe, but the argument for rehabilitation would be less strong.

First, the simple fact is that over 27,000 people work daily in the port area. At present, there are exactly two east-west connections across this area: SR-509 (with limited access) and Puyallup Avenue. Public safety concerns alone cry out for another access. The two existing conections are within 3 blocks of one another. A more northerly east-west access is critical. E. 11th Street provided that access until the MMB was closed to traffic. The cost to the City to redispurse public safety resources to address the closure has been over $1 million annually. SR 509 was nearly lost itself as a result of a tanker car fire a few years ago (only now being repaired). Puyallup Avenue features two long bridges itself, both in need of replacement or repair for which only some funds have been identified. Closure of this route will be necessary during this bridge replacement project. Diverting the MMB money to this project would advance its construction but do nothing to build that needed more northerly route.

Pierce County’s two trauma centers are located at 19th and 5th on MLK Avenue. 11th Street is almost equidistant between them for access from industrial accidents. Seconds count in these situations and the access out of the port area is far too limited.

The second reason has to do with simple good transportation planning. E. 11th Street is an urban arterial cooridor. Losing the MMB would close that cooridor. It is almost a given that over time, the public right of way in the cooridor would be sold off. You don’t have to look very far to see what can happen when urban cooridors are lost. SR-167 is a top priority of nearly everyone in the region. The biggest cost to getting the project underway has been the hugely expensive purchase of right of way. Yet in the 1970’s a corridor for this project was already in place. Public sentiment against further freeway construction put the project on the shelf. Later political considerations forced DOT to sell off land in such cooridors. Today, the former 167 route is lined with strip malls and mobile home parks while we spend hundreds of millions to purchse new land for the highway.

Obviously, E. 11th Street isn’t SR 167, but the issue is the same: the arterial you think isn’t too important today because of a low traffic count, can be vital link tomorrow.

crenshaw sepulveda April 5, 2010

I’m all for the Murray Morgan Bridge. I just want to make sure that consultants that write long sentences while talking with their brokers on the phone and insist on telling us about it don’t profit from it. Sorry about the long sentence, I was trying to tell my chauffeur to reach my historic preservation consultant for me on the satellite phone. Apparently she is busy in The Valley of the Kings in Egypt and the mobile phone service is spotty there.

KR April 5, 2010

Wow, is it really too much to ask for a civilized discussion/argument without any name-calling or insult-slinging?

Altered Chords April 5, 2010

The most important reason to open the bridge to automobile traffic is so that I can drive from the office to appointments in the tidflats in less than 4 minutes.

Morty April 6, 2010

There is no need for a large draw bridge at 11th unless the Museum of Glass or Johnny’s Dock needs an extra large shipment or a special delivery from a tall ship, there is simply no industry south of 11th anymore on the Foss, it is all recreational. The bridge is architecturally and historically wonderful, and I enjoy walking across it all right but putting money in that bridge is a waste and the repairs or restoration will never ever pay for themselves. It makes much more sense to go 10 blocks south and expand or fortify the 509 Bridge and E Portland. Tacoma needs to embrace and support the Port but let’s put our money where it will give us the most return in business and jobs.

notme April 7, 2010

Morty, with all due respect, the bridge is needed far more than you believe. Raising the bridge has nothing to do with Johnny’s Dock but it does have a lot to do with recreatonal sail boats, tall ships events and even Martinac Shipyard.

It does not make sense to go 10 blocks south and then 10 blocks north to get across the Foss. It costs the City $1 million a year more to compensate for the public safety costs related to closure of the bridge.

The $37 million restoration will give the center span another 75 years of use. Seems like a good deal.

Thorax O'Tool April 7, 2010

I want Men of action, not words.

Fix the bridge or tear it down. Stop all the talk and “dialogue” and get back to work.
Can’t you see we have a whole damn country to rebuild out there?

Squid April 8, 2010

Thorax: PEOPLE of Action. Gender neutral, please.

RR Anderson April 8, 2010

He want’s MEN of action damnit. hot man action! woah. uh….

Altered Chords April 8, 2010

Are we talking about the bridge or the Mecca? I’m confused.

32 comments