Crossing the Hylebos Waterway at East Eleventh Street, the Hylebos Bridge is one of Tacoma’s most important transportation corridors. Its 1939 construction was plagued with delays and funding problems and was overshadowed by the construction of the ill-fated Tacoma Narrows Bridge, better known as “Galloping Gertie.”
Hylebos Bridge Ruled an Obstruction
Access to Puget Sound was key to Tacoma’s waterfront industry. To allow both ships and traffic to pass, a wooden drawbridge was built over the Hylebos Waterway at East 11th Street. Yet ships kept getting bigger. In 1925, Pierce County replaced the drawbridge with a single-leaf steel bascule bridge.
Tacoma annexed the area in 1927, taking over ownership of the bridge. The bridge was plagued with structural problems and was sometimes closed to traffic.
Then the Great Depression hit. The struggling Port of Tacoma began planning to dredge the Hylebos Waterway to improve shipping. In 1931, however, the Department of War blocked the project. No dredging would be allowed until the Hylebos Bridge was removed. With only 84 feet of horizontal clearance, they ruled that it obstructed shipping.
Funding a New Hylebos Bridge Proved Difficult
Residents of Northeast Tacoma, including Dash Point and Browns Point, were outraged. They flooded public meetings to demand that the Hylebos Bridge remain open to traffic, at least until concrete plans for a replacement could be made. Cutting off the bridge would cut them off from Tacoma’s business district, as well as block a key transportation corridor from Tacoma to South King County.
Supporters created the Hylebos Bridge Association to lobby their elected leaders to fund a new bridge. The city couldn’t hope to pay for the bridge on its own.
The War Department relented, for a time. A deadline to remove the bridge by July 1935 passed with the bridge intact. On Friday, December 7, the city of Tacoma lost its final appeal in federal court. The bridge was over navigable waters, the judge ruled, and under the jurisdiction of the Department of War. And the Department wanted the bridge gone. If the city refused, they owed a $5,000 a month fine, dating back to July.
Traffic was stopped on Monday, December 9, and demolition began immediately. A three-mile detour was created to reroute traffic. By the end of January 1936, the bridge was dismantled and the waterway cleared.
Construction on a new bridge, however, was delayed by a lack of funding. A $171,000 federal Public Works Administration grant significantly contributed to reaching the $380,000 total. State and local taxes covered the remaining amount. Funding remained an issue throughout construction.
Hylebos Bridge Construction Begins
Construction finally began on December 9, 1937. The project took about 18 months. A marvel of modern engineering, the 1,060-foot-long, double-leaf bascule bridge has 135 feet of vertical lift and 150 feet of horizontal clearance when the draw is open.
Although most reporting was focused on the construction of the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge, the Hylebos Bridge project was celebrated as Tacoma’s labor and industry were still struggling at the end of the Great Depression. Most workers and contractors came from Tacoma, as did most of the building materials.
In November 1938, local women brought sandwiches and hot coffee to workers pouring concrete on the bridge deck all night. Work went on around the clock and could be dangerous. In March 1939, Robert K. Norris was critically injured in a 20-foot fall, suffering a skull fracture.
On April 5, 1939, the bridge was struck by the steamer Point San Pablo. The damage to both ship and bridge proved minor. The eastern half of the bridge was knocked ten inches out of alignment. No one was injured.
Celebrating the Hylebos Bridge
As summer neared, construction was finally complete. People were ready to celebrate.
Representing those most impacted by the bridge’s closure, the Browns Point Improvement Club, Marine View Women’s Club, Northeast Tacoma Improvement Club and Dash Point Social and Improvement Club organized a dedication ceremony on May 27, 1939.
The evening kicked off with a dinner for local dignitaries at the Hotel Winthrop. A parade started at 7:30 p.m., winding its way from Ninth and A Streets to the Bridge. Led by the American Legion color guard, the procession included a girls’ drum and bugle corps and the Stadium High School and Lincoln High School bands. Cars carried representatives of the event’s sponsors and the Sixth Avenue Business Men’s Club, as well as state, county, and Tacoma officials.
The bridge was lowered for the occasion. Thousands jammed the road back for half a mile to watch the ceremony. Speakers included State Department of Highways Director Lacey V. Murrow and Tacoma Mayor J. J. Kaufman. Assistant Director of State Highways James A. Davis cut the ribbon.
A free street dance followed.
Opening the Hylebos Bridge
After everyone left, the bridge was raised. It did not open to traffic until June 1, after the state had taken over ownership of the bridge and staffed it with veteran bridge tenders whose job was to control lifting and lowering the bridge for ship traffic.
“The Hylebos bridge is open,” the News Tribune celebrated at last. “Repeat: The Hylebos bridge is open.” Life could get back to normal.
The bridge helped facilitate the rapid growth of East Tacoma. Its rival, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, had a much different fate. Opening July 1, the structurally unsound “Galloping Gertie” collapsed a mere three months later.
Better built, the Hylebos Bridge has stood ever since. Allowing ships to pass with ease, it carries thousands of cars every day.
