Fremont Bridge (Seattle)

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The Fremont Bridge is a double-leaf bascule bridge that connects Fremont and 4th Avenues N. 30 feet over Seattle's Fremont Cut between Fremont and Queen Anne. It was opened on July 4, 1917, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. It has an opening span of 74 meters (242 feet).

One of the busiest bascule bridges in the world, according to the Seattle Department of Transportation, the Fremont Bridge opens an average of 35 times a day. It is the lowest drawbridge in Seattle, and according to the Seattle DOT, is the most frequently opened drawbridge in the United States, due principally to its low clearance. The Fremont Bridge was actually first opened soon after midnight on Friday June 15, 1917, first to "owl cars" - the last run of the trolley's '- and then after 5am the same day to pedestrians and all other traffic. The story was reported in the Post-Intelligencer for Sat. June 16, 1917 page 5. The Lake Washington Ship Canal was dedicated on July 4, 1917, and this may be the confusion, for this bridge crosses the canal - the first of four city bascules to cross the canal. (The others are at Ballard, the University District and Montlake. This last at Montlake was the last of the quartet when it opened in 1925.)

[edit] External links

• Seattle Department of Transportation: Fremont Bridge
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 47.64750° -122.34967°
  • Street map from Google Maps or Yahoo! Maps
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
  • Satellite image from Google Maps or Microsoft Virtual Earth

Bridges and Tunnels in and around Seattle
Road bridges:		Alaskan Way Viaduct | Ballard Bridge | Evergreen Point Floating Bridge | First Avenue South Bridge | Fremont Bridge | George Washington Memorial Bridge (Aurora Bridge) | Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge (Third Lake Washington Floating Bridge) | Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge (I-90 Floating Bridge) | Magnolia Bridge | Montlake Bridge | Ship Canal Bridge | South Park (14th/16th Ave) Bridge | Spokane Street Bridge | University Bridge | West Seattle Bridge
Rail bridges/trestles:		Salmon Bay Bridge | Wilburton Trestle
Tunnels:		Battery Street Tunnel | Great Northern Tunnel | Mercer Island Lid | Metro Bus Tunnel | Mount Baker Tunnel

Crossings of the Lake Washington Ship Canal
Upstream George Washington Memorial Bridge (Aurora Bridge)	Fremont Bridge	Downstream Ballard Bridge