Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company

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Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company was a major shipbuilding and construction company, located in Seattle, Washington. The firm was established in 1898 on Elliott Bay in Puget Sound. The company was engaged in construction projects around the United States and built ships for the U.S. Navy at its shipyard on Harbor Island on Puget Sound during and after World War II. In 1959 the firm was purchased by Lockheed and became the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company. The shipyard was permanently closed in 1987.^[1]

[edit] Construction and shipbuilding

During its 61-year history as Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company the firm completed many major construction projects. Among these were:

• The Governor Pingree was the company’s first vessel built, in 1898. The ship was a 140-foot, flat-bottomed stern-wheeler built for use in the Yukon gold trade.^[2]
• Harbor Island in Seattle (1909). Until 1938 it was the largest artificial island in the world, and is still the largest artificial island in the United States.^[3]
• A large system of irrigation canals known as the Umatilla Project in northwestern Oregon (1906)^[4][5]
• The original 5-story King County courthouse in Seattle (1914)^[6]
• Two 5,400-ton steam-driven, wooden cargo vessels: Broxton and Snoqualmie (1918). Originally built for service in WWI but completed too late for war service. Later served in Pacific trade between British Columbia and Australia.^[7]
• Husky Stadium at the University of Washington in Seattle (1920)^[8]
• The harbor of Port Townsend, Washington (1931)^[9]
• The first Lake Washington Floating Bridge (1940)^[1]
• More than 2,000 vessels and 100 steel ships for the U.S. Navy during and after World War II. One of the notable Navy ships built by Puget Sound was the USS Turner Joy, one of two U.S. Navy destroyers involved in the Gulf of Tonkin Incident in 1964.^[1][10][11]
• Rebuilding railroad locomotives (1949–52)^[12]
• The first Hood Canal Floating Bridge (1961)^[1][13]
• Several large ferries for the Washington State Ferry System^[14]

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} HistoryLink.org "McCurdy, H. W. (1899-1989)"
2. ^ GlobalSecurity.org "Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company"
3. ^ Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi "Technologies: Harbor Island"
4. ^ U.S. Bureau of Reclamation "The Umatilla Project"
5. ^ U.S. Bureau of Reclamation "Umatilla Basin Project"
6. ^ King County, Washington "Courthouse History"
7. ^ Pirate: At the Center for Wooden Boats "WoodenBoat, #137, July/August 1997"
8. ^ GoHuskies.com "Husky Stadium"
9. ^ Port of Port Townsend "Port History"
10. ^ Maritime Business Strategies "Puget Sound Bridge & Dredging Company, Seattle WA: WWII Construction Record"
11. ^ Maritime Business Strategies "Lockheed Shipbuilding & Construction Co., Seattle WA Post-WWII Construction Record"
12. ^ NMBS Additions "History of the ALCO-GE 127 ton DIESEL LOCOMOTIVES RSD-1"
13. ^ HistoryLink.org "Buoys in the Hood"
14. ^ Washington State Department of Transportation: Washington State Ferries: History