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MONDAY, MAY 20, 2013
Vol. CXXIV, No. 97
OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE CITY OF TACOMA Devoted to the Courts, Real Estate, Finance, Industrial Activities, and Publication of Legal Notices
Published Since 1890
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McMillin Bridge historic nomination reaches Pierce County Council Article By Todd Matthews, Editor Photo Courtesy Historic American Engineering Record / National Park Service Pierce County Council is scheduled Tuesday to consider an ordinance that would place the 79-yearold McMillin Bridge on the county's register of historic places. The concrete bridge, which is listed on the National Register of Historic places and owned by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), has a long history in Pierce County. Built in 1934, the bridge is part of State Route 162 that connects Orting to Sumner. WSDOT officials have said the bridge is functionally obsolete and a new bridge needs to be built. WSDOT plans to build a new bridge just east of the McMillin Bridge then tear down the historic bridge. Historic preservationists throughout Washington State and beyond argue the bridge is historically significant because it was designed by Homer M. Hadley, whose work contributed to bridges spanning rivers, lakes and creeks throughout Washington State. Hadley pushed for the state to build a floating concrete bridge across Lake Washington. Today, the westbound span of the Interstate 90 floating bridge is officially named the Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge. The McMillin Bridge's inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places is only an honorary designation with little regulatory bearing other than what is known as "Section 106" of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. In the case of the McMillin Bridge, Section 106 requires that a federal agency consult with a range of stakeholders to determine if demolishing the bridge will have any adverse effects. Because the McMillin Bridge crosses a body of water, the Puyallup River, the lead federal agency in this case is the United States Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE). In the end, it's the Corps that will get to decide whether to issue the permit allowing the new bridge to be built and the old bridge to come down. The ACOE is expected to make a decision later this year. In February, Pierce County's Landmarks and Historic Preservation Commission approved a nomination prepared by the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation to place the bridge on the county's register of historic places. The nomination was then forwarded to Pierce County Council's Rules and Operations Committee. That committee made a dopass recommendation on May 6 for the full Pierce
Emergency repairs temporarily close Carbon River Bridge to commercial vehicles
County Council to approve a proposed ordinance to place the bridge on the county's register of historic places. The Washington Trust for Historic Preservation notes the bridge is an example of "engineering in its most creative, artistic expression. That is to say, the McMillin Bridge is a work of art representing engineering at its finest." "In terms of putting it on the local register, it's not as much about saving it as it is about acknowledging, again, the significance of this bridge to not just the state, not just regionally, but to the county as an important historic element of the county," Washington Trust for Historic Preservation Field Director Chris Moore told the Tacoma Daily Index in February. "The bridge not being on it is really an omission up to this point. "On the regulatory side, local ordinances are the ones that have regulatory purview, regulatory teeth, if you will," added Moore. "One hope is that by having it listed [on the Pierce County register], its future treatment will go through a process that requires full consideration of it as a historic artifact, as a historic resource. The national register confers no protections whatsoever like that. But listed locally, it ensures there will at least be a process whereby consideration must be given for its future use." Pierce County Council is scheduled to consider the ordinance to place the McMillin Bridge on the county's register of historic places during its meeting on Tues., May 21 at 5:30 p.m. at the Anna Lemon Wheelock Library, located at 3722 North 26th Street, in Tacoma.
Posted online Fri., May 17 Photo Courtesy WSDOT Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) officials Thursday prohibited commercial vehicles from traveling on the Carbon River Bridge along State Route 165 after crews discovered one of the four vertical legs supporting the bridge's approach span had loosened from its concrete footing. WSDOT crews staffed each end of the one-lane bridge overnight to ensure that only passenger vehicles crossed the bridge while bridge inspectors determined what repairs would be necessary before the restriction could be lifted. The single-lane bridge is located at milepost 11.5, three miles south of Carbonado in Pierce County. Aside from privately-owned logging roads, no detour was available for commercial vehicles. About 40 residents live between the bridge and the boundary to Mount Rainier National Park. The bridge is estimated to carry on average 250 to 300 vehicles a day. That number varies widely by season, however, since State Route 165 provides access to the park. At 5:15 p.m. on Friday, WSDOT maintenance crews completed repairs and reinstated full vehicular use of the bridge, including commercial vehicles. According to WSDOT's Web site, the 494-foot-long Carbon River Bridge was built in 1921, is included on the National Register of Historic Places, and is one of only two extant three-hinged steel arch bridges in the state of Washington. At the time of its construction it was the highest bridge in the state.
NOTE TO READERS
In observance of Memorial Day, the Tacoma Daily Index will not be published on Mon., May 27. Publication will resume on Tues., May 28. Have a safe holiday.