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Purdy Bridge

Pierce County, Washington

Photos 

View South From East Bank Looking South

Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record

View photos at Library of Congress

BH Photo #195999

Map 

Description 

Purdy Bridge was one of the first reinforced-concrete box girders in the nation when completed and the longest.

Facts 

Overview
Concrete deck girder bridge over Burley Lagoon on Washington 302
Location
Pierce County, Washington
Status
Open to traffic
History
Built 1936, Rehabilitated 1966
Builders
- Homer Hadley of Seattle, Washington (Conceptual Designer)
- Portland Dredging Co. of Portland, Oregon (Contractor)
- W.H. Witt Co. of Seattle, Washington (Consulting Design Firm)
Design
The Purdy Bridge is a 550-foot long, continuous box girder bridge. It is one of a handful designed and built in Pierce and King Counties during the 1930's. Workmen poured concrete around a hollowed, steel box girder to form the roadway slab and top flanges, 15-feet wide and 7-inches deep at the crown. The long, 190-foot middle section was designed as a simple suspended beam. The piers were also cellular and flush with the sides of the deck box girder.
(Spanning Washington, Historic Highway Bridge of the Evergreen State, Craig Holstine & Richard Hobbs, 2005)
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 190.0 ft.
Total length: 550.0 ft.
Deck width: 20.0 ft.
Recognition
Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on July 16, 1982
Approximate latitude, longitude
+47.38382, -122.62851   (decimal degrees)
47°23'02" N, 122°37'43" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
10/528039/5247884 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Burley
Average daily traffic (as of 2016)
21,774
Inventory numbers
NRHP 82004274 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
BH 44372 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection report (as of June 2018)
Overall condition: Poor
Superstructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 29.6 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com

Categories 

Built 1936 (1,201)
Built during 1930s (12,166)
Concrete girder (1,074)
Continuous (2,630)
Deck girder (6,303)
Girder (11,169)
Homer Hadley (7)
NR-listed (3,013)
Open (40,970)
 Owned by state (16,554)
Pierce County, Washington (118)
Portland Dredging Co. (1)
Span length 175-250 feet (2,058)
Structurally deficient (12,885)
Total length 500-1000 feet (3,060)
W.H. Witt Co. (3)
Washington (1,380)

Update Log 

  • January 28, 2015: Updated by Nathan Holth: Corrected H.W. Witt Co. to W.H. Witt Co.
  • October 2, 2014: Updated by Nathan Holth: Merged NBI Data, listed as continuous, listed rehab date.
  • March 24, 2011: New photos from Michael Goff

Sources 

Comments 

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