Western Washington Bridges: Pragmatic Design Spanning An Inhospitable Host

By Marques Vickers

The bridges of Western Washington represent a pictorial testament to engineering innovation combating hostile topography and inclement weather. The state of Washington features over 8,000 lakes within its territory. Thirty-five rivers flow into Puget Sound and water comprises over 40% of the total area of the city of Seattle. Western Washington features a diverse landscape punctuated and sometimes isolated by the rugged Olympia National Mountain Range and Puget Sound. Bridges become imperative to enable transportation access.Photographer Marques Vickers has profiled and photographed over forty of the most prominent celebrating their diversity of design and landscape symmetry. Each profile provides an overview of construction elements and dimensions, distinctive history, and approximate daily usage. Although lesser iconic than Oregon's coastal spans, Washington's bridges have seemingly suffered a disproportionate amount of destruction and reputation damage compared to their neighboring states. From Galloping Gertie's 1940 Tacoma Narrows collapse to the 1990 pontoon sinkage of the Lacy Murrow Bridge, violent wind and rain have historically walloped certain crossings into oblivion. An accidental barge collision provided the necessary federal funding for the replacement West Seattle Bridge and serial Green River killer Gary Ridgeway designated the Meeker Street Bridge in Kent as his personal cadaver-dumping site.Vickers' diverse vantage angles showcase elements of each bridge rarely viewed by crossing vehicles and pedestrians. By isolating construction elements through over 220 images, a greater appreciation is gleaned into understanding the structural and architectural composition. The diverse engineering solutions employed to span the regions numerous water bodies have resulted in a hybrid combination of architectural era styling, pragmatism, and innovation.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1791735673
• ISBN13: 9781791735678
• Release Date: December 2018
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 188 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"