Maple Street Bridge (Spokane, Washington)

The Maple Street Bridge is a girder bridge in the northwest United States in Spokane, Washington. It spans West Central to Downtown, crossing over the Spokane River and the Peaceful Valley neighborhood. Along with the Division Street Bridge and Monroe Street Bridge, the Maple Street Bridge is one of several major bridges that cross the Spokane River.

The bridge is 1,719 feet in length, stands 125 feet above the river, with a deck that is 50 ft wide. It has two-lane traffic in both directions, and a caged pedestrian walkway. As of 2015, the Maple Street Bridge has an average daily traffic of 40,600 vehicles.

History


Construction began in 1956 and the Maple Street Bridge opened on July 1, 1958. The bridge cost $6 million dollars to construct, and required a ten-cent toll on vehicles from 1958 to 1981. During the first three hours, over 1,600 vehicles crossed the new bridge. The price was raised to 25 cents from 1981 to 1990, when the toll was removed.

Accidents
During construction in December 1957, an iron worker was killed when he fell 90 ft from a wooden platform.

In 2008, a teen died by accidentally falling from the Maple Street Bridge.