The Washington State Toll Bridge Authority was created in 1937 by the Washington State Legislature, with a mandate to finance, construct and operate toll bridges in the state of Washington.[1]
The first act of the Toll Bridge Authority was to purchase the Manette Bridge, previously a privately owned toll bridge;[2] it was made a toll-free crossing in January 1939.[3] The agency then constructed several new bridges in the Puget Sound region that were intended to become toll-free crossings once their construction bonds had been retired. These included the Lake Washington Floating Bridge, which was tolled from 1940 to 1943; and the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge, which opened in July 1940 and collapsed on November 7 during a windstorm.[1][4]
The Toll Bridge Authority began operating public ferries on June 1, 1951, when Washington State Ferries was created to take over the private Black Ball Line routes.[5] The agency was dissolved in 1977 and absorbed into the new Washington State Department of Transportation, which also took over the duties of the Department of Highways.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b "Tacoma Narrows Bridge history: Creating the Narrows Bridge, 1937–1940". Washington State Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
- ^ "State Takes Over Toll Bridge; Bridge-Users Cheered As State Takes Tolls". The Bremerton Sun. April 27, 1938. p. 1. Retrieved November 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Thousands Join in Manette Festival; Span Tolls Lifted". The Bremerton Sun. January 30, 1939. p. 1. Retrieved November 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Becker, Paula (January 19, 2005). "State legislature establishes Washington Toll Bridge Authority in March 1937". HistoryLink. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
- ^ Crowley, Walt; Oldham, Kit (March 10, 2005). "Transportation Chronology: Moving Washington for a Century — 100 Years in the History of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT)". HistoryLink. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
- ^ Oldham, Kit (March 15, 2005). "Law creating Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) takes effect on September 21, 1977". HistoryLink. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
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