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EspañolGEORGE WASHINGTON MEMORIAL BRIDGE
(Redirected from Aurora Bridge)
The 'George Washington Memorial Bridge' (commonly called the 'Aurora Bridge') is a cantilever bridge that carries Aurora Avenue (Washington State Route 99) over the west end of Seattle's Lake Union between Queen Anne and Fremont. It is 897.6 m (2,945 feet) long, 21.3 m (70 feet) wide, and 50.9 m (167 feet) above Lake Union. It is owned and operated by the Washington State Department of Transportation.
The bridge was dedicated on February 22, 1932, George Washington's 200th birthday. It opened to traffic on February 27. In 1982, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. A local landmark, the Fremont Troll, a large cement sculpture of a fantasy-style troll eating a real-life VW Beetle, sits under the bridge on the north side.
The bridge's height and pedestrian access make it a popular location for suicide. Since inception, there have been over 230 successful suicides from the bridge, with nearly 50 deaths occurring in the past decade. It has recently been labeled a suicide bridge.[1], and in December 2006 six emergency phones and 18 signs were installed on the bridge to encourage people to seek help instead of jumping. The signs say: "Suicidal?" and give the number of a 24-crisis line in bold yellow type. Seattle FRIENDS is a nonprofit group dedicated to eliminating suicides from the bridge. The group is advocating city and state officials to install a suicide barrier on the bridge.
The bridge also played host to the worst bus accident in Metro Transit history. A driver on a southbound route 359 Express articulated bus was shot and killed by a passenger, who then turned the gun on himself. During the struggle, the bus veered across two lanes of traffic and plunged off the bridge onto the roof of an apartment building below. In addition to the deaths of the driver and gunman, one other passenger also died as a result from the accident.
★ JUMPERS: Take It to the Bridge, The Stranger, April 13, 2000
★ Metro bus plunges off Seattle's Aurora Bridge after driver is shot, HistoryLink, November 27, 1998
★ Seattle's George Washington Memorial Bridge (Aurora Bridge) is dedicated, HistoryLink, February 22, 1932
★ ‘Suicide bridge’ hurts workers’ mental health, MSNBC, January 26, 2007
★ Life After The Fall: Survivors of suicide attempts off Aurora Bridge share their scars and a zeal for living, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 5, 1996
The 'George Washington Memorial Bridge' (commonly called the 'Aurora Bridge') is a cantilever bridge that carries Aurora Avenue (Washington State Route 99) over the west end of Seattle's Lake Union between Queen Anne and Fremont. It is 897.6 m (2,945 feet) long, 21.3 m (70 feet) wide, and 50.9 m (167 feet) above Lake Union. It is owned and operated by the Washington State Department of Transportation.
The bridge was dedicated on February 22, 1932, George Washington's 200th birthday. It opened to traffic on February 27. In 1982, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. A local landmark, the Fremont Troll, a large cement sculpture of a fantasy-style troll eating a real-life VW Beetle, sits under the bridge on the north side.
The bridge's height and pedestrian access make it a popular location for suicide. Since inception, there have been over 230 successful suicides from the bridge, with nearly 50 deaths occurring in the past decade. It has recently been labeled a suicide bridge.[1], and in December 2006 six emergency phones and 18 signs were installed on the bridge to encourage people to seek help instead of jumping. The signs say: "Suicidal?" and give the number of a 24-crisis line in bold yellow type. Seattle FRIENDS is a nonprofit group dedicated to eliminating suicides from the bridge. The group is advocating city and state officials to install a suicide barrier on the bridge.
The bridge also played host to the worst bus accident in Metro Transit history. A driver on a southbound route 359 Express articulated bus was shot and killed by a passenger, who then turned the gun on himself. During the struggle, the bus veered across two lanes of traffic and plunged off the bridge onto the roof of an apartment building below. In addition to the deaths of the driver and gunman, one other passenger also died as a result from the accident.
| Contents |
| References |
References
★ JUMPERS: Take It to the Bridge, The Stranger, April 13, 2000
★ Metro bus plunges off Seattle's Aurora Bridge after driver is shot, HistoryLink, November 27, 1998
★ Seattle's George Washington Memorial Bridge (Aurora Bridge) is dedicated, HistoryLink, February 22, 1932
★ ‘Suicide bridge’ hurts workers’ mental health, MSNBC, January 26, 2007
★ Life After The Fall: Survivors of suicide attempts off Aurora Bridge share their scars and a zeal for living, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 5, 1996
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