On March 21, 1931, the South Park Bridge (called the 14th Avenue S Bridge) spanning the Duwamish River opens to traffic. It provides a crucial connection between the South Park neighborhood of Seattle, located on the west bank of the waterway, and the rest of Seattle, most of which lies across the river to the east and north of the Duwamish Waterway. Access to the Boeing plant directly across the river will be an ongoing crucial advantage of the bridge. It is a Scherzer rolling-lift type of double-leaf bascule bridge. It replaces a wooden swing bridge (also called the 14th Avenue South Bridge) constructed in 1914-1916 a hundred feet north (downstream). This old timber bridge will be demolished by October 10, 1931, six months after the opening of the new South Park Bridge. The new bridge will serve until June 30, 2010, when it will, due to its severely deteriorating condition, be closed to traffic. The South Park community will do without a bridge for four years, after which the 1931 bridge will be replaced by a trunnion type of double-leaf bascule bridge that will open on June 30, 2014.
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