Archives West Finding Aid
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L. R. Durkee Collection on the Lacey V. Murrow Bridge Construction Project, 1938-1941
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Durkee, L. R. (Lindley R.), 1899-1988
- Title
- L. R. Durkee Collection on the Lacey V. Murrow Bridge Construction Project
- Dates
- 1938-1941 (inclusive)19381941
- Quantity
- 4 boxes, (1.26 cubic feet)
- Collection Number
- 2003.30 (accession)
- Summary
- Photographs, engineering reports and professional diaries documenting the construction of the Lacey V. Murrow floating bridge on Lake Washington.
- Repository
-
Museum of History & Industry, Sophie Frye Bass Library
P.O. Box 80816
Seattle, WA
98108
Telephone: 2063241126 x102
library@mohai.org - Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open to the public by appointment.
- Languages
- English.
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Lindley R. Durkee was born in Delta, Colorado on September 14, 1899. He attended Montana State College (1917-1921) and graduated with B.S. degree in Engineering. In June 1923, he married Josephine Jones (1898-1944). They had one daughter, Patricia, who married James J. Loughran Jr.
Durkee began his engineering career in Seattle, employed by Grant Smith and Co., A.W. Quist Co., and Teufel and Carlson. He went on to work for the City of Seattle Building Department (1925-1926) and the King County Commissioners (1930-1931). In 1933, Durkee entered the Federal Public Works Administration and served as the Chief Project Engineer during construction of the first Lake Washington floating bridge (1938-1940).
After completion of the Lacey V. Murrow Bridge, Durkee became a regional director for the Defense Public Works (1941-1945) and later worked as an engineer for the Bureau of Community Facilities, Federal Works Agency. He was active in professional organizations, clubs and community activities, including the Mercer Island Chamber of Commerce. In 1948, he received an honorary degree from Montana State College and a scholarship was established there in his name. In 1960, he received the Engineer of the Year Award from the Washington Society of Professional Engineers. Lindley R. Durkee died on January 15, 1988.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The collection consists primarily of 8 x 10 inch captioned and dated photographs taken by Washington photographer Alfred G. Simmer (1876-1958). Simmer was a German immigrant who established a commercial photography studio in Wenatchee in 1921. When his business was destroyed in a fire in 1939, he moved to Olympia and began working with the Washington State Highway Department documenting construction projects.
The Lake Washington Bridge Project was divided into 11 separate contract units, three of which (Units 3, 4 and 5) composed the Lacey B. Murrow Floating Bridge approach and structures. The majority of the photographs are in chronological order and grouped according to subject units:
- Unit 1: Grading and paving the Seattle bridge approach
- Unit 2: Drilling and constructing the Mt. Baker Ridge Tunnel
- Unit 3: Construction of the bridge piers and transition span
- Unit 4: Manufacture of the pontoons and barge transport through Ballard Locks
- Unit 5: The Mercer Island approach to the floating bridge
- Unit 6: Grading and paving Mercer Island highway
- Unit 7: Underpass and overpass on Mercer Island, administration building and toll plaza
- Unit 8: Grading, paving and other work on Mercer Island
- Unit 9: Construction of the fixed span East Channel Bridge
- Unit 10: Grading and paving the main line and side roads
- Unit 11: Construction of new bridge over the Mercer Slough
An additional folder contains photographs removed from the Final Construction Report (some duplicates) and includes portraits of the key personnel, charts, maps, technical diagrams, miscellaneous construction views, and the bridge dedication ceremony.
The Final Construction Progress Report published by the Washington Toll Bridge Project (November 1940) summarizes each stage of the construction process and lists contractors and subcontractors for each unit, along with final cost accounting.
L.R. Durkee’s daily work diaries provide a detailed accounting of his time spent on the job, including weather conditions, status reports, meetings, engineering issues and project milestones.
Historical BackgroundReturn to Top
When the Lacey V. Murrow Bridge opened in July 1940, it was the first reinforced concrete floating bridge ever built and the largest floating structure in the world. The Lake Washington floating bridge greatly reduced travel time and distance between Seattle and the Eastside. In 1939, ferries transported nearly a million foot passengers across Lake Washington, or motorists used a dangerous one-lane road around the lake traveling between Seattle and the rural communities of Kirkland, Bellevue and Mercer Island.
Preliminary work on the project began in 1937, funded by $4 million from the Public Works Administration and a local bond issue of $5.5 million to be repaid with tolls. The bridge was named in honor of Lacey V. Murrow (1904-1966), Washington’s Director of Highways. In 1937, Murrow approved the controversial plan for a concrete pontoon floating bridge. The Murrow Bridge was originally the brainchild of engineer Homer Hadley, who in 1921 proposed a “floating concrete highway, permanent and indestructible, across Lake Washington.”
The entire construction project was approximately 7 miles in length, beginning at Rainier Avenue in Seattle and terminating east of Lake Washington near the small community of Factoria. It was a complex, multi-contract process that included acquiring right-of-way, demolition, grading, paving, drilling a twin-bore tunnel, manufacturing and anchoring the pontoon bridge structures, and constructing the Mercer Island Roadway, East Channel Bridge, Mercer Slough Viaduct and Toll Plaza. The twin Mt. Baker Ridge Tunnels were the world’s largest diameter soft-earth tunnels ever drilled in 1940. The 25 concrete pontoon bridge sections were constructed on Harbor Island and then towed across Elliott Bay through the Ballard Locks into Lake Washington. The project was completed within budget and on schedule, without worker fatality.
Beginning in 1989, the bridge underwent repairs and renovation, including the construction of a parallel span to accommodate the increase in traffic between Seattle and the burgeoning Eastside. As part of this construction, in November 1990 workers drilled holes into the hollow concrete pontoons to temporarily store run off water from the hydrodemolition. While the pontoons doors were still open a storm hit, bringing strong winds and heavy rain. The pontoons filled with lake and rain water and begun to submerge, causing the original bridge deck to sag, break, and gradually sink to the bottom of Lake Washington. The cost of the disaster was $69 million; a new Lacey V. Murrow bridge opened the following summer.
The Lacey V. Murrow Bridge, Mt. Baker Ridge Tunnels, and the east portal relief sculptures are designated Seattle Historic and National Engineering Landmarks.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Alternative Forms Available
View selections from the collection in digital format by clicking on the camera icons in the inventory below.
Restrictions on Use
The Museum of History & Industry is the owner of the materials in the Sophie Frye Bass Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from MOHAI before any reproduction use. The museum does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
Preferred Citation
L. R. Durkee Collection on the Lacey V. Murrow Bridge Construction Project , Museum of History & Industry, Seattle
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Photographs, 1939-1940Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1/1-2 | 2003.30.1-42: Image of Yakima Avenue over the western approach to the Lake Washington Floating Bridge, November 1, 1939 Grading for Lake Washington Floating Bridge on 27 Ave So., Seattle, July 26, 1939 Pedestrian overpass under construction at 24 Ave. So., Seattle, November 1, 1939 42 photographs
Grading and paving from Rainier Avenue to 27th Avenue South, clearing the Seattle bridge approach
right-of-way, heavy equipment, workers and construction along residential streets.
|
1939-1940 |
1/3-7 | 2003.30.43-166: Image of east tunnel portals, 1939 Image of James Fitzgerald and Lloyd Lovegren working on the East Tunnel Portal models for the Lake Washington Floating Bridge, May 9, 1940 Image of West entrance of tunnels under construction, Lake Washington Floating Bridge project, April 5, 1940 Construction site for Lake Washington Floating Bridge showing steel tunnel forms, August 30, 1939 Portals for east side of Lake Washington Floating Bridge tunnel under construction, November 1, 1939 Portal of Lake Washington Floating Bridge tunnel under construction, March 28, 1940 Grading for Lake Washington Floating Bridge project, April 29, 1940 East plaza of the Lake Washington Floating Bridge, August 5, 1940 124 photographs
Twin-bore tunnel construction at Mt. Baker, including views of excavations, landslides, embankments,
reinforcements, plazas, portal structures and concrete design.
|
1939-1940 |
1/8-9 | 2003.30.167-212: Image of Lake Washington Floating Bridge under construction, December 27, 1939 Lake Washington Floating Bridge under construction, September 28, 1939 View of Lake Washington Floating Bridge under construction, March 28, 1940 45 photographs
Construction of piers and 150-foot steel transition span on the west approach to the floating bridge.
|
1939-1940 |
1/10-15 | 2003.30.213-355: Image of pontoon construction, 1939-1940 Image of Tugboat Wanderer towing a completed floating bridge pontoon through the locks in Ballard, October 13, 1939 Image of Workers lowering an anchor and cable for the Lake Washington Floating Bridge, September 14, 1939 Pontoons under construction for Lake Washington Floating Bridge, August 18, 1939 Men painting anchor cables for Lake Washington Floating Bridge project, August 31, 1939 Workers with pontoon for Lake Washington Floating Bridge, August 31, 1939 Pontoon for Lake Washington Floating Bridge in Ballard locks, October 13, 1939 Worker with roller for Lake Washington Floating Bridge draw pontoon, January 8, 1940 142 photographs
Concrete pontoon construction on Harbor Island and transport by barge through the Ballard Locks.
Positioning, anchoring and connection of pontoons on Lake Washington with views of the floating structure under
construction.
|
1939-1940 |
2/1-3 | 2003.30.356-403: Construction Unit 4 47 photographs
Concrete pontoons moored on Lake Union, buoyancy tanks, special forms assembly, operating cables and
machinery, under-water steel yokes, night views of the completed floating bridge.
|
1939-1940 |
2/4 | 2003.30.404-422: Construction Unit 5 18 photographs
Mercer Island approach to the floating bridge, including an arched span over the navigation channel,
construction of piers, girders and concrete roadway.
|
1939-1940 |
2/5-6 | 2003.30.423-473: Construction Unit 6 50 photographs
Excavation, grading and paving on the Mercer Island approach to the floating bridge, including views of
the right-of-way, shoreline, toll plaza under construction.
|
1939-1940 |
2/7-8 | 2003.30.474-501: Construction Unit 7 27 photographs
Construction of Mercer Island highway overcrossings, bridge admiration building and toll plaza.
|
1939-1940 |
2/9-10 | 2003.30.502-552: Construction Unit 8 50 photographs
Grading, paving and incidental work on the Mercer Island east channel bridge, including clearing
right-of-way, constructing embankments, concrete cribbing and fills.
|
1939-1940 |
2/11-12 | 2003.30.553-593: Construction Unit 9 40 photographs
Construction of fixed concrete span across the east channel of Lake Washington, replacement of a old
timber bridge, including views of completed structure.
|
1939-1940 |
2/13 | 2003.30.594-602: Construction Unit 10 9 photographs
Highway grading and paving on Mercer Island.
|
1939-1940 |
2/14 | 2003.30.603-625: Construction Unit 11 22 photographs
Construction of a concrete bridge over the Mercer Island Slough, including views of the completed
structure and surrounding landscape.
|
1939 |
2/15 | 2003.30.626-652: Image of engineers with excavation equipment, 1939-1940 Image of surveyor on shortwave radio, 1940 Image of Toll collector and driver at a collection booth on the Lake Washington Floating Bridge, ca. 1940 Recompression chamber from Lake Washington Floating Bridge project, circa 1939 26 photographs
Group portrait of engineers and supervisors including F.T. Evans, L.R. Durkee, Tom Smith, L.V. Murrow,
R.S. Fluent, C.E. Andrew, Jack Taylor, R.H. Thompson, R.B. McMinn, R.M. Murray, P.H. Winston, C.C. Arnold, Caro Reese,
Jean Gleboc. Photographs of bridge dedication ceremony, machinery, equipment and construction. Includes 11 small
snapshots attached to pages with handwritten captions, depicting the start of work for various units.
|
1939-1940 |
Technical reports, charts and diaries, 1938-1941Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
3/1 | 2003.30.653: Final Report on Construction of the Lake Washington Bridge Project, by
R.M. Murray, Bridge Engineer 23 pages, includes 66 photographs
Detailed description of 11 construction units, plans, specifications and project projections and final
costs. Photographs include technical drawings and specifications, construction views
|
1940 December 15 |
4/1 | 2003.30.654: Project diary, by L.R. Durkee
Daily engineering report and detailed record of Durkee's time spent on the job. Entries document all
stages of planning, design, construction and completion for each unit.
|
1938 December 29 - 1940 March 30 |
4/2 | 2003.30.655: Project diary, by L.R. Durkee
Daily engineering record including the final construction stages and completion of Lake Washington
bridge. Later entries document Durkee's work on other bridge projects, including a firsthand account of the Tacoma
Narrows Bridge during and after the collapse in November 1940.
|
1940 March 31 - 1941 April 18 |
4/3 | 2003.30.656: Charts 11 pages
Specifications for concrete pours and tunnel progress reports
|
1930-1940 |
EphemeraReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
4/4 | 2003.30.657: "Seattle and Mercer Island Approaches to New Floating Bridge,"
Daily Journal of Commerce 1 clipping
|
1940 July 2 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Other Creators
-
Personal Names
- Simmer, Alfred G., 1976-1958 (creator)
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Bridges--Design and construction
- Bridges--Washington (State)
- Lacey V. Murrow Bridge (Mercer Island and Seattle, Wash.)
- Mount Baker Ridge Tunnel (Seattle, Wash.)
- Pontoon bridges--Washington (State)
- Tunnels--Washington (State)
Corporate Names
- Washington (State). Department of Highways
Geographical Names
- Mercer Island (Wash.)
- Seattle (Wash.)
Form or Genre Terms
- Photographs