West Spokane Street Bridge, Bascule bridge in SODO district, Seattle, United States.

The West Spokane Street Bridge is a bascule bridge with two separate sections that crosses the Duwamish Waterway, connecting Harbor Island to the West Seattle area. Mechanical lift mechanisms raise the spans to let ships pass underneath.

A bascule bridge opened to traffic in 1924, and a second, parallel span was added in 1930; the 1924 bridge then carried westbound traffic. At 2:38 a.m. on June 11, 1978, the freighter Chavez struck the 1924 span, jamming it open and closing it for good. The 1930 bridge took two-way traffic until it closed on May 23, 1989, and was demolished; the higher West Seattle Bridge had opened in 1984.

The name Spokane Street has long marked the streets running along the latitude of today's West Seattle Bridge. Before a permanent crossing, three temporary bridges stood here around 1900, 1910 and 1918; the first was essentially a swinging gate built mainly as a water main. The 1924 bascule bridge was replaced after the freighter Chavez struck it at 2:38 a.m. on June 11, 1978.

The bridge no longer exists: the 1930 span closed on May 23, 1989, and was demolished for the Spokane Street swing bridge that opened in 1991. Cross the river today via the West Seattle Bridge or that swing bridge; the old bascule alignment at Spokane Street is gone.

The 1924 span was struck by the freighter Chavez at 2:38 a.m. on June 11, 1978, jamming its leaves open for good. The ship's pilot, Rolf Neslund, was forced into retirement over the collision; he vanished in 1980 and his wife was later convicted of his murder.