Crews demolish 100-year-old Puyallup bridge. ‘It’s never going to be forgotten.’

A piece of Puyallup history is being demolished this week.

“Say goodbye but plan for a ‘hello there!’ to the historic, 100-year-old SR 167 Puyallup River Bridge,” the Washington State Department of Transportation wrote in a blog post Wednesday. “The bridge, sometimes called the Meridian Street Bridge, is going to be demolished beginning Wednesday, July 9.”

In the post, WSDOT said they were demolishing the bridge to make room for the state Route 167 Completion Project. The demolition follows years of debate about the bridge’s future.

WSDOT told The News Tribune that Atkinson Construction was awarded a $177 million contract for the project, and that the demolition is included in that work. Why was the bridge important to Puyallup?

The bridge was built in 1925, according to the blog post, and connected Puyallup to the greater Tacoma area.

“Its construction went hand in hand with the region’s growth spurred by more cars and trucks and the popularity of the Washington State Fair, known then as the Puyallup Fair,” the blog post said.

It was also added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014, the blog post said, due to its unique design.

As time went on, the bridge became unsafe, the post said. WSDOT built a new bridge over the Puyallup River in 2014. In 2015 – when the new bridge was ready – crews moved the old, 387-ton bridge north on state Route 161, along the state Route 167 interchange. What happened after they built the new bridge?

After moving the old bridge, WSDOT tried to sell it.

“We offered it for sale. We also offered $1 million to anyone who met the qualifications to relocate, preserve and maintain the bridge,” the blog post said. “Still, we didn’t receive any qualified proposals.”

The bridge has been sitting there ever since, WSDOT said.

“We developed plans to one day demolish the bridge as part of our SR 167 Completion Project. That day has now arrived,” the blog post said. “To make room for the SR 167 expressway, the bridge is going to be cut apart and the steel recycled.” ‘Never going to be forgotten’

While most of the bridge will be demolished, WSDOT said it will preserve a small section of the bridge for a “historical heritage marker.”

According to the blog post, the memorial will go near the future spuyaləpabš Trail by the state Route 167/North Meridian interchange.

“The bridge may be going, going, gone, but it’s never going to be forgotten,” WSDOT wrote.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated with information about the cost of the state Route 167 Completion Project..