Lakewood Man Named Freedom Bridge

Yellow pieces of ribbon are strung side by side along the metal bridge, and it represents more than just a gateway to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Madigan Army Medical Center and the Tillicum neighborhood in Lakewood.

On a windy day, the ribbons blow in unison. Passers-by notice the patriotic stickers dotting the bridge frame.

Did You Know that a Lakewood man named Richard Rabisa was responsible for coming up with the name Freedom Bridge? He recalls seeing the 81st Brigade Combat Team cross over the overpass near Camp Murray in 2005, just before they deployed to Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, according to an article published in the Tacoma News Tribune.

Rabisa was waiving a yellow flag, indicating he knew some soldiers wouldn't come home. It was a point in time when nearly 4,000 servicemen were being deployed. Nine soldiers died in combat and 200 suffered injury or illness, the Tribune article reported.

Lakewood City Manager Andrew Neiditz said that the Freedom Bridge sign was presented to the council but was not approved by the Washington State Department of Transportation to be erected in their right-of-way according to the March 28, 2005 council minutes.

Senator Mike Carrell (R-Lakewood) took charge to get the WSDOT to change the name. Then on June 1, 2006 Carrell and Sen. Marilyn Rasmussen (D-Eatonville) spoke along with members of the military and veterans association to rededicate the former Berkeley Avenue overpass to Freedom Bridge on Interstate 5.

The ceremony was held just inside the gates of Camp Murray.

On Monday, the city of Lakewood said it would file a $5.7 million federal grant application this week to allow smoother traffic flow at Freedom Bridge. The City Council unanimously allowed the grant application to be processed.

Traffic numbers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord have gone up, but its been more than 50 years since the anything has been done to mitigate the problem.

It's one of the busiest interchanges along I-5 in Lakewood. The overpass connects Lakewood with the main entrance to Camp Murray and is starting point for thousands of Washington National Guard member on their way to overseas deployment, according to the Washington State Senators Office press release.

Lakewood City Council Walter Neary encouraged Jeff Gonzalez, city enginer, to refer the Berkeley Street bridge as the Freedom Bridge at the City Council meeting on Monday night.