WSDOT Is Giving Away Puyallup's Meridian Street Bridge - With A Catch

PUYALLUP, WA - If you think you can have the Meridian Street Bridge free of charge, well, we've got a bridge to sell you. The Washington State Department of Transportation is ready to give the bridge away to a "governmental or responsible private entity." But said entity must agree to maintain the 80-year-old bridge in perpetuity.

The Meridian Street Bridge, built in 1925, was replaced in 2015, and is sitting in storage at a WSDOT facility near Puyallup. The bridge is not only historically significant, but it's also somewhat of an engineering marvel. Before 2015, it was the longest "Warren truss" -style bridge in the state highway system.

So what are the requirements for owning the bridge? Here's what WSDOT wants:

• Maintain the bridge and the features that give it its historic significance and continued eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places; and
• Assume all future legal and financial responsibility for the bridge, including providing an agreement to hold WSDOT harmless in any liability action.

In addition, WSDOT will give the new owner $1 million, which is the estimated cost of demolishing the structure. If there are no takers by June 2019, the bridge will be scrapped.

Find out more about how you can own the bridge from WSDOT.

Image via WSDOT