TACOMA, Wash. — After more than a year of waiting, Fishing Wars Memorial Bridge — formerly the Puyallup River Bridge — is scheduled to open Saturday morning.
The bridge closed in May 2018 as part of a $42 million project to replace the span, which was deteriorating from age.
The bridge, owned by the city of Tacoma, crosses the river east of Portland Avenue East and Puyallup Avenue.
Original completion date was February 2019, but that was delayed six months due to winter weather conditions.
In December, the city awarded a separate $790,000 contract for work to avoid a future closure to replace bearings, which have deteriorated over time.
The new bridge has a weight restriction of 20 tons, double the amount prior to the renovations, allowing empty trucks traveling to and from the Port of Tacoma to use the bridge.
The bridge was officially renamed the Fishing Wars Memorial Bridge in August to strengthen the relationship with the Puyallup Tribe.
The bridge first opened in 1927 and links Tacoma to the city of Fife to the east.
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