The 15,000 vehicles that once crossed the Fishing Wars Memorial Bridge each day between Tacoma and Fife won't have that route back until approximately 2033, city officials confirmed at the Tuesday, July 7 council meeting.
That's a full decade after the span closed in October 2023.
For trucking companies, construction firms, and other industrial businesses clustered near the Port of Tacoma, the timeline means seven more years navigating a two-mile detour along a corridor where the bridge once provided direct access to one of the nation's busiest container gateways.
What changed
The city had been working to clean and inspect the bridge, built in 1927, for a possible temporary reopening. An October 2025 structural assessment killed that plan.
Engineers found the bridge's maximum load capacity had fallen to 15 tons or less, ruling out transit, freight, and emergency vehicles entirely.
Public Works deputy director Corey Newton told The News Tribune the city shifted to a full replacement, aiming to reopen the bridge 10 years after it first shut down.
The money
City Manager Hyun Kim announced at the July 7 council meeting that Tacoma received confirmation of a $7.6 million federal BUILD grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The grant covers environmental analysis and final design for the replacement.
The total design phase costs $9.6 million. Tacoma and Fife are splitting a $2 million local match to cover the remainder.
Construction is where the bill gets steep. The city's official release pegs construction at "at least $263 million." Darius Thompson, an assistant division manager in Public Works, estimated the full project at about $288 million. Most of that money would need to come from a federal "mega grant," Newton said.
Design firm H.W. Lochner, selected in May 2025, is leading the design work. Environmental analysis is projected to start in December 2026 and finish by December 2027.
Who feels it
Most businesses near the bridge involve construction, trucking, or other industrial uses tied to the port, according to Tacoma Weekly reporting.
"If businesses wanted to come in and put new businesses, develop whatever's happening down there, they all look at the end of Puyallup Avenue," said Tom Ebenhoh, vice chair of the New Tacoma Neighborhood Council.
The Puyallup Avenue Corridor Improvements Project, which includes sidewalk upgrades, bus stops, and a regional trail connection, terminates at the closed bridge. The closure also cuts off the Puyallup Tribe of Indians' access to fishing and cultural sites along the river, according to the city's press release.
What's next
Newton acknowledged that federal funding uncertainty poses a real challenge. "These projects only work with state and federal dollars, and so we just have to rely on our partners at both our federal agencies, as well as our state agencies, that offer up grants and provide us notice of funding opportunities for us to apply for," he said.
The city is exploring a "design-build" method to accelerate the timeline, according to city spokesperson Maria Lee. The New Tacoma Neighborhood Council declared bridge funding its top priority for the 2026 state legislative session.
