Inside Seattle’s bridge towers: Meet the operators who keep the city moving

SEATTLE — When the bells ring, gates drop, and traffic grinds to a halt. Most Seattleites groan; the bridge is going up.

What few realize is that behind each lift and lower is not an algorithm or an automated system but a person perched high above the water, keeping the city’s arteries flowing.

Eight drawbridges connect Seattle’s neighborhoods — five across the Ship Canal and three over the Duwamish Waterway. Each one relies on a human operator to ensure that vessels, vehicles, and pedestrians move safely through one of the city’s most complex transportation systems.

“The fact that there’s people in the little houses surprises me still,” said Jennifer Ott, executive director of HistoryLink. “It’s one of those jobs you don’t think about, but you’d notice if they weren’t there.”

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