Transportation from West Seattle to downtown Seattle had been problematic for decades; until the 1970s, two drawbridges were the major link between the two areas of the city. Although planning was authorized in the 1970s, the project was delayed until June 11, 1978, when the freighter Antonio Chavez struck and damaged one of the drawbridges, thereby forcing action on the issue. A state of emergency was declared, and emergency funds from the Department of Transportation and from Congress were added to existing funds for a bridge replacement.

In 1979, the City Council passed a resolution stating that the bridge damage caused "severe traffic disruption, congestion, and unsafe conditions" and approved a two-phase plan for a new West Seattle Freeway Bridge. Phase I would be a six-lane high-level bridge and Phase II would be a two-lane low-level bridge. Later in 1979, Ordinance 108643 authorized property acquisition, construction, and general obligation bonds to assist in funding the bridge's construction. The ordinance cited the importance of an improved bridge in assisting the development of the Harbor Island business area and Duwamish Industrial area. The City Council stated that the bridge design would "more effectively serve the needs of the City" by improving traffic flow, providing access to West Seattle and Harbor Island, improving safety on the bridge, and even reducing air pollution by cutting down on idling time as a result of the "uninterrupted flow of traffic." King County, the City and Port of Seattle, and the State of Washington would all contribute to bridge funding.

Construction on the West Seattle Freeway Bridge began in 1981, and the Phase I high-level bridge opened to traffic in 1984.

This collections documents preconstruction and construction of the West Seattle Bridge in photographs and slides. Preconstruction photographs include aerial photographs, Polaroid photographs, and color prints; these images date from 1980. Information on right-of-way is included. The construction photographs are color prints and date from November 1980 to April 1981. Original negatives are not part of the collections.

Photographs are numbered. A complete list of all prints with description is included; the list also describes photographs 426 to 2011, for which there are no prints.

The slides date from 1980 to 1982. Descriptions exist for slides through number 728. No descriptions exist for slides 729 to 1726, nor for August 1981 through September 1983, which are unnumbered.

22 images have been digitized and are available online.