People wanted a bridge built between Tacoma and the Kitsap Peninsula since the late 1800s. In 1889, the Northern Pacific Railway wanted to build a trestle there. The Tacoma Chamber of Commerce began working toward getting the money to build a bridge in 1923. Many well known bridge engineers were talked to about the bridge. These included Joseph B. Strauss and David B. Steinman. Later in time, Strauss was the main engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge and he designed the Mackinac Bridge. Steinman went to the area many times. He created a plan for the bridge in 1929. By 1931, the Chamber chose not to follow his plan because they thought Steinman was not doing enough to help get money to pay for the bridge. Another problem with paying for the bridge was buying out the ferry contract from a company that was running service on the Narrows at the time.