Clark Eldridge, an engineer working for the state, created a suspension bridge design. This design was similar to the design of many other suspension bridges. It was a design that had be shown to work very well at other places. The Washington Toll Bridge Authority asked for $11 million from the Federal Public Works Administration (PWA). Early construction plans by the Washington Department of Highways had a set of 25-foot-deep (7.6m) girders to sit beneath the roadway. These would make the roadway more stiff so it would not move easily.