The
Tacoma Narrows Bridge is a pair of mile-long
suspension bridgeA suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. While modern bridges of this type date from the early 19th century, earlier bridges without vertical suspenders date from the 7th Century in Central America.This type of bridge has...
s in the
U.S.The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
state of
WashingtonWashington is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Washington was carved out of the western part of Washington Territory which had been ceded by Britain in 1846 by the Oregon Treaty as settlement of the Oregon Boundary Dispute. It was admitted to the Union as the...
, which carry State Route 16 across the
Tacoma NarrowsThe Tacoma Narrows , a strait, is part of Puget Sound in the U.S. state of Washington. A navigable maritime waterway between glacial landforms, the Narrows separates the Kitsap Peninsula from the city of Tacoma....
between
TacomaTacoma is a mid-sized urban port city in and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park...
and the
Kitsap PeninsulaThe Kitsap Peninsula is an arm of land that is part of the larger Olympic Peninsula in Washington state that lies west of Seattle across Puget Sound. Hood Canal separates Kitsap Peninsula from the rest of the Olympic Peninsula...
. They replaced a bridge that was opened to traffic on July 1 1940 and which became famous four months later for a dramatic wind-induced
structural collapseStructural failure refers to loss of the load-carrying capacity of a component or member within a structure or of the structure itself. Structural failure is initiated when the material is stressed to its strength limit, thus causing fracture or excessive deformations. The ultimate failure strength...
that was caught on motion picture film. The original span's motion earned it the nickname Galloping Gertie.
Due to materials shortages as a result of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, it took 10 years to build a replacement bridge, which opened October 14 1950.
The
Tacoma Narrows Bridge is a pair of mile-long
suspension bridgeA suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. While modern bridges of this type date from the early 19th century, earlier bridges without vertical suspenders date from the 7th Century in Central America.This type of bridge has...
s in the
U.S.The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
state of
WashingtonWashington is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Washington was carved out of the western part of Washington Territory which had been ceded by Britain in 1846 by the Oregon Treaty as settlement of the Oregon Boundary Dispute. It was admitted to the Union as the...
, which carry State Route 16 across the
Tacoma NarrowsThe Tacoma Narrows , a strait, is part of Puget Sound in the U.S. state of Washington. A navigable maritime waterway between glacial landforms, the Narrows separates the Kitsap Peninsula from the city of Tacoma....
between
TacomaTacoma is a mid-sized urban port city in and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park...
and the
Kitsap PeninsulaThe Kitsap Peninsula is an arm of land that is part of the larger Olympic Peninsula in Washington state that lies west of Seattle across Puget Sound. Hood Canal separates Kitsap Peninsula from the rest of the Olympic Peninsula...
. They replaced a bridge that was opened to traffic on July 1 1940 and which became famous four months later for a dramatic wind-induced
structural collapseStructural failure refers to loss of the load-carrying capacity of a component or member within a structure or of the structure itself. Structural failure is initiated when the material is stressed to its strength limit, thus causing fracture or excessive deformations. The ultimate failure strength...
that was caught on motion picture film. The original span's motion earned it the nickname Galloping Gertie.
Due to materials shortages as a result of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, it took 10 years to build a replacement bridge, which opened October 14 1950. The 1950 replacement bridge was sometimes referred to as Sturdy Gertie and, like its predecessor, was the third longest suspension span in the world at the time of its construction. Population growth on the Kitsap peninsula caused traffic to exceed the bridge's vehicle capacity, and a parallel bridge was constructed to carry eastbound traffic, while the 1950 bridge was reconfigured to carry westbound traffic. The new bridge opened July 15, 2007.
Galloping Gertie
The desire for the construction of this bridge dates back to 1889 with a
Northern Pacific RailwayThe Northern Pacific Railway was a railway that operated in the north-central region of the United States. The railroad served a large area, including extensive trackage in the states of Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin. In addition the company had...
proposal for a trestle, but concerted efforts began in the mid-1920s. In 1937, the Washington State legislature created the Washington State Toll Bridge Authority and appropriated $5,000 to study the request by Tacoma and
Pierce CountyPierce County is the second most populous county in the U.S. state of Washington. Formed out of Thurston County on December 22, 1852, by the legislature of Oregon Territory, it was named for U.S. President Franklin Pierce....
for a bridge over the Narrows. The bridge was designed by
Leon MoisseiffLeon Moisseiff was a leading suspension bridge engineer in the United States of America in the 1920s and 1930s.-Biography:...
.
The first Tacoma Narrows Bridge opened to traffic on July 1 1940. It collapsed four months later on November 7 1940, at 11:00 AM (Pacific time) due to a physical phenomenon known as aeroelastic flutter caused by a wind. The bridge collapse had lasting effects on science and engineering. In many undergraduate physics texts the event is presented as an example of elementary forced resonance with the wind providing an external periodic frequency that matched the natural structural frequency (even though the real cause of the bridge's failure was aeroelastic flutter). Its failure also boosted research in the field of bridge aerodynamics/aeroelastics which have themselves influenced the designs of all the world's great long-span bridges built since 1940.
No human life was lost in the collapse of the bridge. However, a small dog perished after it was abandoned in a car on the bridge by its owner, Leonard Coatsworth, and by another man, both of whom were bitten by the terrified dog when they attempted to remove it. The collapse of the bridge was recorded on 16mm film by Barney Elliott, owner of a local camera shop, and shows Leonard Coatsworth leaving the bridge after exiting his car. In 1998,
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse was selected for preservation in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
National Film RegistryThe National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
by the
Library of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress and is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and holds the largest number of books. The head...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." This footage is still shown to
engineeringEngineering is the discipline, art and profession of acquiring and applying technical, scientific and mathematical knowledge to design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and processes that safely realize a desired objective or inventions.The American Engineers' Council...
,
architectureFor a topical guide to this subject, see Outline of architecture. Architecture is the art and science of designing and constructing buildings and other physical structures for human shelter or use....
, and
physicsPhysics is a natural science; it is the study of matter and its motion through spacetime and all that derives from these, such as energy and force...
students as a
cautionary taleA cautionary tale told in folklore, to warn its hearer of a danger. There are three essential parts to a cautionary tale, though they can be introduced in a large variety of ways. First, a taboo or prohibition is stated: some act, location, or thing is said to be dangerous. Then, the narrative...
.
After the collapse, two bridges were constructed in the same general location. The first one, now called the Tacoma Westbound bridge, is 5,979 feet (1822 m) long — 40 feet (12 m) longer than Galloping Gertie. The second one, the Tacoma Eastbound Bridge, opened in 2007.
Westbound bridge
The current westbound bridge was designed and rebuilt with open
trussIn architecture and structural engineering, a truss is a structure comprising one or more triangular units constructed with straight slender members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as nodes. External forces and reactions to those forces are considered to act only at the nodes and...
es, stiffening
strutA strut is a structural component designed to resist longitudinal compression. Struts provide outwards-facing support in their lengthwise direction, which can be used to keep two other components separate, performing the opposite function of a tie...
s and openings in the roadway to let wind through. It opened on October 14 1950, and is 5,979 feet (1822 m) long — 40 feet (12 m) longer than the first bridge, Galloping Gertie. Local residents nicknamed the new bridge Sturdy Gertie, as the oscillations that plagued the previous design had been eliminated. This bridge along with its new parallel eastbound bridge are currently the fifth-longest suspension bridges in the United States.
When built, the westbound bridge was the third-longest suspension bridge span in the world. Like other modern suspension bridges, the westbound bridge was built with steel plates that feature sharp entry edges rather than the flat plate sides used in the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge (see the
suspension bridgeA suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. While modern bridges of this type date from the early 19th century, earlier bridges without vertical suspenders date from the 7th Century in Central America.This type of bridge has...
article for an example).
The bridge was designed to handle 60,000 vehicles a day. It carried both westbound and eastbound traffic until the eastbound bridge opened on July 15, 2007.
Eastbound bridge
In 1998, voters in several Washington counties approved an advisory measure to create a second Narrows span. Construction of the new span, which carries eastbound traffic parallel to the current bridge, began on October 4 2002, and was completed in July 2007. The
Washington State Department of TransportationThe Washington State Department of Transportation , was established in 1905. The agency, led by a Secretary and overseen by the Governor, is a Washington governmental agency that constructs, maintains, and regulates the use of the state's transportation infrastructure...
collects a toll before entering the eastbound span, at $2.75 for
Good To Go!Good To Go! is the electronic toll collection system used by the Washington State Department of Transportation on all current and future toll projects in the state of Washington. Good To Go! customers prepay their tolls into an account, the tolls are then electronically deducted as the customer...
account holders with in-vehicle
transponderIn telecommunication, the term transponder has the following meanings:...
s, and a $4.00 toll (a more than 45% upcharge) for cash/
credit cardA credit card is part of a system of payments named after the small plastic card issued to users of the system. It is a card entitling its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
customers. The existing span has been toll-free since 1965. The new bridge marks the first installation of the new Good To Go!
electronic toll collectionElectronic toll collection , an adaptation of military "identification friend or foe" technology, aims to eliminate the delay on toll roads by collecting tolls electronically. It is thus a technological implementation of a road pricing concept...
system.
A group called
NarrowsBridgeLights.org advocates illuminating both bridges with twinkling lights for both safety and aesthetic concerns. The group recommends
solar-powerSolar energy, radiant light and heat from the Sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available...
ed
lightingLighting or illumination is the deliberate application of light to achieve some aesthetic or practical effect. Lighting includes use of both artificial light sources such as lamps and natural illumination of interiors from daylight. Daylighting is often used as the main source of light during...
.
See also
External links
Historical
Second span project
- Tacoma Narrows Bridge Project (continuing coverage of bridge construction from The News Tribune)
- Bridge Workers are Walking Tall Above the Narrows Rob Carson (The News Tribune), Kitsap Sun
The Kitsap Sun is a newspaper in Bremerton, Washington, that covers general news. It serves the West Sound, covering Kitsap, Jefferson and Mason counties, has a circulation of about 30,000 and reaches over 100,000 adult readers seven days a week....
, September 25 2005
- Wire by wire, Tacoma Narrows bridge is built Mike Lindblom, The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times is a newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, USA. It is the largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington. From 1983 to 2009, the Times and Seattle's other major paper, the Hearst-owned Seattle Post-Intelligencer, were run under a "Joint Operating Agreement" whereby...
, October 15 2005