Tacoma Narrows Bridge

This article is about the current Tacoma Narrows Bridge. For the article about the 1940 bridge and its subsequent collapse, see Galloping Gertie.

Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Facing west atop the Tacoma Narrows
Coordinates	47°16′05″N 122°33′02″W
Carries	State Route 16
Crosses	Tacoma Narrows
Locale	Tacoma to Gig Harbor, Washington
Characteristics
Design	Dual Suspension
Total length	5,979 ft (1822 m)
Longest span	2,800 ft (853 m)
Clearance below	187.5 ft (57.15 m)
History
Opened	October 14 1950 (westbound) July 15 2007 (eastbound)
Statistics
Toll	Eastbound only: $4.00 (cash/credit price), $2.75 (transponder price)
Location

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge is a pair of mile-long suspension bridges in the U.S. state of Washington, which carry State Route 16 across the Tacoma Narrows between Tacoma and the Kitsap Peninsula. They replaced a first bridge opened to traffic on July 1 1940 and became famous four months later for a dramatic wind-induced structural collapse that was caught on motion picture film. The original span's motion earned it the nickname Galloping Gertie.

The first replacement bridge opened October 14 1950, and a parallel bridge opened July 15 2007. The 1950 replacement bridge was sometimes referred to as "Sturdy Gertie".

Westbound bridge

The westbound bridge, in 1988, when it carried traffic in both directions

The current westbound bridge was designed and rebuilt with open trusses, stiffening struts 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 bridge 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 Transportation collects a toll before entering the eastbound span, at $2.75 for Good to Go! account holders with in-vehicle transponders and a $4.00 toll for cash/credit card paying 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 collection system.

A group called NarrowsBridgeLights.org advocates illuminating both bridges with twinkling lights. The group recommends solar powered lighting, for both safety and beauty.

• 
  Remains of Galloping Gertie
• 
  New bridge sections used in construction of the new span.
• 
  A panorama of Tacoma Narrows Bridge in 2007.

External links

• Color video of the original bridge's construction and collapse
• Color video of the original bridge's construction and collapse with narration

• Physics behind the collapse of the bridge
• failurebydesign.info - physics presentation and resources
• Photos of the bridge and the new span under construction
• Tacoma Narrows Bridge (1940) at Structurae
• Tacoma Narrows Bridge (1950) at Structurae
• New Tacoma Narrows Bridge (2007) at Structurae

Historical

• History of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge
• University of Washington Libraries Digital Collection – Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collection More than 152 images and text documenting the infamous collapse in 1940 of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Also covers "Galloping Gertie's" creation, subsequent studies involving its aerodynamics, and finally the construction of a second bridge spanning the Narrows.
• The Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster, November 1940
• Images of failure
• Information and images of failure
• Firsthand account and images of the failure
• Official site of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge
• Timeline of the bridges
• Tacoma Narrows Bridge
• Suspended Animation - Failure Magazine (November 2000)
• Footage of the Tacoma Narrows bridge wobbling and eventually, collapsing, Stillman Fires Collection, in the Internet Archive.

Second span project

• Tacoma Narrows Bridge Project (WS DOT Web Page; information about the new bridge construction project)
• SR 16 - New Tacoma Narrows Bridge (computer projection of completed project)
• Puget Sound Transportation projects:Tacoma Narrows Bridge (unofficial site providing news, photos and information about the second span construction)
• Wind Tunnel Testing Summary from the National Research Council of Canada
• Wind Tunnel Testing Press Release from the National Research Council of Canada
• 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, September 25 2005
• Wire by wire, Tacoma Narrows bridge is built Mike Lindblom, The Seattle Times, October 15 2005