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First Tacoma Narrows Bridge

Pierce County, Washington
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Photos 

Tacoma Narrows Bridge - 1940 - Opening Day

University of Washington Libraries. Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collection, UW22310z

Photographer Unknown

Video 

The construction, opening, and collapse of the bridge

Play video on YouTube

Map 

Small Timeline 

1929

February: Legislature authorizes a Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

1938

Nov. 26: Construction begins on the bridge.

1940

May: Two months before completion, workers notice a bounce or "galloping" of the bridge in winds as light as 4 mph. Some chew on lemons to combat nausea.

June: Carpenter Fred Wilde dies of a head injury after falling 12 feet. Days later, a bridge worker falls 190 feet into the water and survives.

July 1: Opening ceremony. Engineers proclaim no danger in the $6.6 million bridge's "bounce." Tolls: 55 cents one-way for car and driver, 10 cents per passenger.

Nov. 7: Just 4 months old, "Galloping Gertie" collapses. In gusts of 42 mph, the roadway at 10 a.m. begins a lateral twisting motion. An hour later, a 600-foot section of road in the western half of the center span breaks free and falls into the water. Minutes later, the rest of the central span falls.

1943

June: The bridge's tear-down and salvage operation is complete. Steel is reused to help relieve shortages during World War II.

Facts 

Overview
Lost suspension bridge over Tacoma Narrows on Primary State Highway 14-A in Tacoma
Location
Tacoma, Pierce County, Washington
Status
Collapsed
History
Built 1940, collapsed on November 7, 1940
Builders
- Clark H. Eldridge (Design Engineer)
- General Construction Co. (Foundation Contractor)
- Leon Moisseiff (Consulting Engineer)
Design
Wire suspension
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 2,800.0 ft.
Total length: 5,939.0 ft. (1.1 mi.)
Deck width: 39.0 ft.
Also called
Galloping Gertie
Approximate latitude, longitude
+47.26881, -122.55103   (decimal degrees)
47°16'08" N, 122°33'04" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
10/533961/5235134 (zone/easting/northing)
USGS topographic map
Gig Harbor
Inventory number
BH 37083 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

Built 1940 (689)
Built during 1940s (2,798)
Clark H. Eldridge (6)
Collapsed (75)
General Construction Co. (14)
Leon Moisseiff (8)
Lost (10,373)
Lost 1940 (12)
Lost during 1940s (58)
 Over a mile long (192)
Owned by state (9,810)
Pierce County, Washington (74)
Span length over 1000 feet (105)
Suspension (278)
Tacoma, Washington (21)
Total length over 2500 feet (587)
Washington (844)

Update Log 

  • November 26, 2010: New photos from Jacob P. Bernard
  • November 22, 2010: Essay added by Jacob P. Bernard
  • July 30, 2010: New photo from Jacob P. Bernard
  • August 23, 2009: Updated by Anthony Dillon: Name of route at time bridge stood
  • August 5, 2008: Added by Michael Goff

Sources 

  • Mike Goff - michael [dot] goff [at] hotmail [dot] com
  • Opening of Tacoma Narrows Bridge - An article about the bridge from the Washingtonton State History Encylopedia.
  • Collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge - An article about the collapse from the Washingtonton State History Encylopedia
  • Tony Dillon - spansaver [at] hotmail [dot] com
  • Jacob P. Bernard - jacob_bernard [at] yahoo [dot] com
  • Wikipedia - 1940 Tacoma Narrows Bridge
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Comments 

Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Posted August 23, 2009, by Steven Rosenow (srosenow_98 [at] yahoo [dot] com)

A small correction. At the time Gertie stood, Washington State Route 16 was then known as Primary State Highway 14A. WA16 didn't become signed as such until Washington reassigned state highway numbers in a renumbering program that took effect in 1964.

It should be changed in the record for historical accuracy, that it crossed the Narrows at Primary State Highway 14A.

Per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_state_highway_renumbering_(Washington)

Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Posted August 5, 2008, by J.R. Manning (thekitchenguy [at] sbcglobal [dot] net)

Gallopin' Gertie looked pretty nice on opening day!