Abstract: The 1940 Tacoma Narrows Bridge, the first Tacoma Narrows Bridge, was a suspension bridge in the U.S. state of Washington that spanned the Tacoma Narrows strait of Puget Sound between Tacoma and the Kitsap Peninsula. It opened to traffic on July 1, 1940, and dramatically collapsed into the Northwestern coast of Washington on November 7 of the same year. At the time of its construction, the bridge was the third-longest suspension bridge in the world in terms of main span length, behind the Golden Gate Bridge and the George Washington Bridge.Surprisingly there was only one fatality after the collapse. Construction on the bridge began in September 1938. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge is a pair of mile-long (1600 meter)
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Because of materials and labor shortages as a result of the involvement of the United States in World War II, it took 10 years before a replacement bridge was opened to traffic. This replacement bridge was opened to traffic on October 14, 1950, and is 5,979 feet (1,822 m) long—40 feet (12 m) longer than the original bridge. The replacement bridge also has more lanes than the original bridge, which only had two traffic lanes, plus shoulders on both sides. Recently, the newly built parallel bridge opened to traffic in July …show more content…
Suspension bridges were being designed and built with ever longer and more slender spans. Construction workers, and the operators and users of the bridges, noticed the tendency of the new bridges to oscillate in the wind. To some extent, the bridge designers accepted that response as reasonable and acceptable performance in light of the tradeoff for lightness, economy and aesthetics. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge was the most slender suspension bridge built up to that time, and its oscillations which lead to the
Because of materials and labor shortages as a result of the involvement of the United States in World War II, it took 10 years before a replacement bridge was opened to traffic. This replacement bridge was opened to traffic on October 14, 1950, and is 5,979 feet (1,822 m) long—40 feet (12 m) longer than the original bridge. The replacement bridge also has more lanes than the original bridge, which only had two traffic lanes, plus shoulders on both sides. Recently, the newly built parallel bridge opened to traffic in July …show more content…
Suspension bridges were being designed and built with ever longer and more slender spans. Construction workers, and the operators and users of the bridges, noticed the tendency of the new bridges to oscillate in the wind. To some extent, the bridge designers accepted that response as reasonable and acceptable performance in light of the tradeoff for lightness, economy and aesthetics. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge was the most slender suspension bridge built up to that time, and its oscillations which lead to the