A Sightseer's Guide to EngineeringNational Society of Professional EngineersNational Engineer's Week
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The original, 5,939-foot-long Tacoma Narrows Bridge, known as "Galloping Gertie," opened to traffic on July 1, 1940, after two years of construction. It collapsed just four months and seven days later, during a 42-mph wind storm. The sunken remains of "Galloping Gertie" were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.


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© 2010 NSPE. A Sightseer's Guide to Engineering | Disclaimer | Contact: Stacey Ober, pr@nspe.org, at 703-684-2815
WASHINGTON Printable version
Tacoma Narrows Bridge
State Route 16
Tacoma, WA Pierce

Web Site
Parks adjoining the east and west ends of the bridge have interpretive displays and overlooks. 
Hours of Operation: Tacoma-Pierce County Convention & Visitor Bureau 800/272-2662 or 253/627-2836 Need a map?
To engineers, crossing the Tacoma Narrows presented more of an economic challenge. Originally it was hoped the federal government would help pay for an $11 million bridge that would cut at least 40 miles off the trip between Tacoma and Bremerton. After the federal government refused, the state turned to Leon Moisseiff, who calculated that a thin-plate girder type bridge could be built for only $6.4 million. The collapse of the bridge shocked the engineering community, and the lessons learned did a lot to shape future American bridge building. The replacement bridge, built in 1950, is one of the largest suspension bridges in the world.
 
Who Made It: First bridge: Leon Moisseiff; Second bridge: Dexter Smith