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How & Why
We
Bridged
The
Narrows
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The year 2000 marked the 60th
anniversary of the opening of the first Tacoma Narrows Bridge,
nicknamed "Galloping Gertie," and the 50th anniversary
of the opening of the second bridge, which still stands, and
is called "Sturdy Gertie" by many residents. This exhibit
attempts to answer some of the most frequently asked questions
about the two bridges.
The bridging of the Narrows was a turning
point in the history of the Peninsula. For residents, it ended
generations of isolation and heralded much desired economic growth.
During the four months the first bridge was in operation, newspaper
stories reported new gas stations, street improvements, installation
of sidewalks, and new stores.
After the completion of the second bridge,
the summer vacation homes that dotted the Peninsula became year-round
residences. Previously populated primarily by farmers, loggers,
and fishermen, the Peninsula saw the arrival of young urbanites
who commuted across the bridge to work. In the town of Gig Harbor,
known as a sleepy little fishing village, small shops began catering
to tourists.
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Links to Questions
Whose
idea was it and why
did people want it?
Who designed
and built the bridges?
How were
the bridges built?
How and
why did Gertie fall?
What
happened to Gertie's remains?
How did
people cross after the collapse and why did it take so long to
build the second bridge?
What
about those tolls?
Check out other Bridge links |
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Whose
idea was it and why did people want it? |
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This is one of
several proposed bridge
designs that was reproduced in
local newspapers in the late 1920s
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"The first person to suggest a
bridge across the Narrows was J.G. [John G.] Schindler, a rancher at
Rosedale," according to Captain Ed Lorenz, a local steamboat
operator, in an interview with a Tacoma newspaper columnist in 1939.
"It was 1888 or 1889. We were going through the Narrows one day when
Schindler, pointing to the high bluffs on each side, said, 'Captain,
some day you will see a bridge over these Narrows.' We all thought
Schindler was crazy."
The first documented effort to
campaign for a bridge occurred in 1923. The Federated Improvement
Clubs, a Tacoma organization, wrote a letter to surrounding chambers
of commerce and community organizations asking them to support the
idea.
Peninsula residents wholeheartedly
supported a bridge. For generations, the deep water and treacherous
currents of the Narrows had separated the Peninsula from the
populated and prosperous east shore of Puget Sound. A bridge would
mean greater ease in crossing and an opportunity to participate
fully in the region's economy. It would also mean much desired
economic development in the community as new residents and
businesses were established.
In 1928 the City of Tacoma and the
Pierce County Board of Commissioners asked the state to construct a
bridge across the Narrows. By 1929, preliminary designs and sketches
were showing up in local newspapers.
Two impediments stood in the way of
a bridge. One was financing. A variety of public and private
strategies were discussed, but it was difficult to come up with a
workable plan. It became even more difficult when the Depression
began. In addition, there was the ferry problem. In 1926 the county
granted a franchise to Gig Harbor's own Mitchell Skansie, who
organized the Washington Navigation Company the following year. The
10-year contract for service between Tacoma and the Peninsula
promised immunity from competition. "Every time we would get started
with some financing, that contract would come up and we would have
to include its purchase in the total, which was always too high as
it was." (Thad Stevenson, Tacoma Chamber of Commerce, TDL,
10/3/38)
In the end, the first bridge was
financed with a $2,880,000 Public Works Administration grant and a
$3,520,000 federal Reconstruction Finance Corporation loan, which
was to be repaid through tolls.
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Who
designed and built the bridges? |
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Clark Eldridge, a bridge engineer
with the Washington Department of Highways, was the principal
designer of the first Narrows Bridge.
Various consultants were called in to review
the plan. One of them, Leon Moisseiff, suggested the superstructure
could be reduced in size.
His recommendation was incorporated into the final
bridge design.
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Clark Eldridge, Ralph Keenan
(Pacific Bridge Co.), Leon Moisseiff, W.G. Sweigert (Pacific
Bridge Co.), and Fred Sweigert (Pacific Bridge Co.) Photo
credit: Bashford/Thompson
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The Pacific Bridge Company became
the contractor after submitting a low bid of $5,594,730.40. The
Bethlehem Steel Company was an associate contractor, supplying
and erecting the steel and wire.
The design for the second bridge was the
work of the Washington Toll Bridge Authority's Charles E. Andrew,
chairman and principal engineer, and Dexter Smith, designing
engineer. Andrew was the author of two reports on the failure
of the first Narrows Bridge.
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Joe Gotchy (right), Jan. 2,
1939.
Photo credit: Bashford/Thompson
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The primary contractors for construction of
the second bridge were the Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corporation
and John A. Roeblings and Sons Company. One of the men who
helped build both bridges, Joe Gotchy, eventually wrote a book
about his experiences. The book, Bridging the Narrows,
published by the Gig Harbor Peninsula Historical Society in 1990,
is an important source of information about the construction
of the two bridges and the people who worked on them. |
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How
were the
bridges built? |
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The Piers & Towers
Around the location of a pier, blocks of
reinforced concrete, called anchors, were towed into place on
barges and then dumped into the water.
The first section of the pier, the hollow
caisson, was towed into place. To hold the caisson in position,
divers secured it to the underwater anchors. Creating the pier
was a gradual process, building up with steel and concrete onto
the caisson. Slowly, the pier "grew" upward and sank
downward.
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The caisson is towed into
place.
Photo credit: Bashford/Thompson
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Eventually, the caisson's steel cutting
edge met and sunk into the earth. The pier was then excavated
to the proper depth through its hollow core. Heavy concrete sealed
the bottom, then a broad concrete pedestal capped the top. A
timber fender was added to deflect debris and traffic.
Towers were erected on each pier pedestal
and finished with a steel saddle on its highest point to receive
the main suspension cable.
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Tower construction, first
bridge.
Photo credit: Bashford/Thompson
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The Suspension Cables
Temporary catwalks were placed from tower
to tower enabling crews to work on the cables in the air.
The two main suspension cables were spun
from wire spools unreeling onsite and affixed to an anchorage
built on land at each end.
Individual suspender cables, also called hanger ropes by their
manufacturer, were hung at the prescribed intervals along the
length of the two main cables. These hung in the air until attached
by zinc "jewels" to sections of the deck.
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View of the wires composing
the
main cable, first bridge.
Photo credit: Bashford/Thompson
Suspender cables
on first bridge.
Photo credit: Bashford/Thompson
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Building the Deck
For the first bridge, the deck was constructed
with pre-formed steel sections. They were carried to the bridge
on scows, then lifted up and attached to the cables.
The deck for the second bridge was built
very differently than for the first. Steel beams were raised
singly or in sections.
Piece by piece, like a giant tinker toy,
the deck was assembled.
When all the steel sections were riveted
into place, the deck was ready to receive its concrete surface.
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Deck assembly, first bridge.
Photo credit: Bashford/Thompson
Deck assembly, second
bridge.
Photo credit: Bashford/Thompson
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How
and Why did Gertie fall? |
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James
Bashford took the most famous photograph of the bridge's collapse.
In 1939 he was working at Thompson Photo Service, owned by Ambler
Thompson. The firm was hired by the Washington Bridge Authority
to document the construction of the first Narrows Bridge. Bashford
was involved in the project and took more than 400 photographs
of the bridge, recording every aspect of the construction. |
Splash as first debris falls.
Photo credit: James Bashford
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He related many anecdotes about the
bridge to his daughter Ann. One example was how the workers used
to suck on lemons to keep from becoming seasick as the bridge
swayed while they worked. (In fact, it was the bridge workers
who coined the nickname "Galloping Gertie.") Bashford
also worked as a freelance photographer for the local papers.
On the day of the collapse, Bashford was
working for himself. As news of Gertie's antics spread through
town, he headed to the bridge site with his trusty camera. He
took several photos before the collapse and then caught the image
that has been reproduced around the world thousands of times.
Two years ago, Bashford's daughter and grandson donated the original
negative and camera to the Gig Harbor Peninsula Historical Society.
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Gertie's Final Hour
Throughout the early morning hours of Thursday,
November 7, 1940, the bridge deck rose up and down 3 to 5 feet
in winds of 35 to 46 miles per hour. Alarmed by this constant
motion, highway officials and state police closed the bridge
at 10:00 a.m. Shortly after, the motion dramatically changed
from a rising and falling to a twisting motion. The twisting
grew stronger and span movement went from 5-foot to 28-foot undulations.
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The collapse.
Photo
credit: James Bashford
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At about 10:30 a.m., a center span floor
panel dropped into the water 195 feet below. The roadbed was
breaking up and chunks of concrete were raining into the Narrows.
At 11:02 a.m., 600 feet of the western
end of the span twisted free, flipped over, and plunged into
the water.
The twisting continued, and at 11:09 a.m.,
what remained of the center span ripped free and thundered down
into the Narrows. When this happened, the 1,100-foot side spans
dropped 60 feet, only to bounce up and then settle into a sag
of 30 feet.
In the simplest terms, the slimness that
made Galloping Gertie so elegant resulted in her collapse. Clark
Eldridge's original plans called for open, 25-feet-deep stiffening
trusses (girders supporting the road). Consulting engineer Leon
Moisseiff proposed that the trusses could be reduced, creating
a shallower roadway and making the bridge look like a long, graceful
ribbon. Conveniently, his suggestion would also be cheaper.
The Toll Bridge Authority took Moisseiff's
suggestion and did a redesign that substituted a plate girder
stiffening system only 8 feet deep. Although the redesign met
all criteria for acceptable practice at the time, it made the
bridge more vulnerable to the effects of wind.
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What
happened to
Gertie's remains? |
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After the collapse, there was some talk
of simply cutting the suspension strands and letting the damaged
remains fall into the Narrows. However, because of the extreme
shortage of steel and wire during World War II, attempts were
made to salvage all remaining material. Ironically, it would
have been more economical for the state to drop the remaining
portions of the structure into the deep waters of the Puget Sound.
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Working on salvage
of cables
and bridge steel, 1943.
Photo credit: Bashford/Thompson
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The two main piers were undamaged and were
used to support the second bridge with only minor modifications
to the concrete pedestals.
Today, the center span and other debris
that fell during the disaster lie on the floor of the Narrows.
Galloping Gertie is the largest man-made structure ever lost
at sea. It would take 5.56 Titanics positioned end to end to
occupy the same space as Galloping Gertie. In addition, the current-swept
bottom of the Narrows has transformed the remains into the largest
man-made reef, supporting an abundance of marine life.
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Underwater images of bridge.
Photo credit: Underwater Atmospheric Systems
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In 1992, the collapsed
and submerged Tacoma Narrows Bridge was placed on the National
Registry of Historical Places. Underwater Atmospheric Systems,
Inc. gathered and produced material for the submission, including
a site plan of the remains developed from sonar soundings. The
nomination was accepted, adding the site to the Federal, State,
County, and City Registry of Historical Places.
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How
did people cross after the collapse and why did it take so long
to build the second bridge? |
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Ferry Service Starts Again
Ferry service to the Peninsula was reinstated
after the collapse. However, the ferries were no longer privately
owned by Mitchell Skansie's Washington Navigation Company. The
state purchased two of the company's boats, the Skansonia
and the Defiance, to operate between Titlow Beach (Tacoma)
and Point Fosdick (on the Peninsula).
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The ferry Defiance
at Pt. Fosdick, July 1941
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Bill Skansie, Mitchell's son, was
awarded the contract to operate the two ferries, despite the
fact a competitor had submitted a lower bid. Eighteen months
later the contract was awarded to the Puget Sound Navigation
Company of the Black Ball line. The Skansies were left to smaller
and less profitable runs, such as McNeil and Fox Islands.
A Ten-Year Gap
The ten-year gap between the first and
second bridge was largely the result of the redirection of money,
materials, and manpower to the fighting of World War II. After
the war, newspaper stories gave conflicting reports about problems
getting insurance coverage.
Peninsula support for a replacement bridge
was just as strong as it had been for the first bridge, and there
was some impatience with the delays. In 1992, the collapsed and
submerged Tacoma Narrows Bridge was placed on the National Registry
of Historical Places. Underwater Atmospheric Systems, Inc. gathered
and produced material for the submission, including a site plan
of the remains developed from sonar soundings. The nomination
was accepted, adding the site to the Federal, State, County,
and City Registry of Historical Places.
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What
about those tolls? |
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The Public Works Administration paid part
of the first bridge, but the remainder was financed by a loan
that had to be repaid with tolls. While the Peninsula community
clearly wanted the bridge, the tolls were a huge controversy.
At the center of the debate was the fact that, under the proposed
tolls, it would cost travelers more to cross the Narrows by bridge
than by the existing ferry service.
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Toll plaza, first
bridge.
Photo credit: Bashford/Thompson
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Interestingly, just one month after the
first bridge opened, the commuter tolls were reduced. According
to the Toll Bridge Authority, they were able to reduce the tolls
because there was greater patronage by regular users than was
expected. Three months after the bridge opened, the Toll Bridge
Authority lowered the basic rate by 5¢, citing savings resulting
from the refinancing of the bond issues.
Construction for the second bridge was
financed through a $14,000,000 bond issue. When the bridge opened
in 1950, tolls were set at pretty much the same level as they
had been in 1940. The bridge operated as a toll facility until
the bonds were retired thirteen years ahead of schedule on May
14, 1965.
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Toll schedule,
first bridge
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The volume of traffic that crossed the
new bridge had been much greater than had been anticipated. There
was no protest about the tolls imposed for the second bridge
they were cheaper than the ferry service.
In 1965 the Washington State Legislature
passed a law (RCW 47.56.271) stating that the Tacoma Narrows
Bridge shall be operated and maintained by the DOT as a toll-free
facility once all indebtedness had been retired. Interestingly,
some locals fought the removal of the tolls. They feared an influx
of people that would overwhelm the small community on the Peninsula.
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Excerpts from 1940 articles about bridge
tolls:
Bridge Tolls Further Discussed (The
Peninsula Gateway, 5/3/40)
Dear Editor:
With almost a magic touch, as a people
of a heretofore remote region, we now find our lives potentially
enriched when we behold that colossal and magnificent structure
of concrete and steel, dream of the decades, picturesquely posing
astride that ancient barrier, the Narrows.
But now it must be pointed out that the
added benefits thus offered are largely potential and will remain
so unless this new gateway is unlocked to all sizes of pocketbooks,
from that of the distressed egg and berry producer to that of
the more favored American found comfortably touring our highways.
The tribute to be exacted for the privilege
of using this new link to our highway system should be so tempered
and modified that the door step of every Peninsula home however
lowly or humble can feel itself in closer communion with the
advantages of the larger centers. If this aspect of the problem
should be sadly ignored by the toll authority then the whole
program will be most unfair to a great number of people, and
in vain will this proud bridge with its lofty towers and ribbons
of steel have been made to conquer the Narrows for them.
Respectfully yours,
Milo Goodale
Bridge Tolls Discussed (The Peninsula
Gateway, 6/7/40)
Editor of the Peninsula Gateway,
This writer has been a resident of the
community a greater part of the time for the past 36 years and
has taken an active part in the affairs of the community in which
I live. For that reason I feel that I have been in touch with
the problems of the communityThe greatest of all the problems
has been the cost of transportation across the sound we turned
to the idea of a bridge. After many years of waiting and work
we are to have the bridge but to our dismay, we discover the
cost of our transportation will be greater than ever beforeit
seems for all our years of endeavor we have acquired for ourselves
a very nice white elephant and nothing else.
Alva McKinley
About Those Bridge Tolls (The Peninsula
Gateway Editorial, 6/14/40)
The fight has just begun for lower rates
over the Narrows Bridge, or a free bridge. In our opinion either
one of these things is possible
The Lake Washington bridge cost, including
approaches, just about twice what the Narrows Bridge cost, but
the tolls will be less than half what ours will be. The low rates
over the Lake Washington bridge are placed so as to encourage
traffic. The rates over our bridge are placed so as to discourage
traffic...
In our opinion we should begin to fight
right now for a toll free bridge. The money is available if the
State Highway Department desires to use it that way, and if the
department will not be governed by fair play and reason the legislature
has the power to provide a way.
Let us begin NOW to boost for a toll free
bridge.
All those who are circulating petitions
for lower rates are requested to keep up the good work. And anyone
who may desire blank petitions may secure the same at the Gateway
office. We have got to keep up the fight.
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Return
to the On-Line
Exhibits Homepage!
or
go to
Links to other Bridge Websites!
Acknowledgements:
GHPHS archives
Bridging the Narrows, by Joe Gotchy
Ron Magden, Ph.D.
Peninsula Neighborhood Association
Tacoma Public Library and Gary Reese
Underwater Atmospheric Systems, Inc.
United Infrastructure
Please note:
On-Line exhibits are copyrighted and cannot be reproduced
in any form without the written permission of the GHPHS. All
photos in this on-line exhibit are the exclusive property of
the Gig Harbor Peninsula Historical Society & Museum (GHPHS)
and cannot be reproduced, photocopied, or used for sale without
written permission from GHPHS
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