From 2002 to 2007 a new suspension bridge is being built parallel to and south of the existing bridge, which will also be upgraded and retrofitted. The project will create a safer, less-congested SR 16 corridor linking the Peninsula to Tacoma and I-5.
Steve Seidel strode across the gangplank Tuesday, a big grin on his face, and grabbed Transportation Secretary Doug MacDonald’s outstretched hand.
Work crews building the new Tacoma Narrows bridge raced ahead of schedule Monday, raising the possibility that the entire 5,400-foot bridge deck will be in place as early as today.
Construction this week on the new Tacoma Narrows bridge:
Over the past five months, Tacoma Narrows bridge watchers have grown used to seeing deck sections as big as apartment buildings lifted onto the new bridge’s suspension cables.
Tacoma Narrows Constructors lifted the last deck section off the transport vessel the Swan on Thursday afternoon and plans to haul the big ship out of the Narrows beginning about 10 this morning.
Construction this week on the new Tacoma Narrows bridge:
Workers on the new Tacoma Narrows bridge call it “crossing the tree line” – the point where they step away from the protection of the shore and into the rush of air that blasts through the Narrows.
Dingleberries: Red-hot droplets that fly out during welding activity
When the 46 deck sections for the new Tacoma Narrows bridge left the Samsung plant in South Korea, they already were nearly perfectly matched.
The similarity between tuning a guitar and welding is not something just anybody would pick up on.
Thickness of steel on top of deck Total length of welds required to join deck sections Number of bolts required to join deck sections Number of bolts in typical joint Minimum force required to tighten typical 7/8-inch bolt Minimum clearance between deck sections and tower legs Temperature the deck must be preheated to before welding Number of welding passes necessary to fill a gap between sections Wind speed at which Tacoma Narrows Constructors shuts down bolting operations Inches of rain that fell on the construction site during November and December Amount each deck section shrinks from the heat of welding
In some ways, putting the deck of the new Tacoma Narrows bridge together is like putting your kid’s bike together on Christmas: The parts were made in Asia and there’s “some assembly required.”
People who buy into the state’s electronic toll collection system for the new Tacoma Narrows bridge will get a big break on tolls for the first year if recommendations of a citizens’ advisory panel are followed.
Construction this week on the new Tacoma Narrows bridge:
A citizen panel delayed making a recommendation Saturday on tolls for the Narrows Bridge, including how much to lower the cost for drivers who install automated collection devices in their vehicles.
High winds Friday forced Tacoma Narrows Constructors to stop just inches short of completing one of the most difficult deck-lifting operations on the new Tacoma Narrows bridge.
Construction this week on the new Tacoma Narrows bridge:
With just 12 of 46 pieces left to fit into place, the new Tacoma Narrows bridge deck seems more like a giant jigsaw puzzle than ever.
A barge carrying a 450-ton deck section for the new Tacoma Narrows bridge broke away from its mooring lines early Friday and drifted free in Commencement Bay until rescued by a tugboat.
Tacoma Narrows Constructors switched on a holiday light show on the new Tacoma Narrows bridge Thursday, bringing a welcome bit of cheer to a region hunkered down in storm mode.
Construction this week on the new Tacoma Narrows bridge:
Construction this week on the new Tacoma Narrows bridge:
Beautiful is not a word often used to describe construction zones. But in the case of the new Tacoma Narrows bridge, plenty of people think it applies.
If there is any place on Earth where natural forces could be harnessed to produce electricity, you would think it would be the Tacoma Narrows, with its notorious tidal currents and legendary winds.
New York’s Mid-Hudson Bridge uses LED lights to create a scene that is as entertaining as it is aesthetic. The prize for America’s most-wired bridge clearly goes to the Mid-Hudson Bridge in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where microprocessors, fiber-optic cables and LEDs give programmers a palette of more than 16.7 million colors to play with.
Construction this week on the new Tacoma Narrows bridge:
This week’s scheduled work on the new Tacoma Narrows bridge:
Crews building the new Tacoma Narrows bridge hauled the transport vessel the Teal out of the Narrows on Thursday, having finished unloading the 15 massive deck sections the ship brought from South Korea.
Construction this week on the new Tacoma Narrows bridge:
The new Narrows bridge is at last beginning to look like a real bridge. By today, crews are expected to have 23 of 46 deck sections hoisted onto the main suspension cables, putting the contractor at the halfway point in the deck-lifting process.
Construction this week on the new Tacoma Narrows bridge:
Construction this week on the new Tacoma Narrows bridge:
Replacing a broken winch line on the ship loaded with the second batch of deck sections for the new Tacoma Narrows bridge will not delay the overall deck-lifting schedule, according to the state Department of Transportation.
Construction this week on the new Tacoma Narrows bridge:
A new suspender cable will have to be ordered to replace one crews building the new Tacoma Narrows bridge dropped Wednesday during a deck-lifting operation, a state Department of Transportation official said Thursday.
Crews building the new Tacoma Narrows bridge will try to determine today how a suspender cable came loose during a deck-lifting operation Wednesday and wound up dangling in the water below.
Construction this week on the new Narrows bridge:
Watch for the old switcheroo under the new Tacoma Narrows bridge in the coming days.
The spectacular aerial construction on the new Tacoma Narrows bridge might thrill commuters rushing by, but the exposure is a mixed blessing for the bridge builder, Tacoma Narrows Constructors.
Construction this week on the new Tacoma Narrows bridge:
Lifting the heavy deck sections into place on the new Narrows bridge requires complex engineering techniques, but for several of the deck sections, getting them into the air is only the beginning.
Construction this week on the new Tacoma Narrows bridge:
Gig Harbor’s future history museum will showcase pieces of Galloping Gertie, the first bridge across the Tacoma Narrows that swayed violently before blowing apart in 1940.
Construction this week on the new Tacoma Narrows bridge:
Drivers headed east across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge will be slowed overnight tonight and Tuesday night so toll collectors can test their electronic equipment.
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