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This postcard shows The Tacoma Narrows Bridge after the wind-induced collapse in November 1940 and how nice it looks now:) Sent by Bob from Washington State (USA). |
Wiki says:
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge is a pair of twin suspension bridges in the U.S. state of Washington, which carry State Route 16 across the Tacoma Narrows strait of Puget Sound between Tacoma and the Kitsap Peninsula.
The original Tacoma Narrows Bridge opened on July 1, 1940. It received its nickname "Galloping Gertie" due to the vertical movement of the deck observed by construction workers during windy conditions. The bridge collapsed into Puget Sound the morning of November 7, 1940, under high wind conditions.
No human life was lost in the collapse of the bridge. However, a small dog perished after it was abandoned in a car on the bridge by its owner, Leonard Coatsworth, and by another man, both of whom were bitten by the terrified dog when they attempted to remove it. The collapse of the bridge was recorded on 16mm film by Barney Elliott, owner of a local camera shop, and shows Leonard Coatsworth leaving the bridge after exiting his car. In 1998, The Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." This footage is still shown to engineering, architecture, and physics students as a cautionary tale.
The current westbound bridge was designed and rebuilt with open trusses, stiffening struts and openings in the roadway to let wind through. It opened on October 14, 1950, and is 5,979 feet (1822 m) long — 40 feet (12 m) longer than the first bridge, Galloping Gertie. Local residents nicknamed the new bridge Sturdy Gertie, as the oscillations that plagued the previous design had been eliminated. This bridge along with its new parallel eastbound bridge are currently the fifth-longest suspension bridges in the United States.
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