Broken steel closes lanes of aging Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Two lanes of the westbound Tacoma Narrows Bridge are undergoing an emergency closure after state workers discovered a ruptured steel connection beneath the 76-year-old span's road surface.
There will be less capacity on the four-lane crossing to Gig Harbor until repairs can take place, and lane closures could go through the weekend," the Washington State Department of Transportation posted on social media Wednesday. Motorists were encouraged to carpool, telework or reschedule trips over the water on Highway 16, to avoid congestion.
Eastbound traffic into Tacoma runs on a newer suspension bridge, built with concrete towers in 2007, which isn't affected by this week's incident.
State officials didn't seem surprised the iconic westbound bridge, built in 1950, is ailing. Two years ago, a cracked beam caused a similar two-lane shutdown for repairs.
"Years of underfunding" statewide highway maintenance "have put our transportation system in jeopardy," WSDOT said then. "Unfortunately, given the number and age of our bridges, there is just not enough dedicated funding to keep them from developing age-related problems."
Washington state's tendency to procrastinate on deck and bridge rehab follows a pattern in many states, and has created what former Transportation Secretary Roger Millar called "a glide path to failure." The Legislature shoveled billions toward high-profile widenings and replacements - from I-405 toll lanes to the new floating Highway 520 and the Highway 99 tunnel - while spending half the recommended $1 billion per year on maintenance. This year the maintenance and preservation budget won a $300 million infusion, but still highways are wearing out. A long-term project on the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge is closing lanes two at a time, for deck resurfacing through 2027.
The freshly reported damage appears to be localized around one Narrows joint, and the state's announcement doesn't suggest a pervasive structural threat. A photo shows the edge of a deck segment sunken roughly 1 inch, next to a broken flange or plate.
The dual Narrows bridges carry a combined 91,000 daily vehicles, with a one-way standard toll of $4.50 for Good to Go! pass holders entering Tacoma.
The 1950 steel-towered bridge is sometimes called "Sturdy Gertie" because of its stout beams, in contrast to its predecessor, "Galloping Gertie," built in 1940, which wobbled and ultimately collapsed because its design was too thin and its shape caused uplift in a windstorm. Nonetheless, WSDOT labeled it a "Boomer, suggesting that, like many people who read this story, the span cannot escape the ravages of time.
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