What happened to Galloping Gertie bridge?
Only four months later, the great span's short life ended in disaster. "Galloping Gertie," collapsed in a windstorm on November 7,1940. The bridge became famous as "the most dramatic failure in bridge engineering history.". Now, it's also "one of the world's largest man-made reefs.".
How did Galloping Gertie get its name?
Titanic, Gertie, Love Canal, that random hotel in North Korea…… jaydawg53 said: “”After opening, the new bridge shortly came to be known as “Galloping Gertie,” so named by white-knuckled motorists who braved the writhing bridge on windy days. Even in a light breeze, Gertie’s undulations were known to produce waves up to ten feet tall.
How long did Moisseiff live after Galloping Gertie collapsed?
It stands as an extraordinary afterlife, especially considering that Moisseiff lived for less than three years after Galloping Gertie’s collapse and designed no new bridges in that time.
What is the length of Galloping Gertie?
Galloping Gertie: Characteristics; Design: Suspension: Total length: 5,939 feet (1,810.2 m) Longest span: 2,800 feet (853.4 m) Clearance below: 195 feet (59.4 m) History; Opened: July 1, 1940: Collapsed: November 7, 1940: Location
Was anyone on Galloping Gertie when it collapsed?
"Tubby" the dog fell into fame when Galloping Gertie collapsed on November 7, 1940. As the only victim of that great disaster, Tubby has earned a special place in the hearts of many. His death symbolizes the drama of that terrible day.
How did Galloping Gertie collapse?
Gertie's long, narrow, and shallow stiffening girder made the structure extremely flexible. On the morning of November 7, 1940 shortly after 10 a.m., a critical event occurred. The cable band at mid-span on the north cable slipped [and slid along the bridge].
What was wrong with the Tacoma bridge?
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapsed primarily due to the aeroelastic flutter. In ordinary bridge design, the wind is allowed to pass through the structure by incorporating trusses. In contrast, in the case of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, it was forced to move above and below the structure, leading to flow separation.
Who was at fault for the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse?
The Board refused to blame any one person. The entire engineering profession was responsible, said the experts. They exonerated Leon Moisseiff.
What was the worst bridge collapse in history?
Ponte das Barcas History's deadliest bridge collapse occurred during the Peninsular War as the forces of Napoleon attacked the Portuguese city of Porto.
How many people died on Galloping Gertie?
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge, nicknamed "Galloping Gertie," fell into the sound during a windstorm on November 7, 1940. The bridge's collapse was a lesson in poor design and engineering. Luckily, no was killed or seriously hurt in the incident. One dog did die.
Why do soldiers not march on bridges?
So when soldiers march on a hanging bridge, it may have a chance to make a resonance condition . So the bridge will collapse. So to avoid that, soldiers break their stride on a bridge.
Why do bridges shake?
De Santos said it's normal for bridges like this to move a bit. “The bridge will expand and contract based on temperature, the bridge will flex based on the different loads, like 18-wheelers and trash trucks, and the bridge may move vertically and horizontally during an earthquake.
How deep is the water under the Narrows bridge?
The water is over 200 feet deep. Swift, treacherous tides moving at over 8.5 miles per hour (12.5 feet per second) sweep through the channel four times a day. The piers would be the deepest ever constructed, almost double the previous world record set by the 1937 Golden Gate Bridge.
How many people have jumped off the Narrows bridge in Tacoma?
Since the bridge was erected in 1950, more than 50 people have leaped to their deaths.
What could have prevented the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse?
The adoption of the following changes may have prevented the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge: If the open stiffening trusses could have been used in the place of plate girders, the wind would have passed freely through the bridge and the collapse of the bridge could have been avoided.
What bridge fell down?
Refresh this page for the latest. The Forbes Avenue bridge over Fern Hollow Creek in Pittsburgh's Frick Park collapsed Friday morning, with several vehicles, including a Port Authority bus, on the span at the time. See video from the bridge collapse scene: Click the video player above.
Why did the Tacoma bridge collapse in 1940?
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapses due to high winds on November 7, 1940. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge was built in Washington during the 1930s and opened to traffic on July 1, 1940. It spanned the Puget Sound from Gig Harbor to Tacoma, which is 40 miles south of Seattle.
What caused the Tacoma Narrows Bridge to collapse quizlet?
Why Did the Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse in 1940? It collapsed because the wind created a standing wave that got higher and higher on the bridge. The key ingredient to a standing wave is resonance, when the driving frequency (of the wind) matches the natural frequency (of the bridge).
Why did the Quebec bridge collapse?
The panel's report found that the main cause of the bridge's failure was improper design of the latticing on the compression chords. The collapse was initiated by the buckling failure of Chord A9L, on the anchor arm near the pier, immediately followed by Chord A9R.
What happened to the old Tacoma Narrows Bridge?
Its main span collapsed into the Tacoma Narrows four months later on November 7, 1940, at 11:00 a.m. (Pacific time) possibly as a result of aeroelastic flutter caused by a 42 mph (68 km/h) wind. The bridge collapse had lasting effects on science and engineering.
Who designed the Galloping Gertie?
Leon Moisseiff, right, a New York engineer and designer of the infamous Galloping Gertie stands alongside construction engineer Clark Eldridge on Nov. 14, 1940, to discuss the reconstruction of the approach to the main span of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. (File, 1940.) In the South Sound region, he is widely regarded as a hubristic outsider ...
When did the Galloping Gertie bridge fall?
Photos and film of the last moments of Galloping Gertie are iconic to this day. The bridge’s fall on the windy morning of Nov. 7, 1940 , is still taught in schools. It is regarded as the birthing event of the field of wind engineering in building design.
How did Moisseiff die?
His death at 70, of a heart attack in 1943 in his New Jersey ...
What was the name of the cocker spaniel that died on the first bridge over Puget Sound?
On the day the first bridge over Puget Sound collapsed 75 years ago this week, a mixed-breed cocker spaniel named Tubby was the only life lost with the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in what now is known as one of history’s most spectacular engineering failures.
Why did the narrows bridge collapse?
1 of 7. Only four months after opening to the public, the first Narrows Bridge collapsed due to wind Nov. 7, 1940. The bridge had been known to undulate in the wind ever since it opened, gaining it the nickname “Galloping Gertie.”. Northwest Room, Tacoma Public Library Courtesy.
What caused the Gertie bridge to vibrate?
For a long time, resonance was blamed, with Gertie’s well-known vibrations deepened by just the right wind through the Narrows. These days, engineers call what broke the bridge “aeroelastic flutter” — a condition a YouTube video by MinutePhysics likens to “the same thing that causes a strip of paper or blade of grass to vibrate if you hold it tight and blow straight at the edge.”
Who was the dog that was stranded in the car?
Its only casualty was the dog Tubby, who couldn’t be retrieved from the stranded car he was riding in. A crowd watched and filmed the disaster from the Tacoma shore. “It seemed as though the world was falling apart,” News Tribune reporter Nelson Hong, who was among the spectators, wrote in the next morning’s paper.
How long did the Galloping Gertie stand?
Around the world people know the tale of Galloping Gertie. It stood for four short months, its deck flexing and rolling before tearing apart in a windstorm.
What was the result of dredging the seabed?
Dredging the Narrows. As a result of dredging the seabed, 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 (dredge wells). Standing like sentries in the Narrows.
What happened to the narrows bridge?
Just four months after the span opened to traffic it tore apart in a 40-mile-per-hour windstorm. At about 10:30 a.m., a center span floor panel dropped into the water 195 feet below. The roadbed broke up and chunks of concrete and pelted the Narrows. The first Narrows Bridge is by no means the only bridge to ever collapse; Galloping Gertie's demise may represent the most dramatic failure in the history of bridge engineering. But it's a failure that contributed significantly to the sturdier and safer suspension bridges of today.
How much did the narrows bridge cost?
The bridge cost $6.4 million ; tolls started at 55 cents and were cut to 50 cents two months later when the bonds were refinanced. It's been more than six decades since the first Narrows Bridge opened to traffic and then, four months later, collapsed violently into Puget Sound.
When did the narrows bridge collapse?
It's been more than six decades since the first Narrows Bridge opened to traffic and then, four months later, collapsed violently into Puget Sound. Come summer 2005, the bridge that now lies as wreckage on the Narrows seabed, will commemorate its 65th anniversary.
What was the first section of the pier towed into place?
Here, the first section of the pier, the hollow caisson, was towed into place. To hold the caisson in position, divers secured it to the anchors on the seabed.
Why was Galloping Gertie placed on the National Register of Historic Places?
The sunken remains of Galloping Gertie were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992 to protect her from salvagers. A dramatic tale of failure and success. The story of the failure of the 1940 Narrows Bridge and the success of the Current Narrows Bridge is a great American saga.
When did Tubby the dog collapse?
Tubby trivia. "Tubby" the dog fell into fame when Galloping Gertie collapsed on November 7, 1940. As the only victim of that great disaster, Tubby has earned a special place in the hearts of many. Tacoma Narrows Bridge history. Timeline.
Design and construction
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Attempt to control structural vibration
Since the structure experienced considerable vertical oscillations while it was still under construction, several strategies were used to reduce the motion of the bridge. They included
Collapse
Leonard Coatsworth, a Tacoma News Tribune editor, was the last person to drive on the bridge:
Inquiry
Theodore von Kármán, the director of the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory and a world-renowned aerodynamicist, was a member of the board of inquiry into the collapse.
Link to the Armistice Day blizzard
The weather system that caused the bridge collapse went on to cause the Armistice Day Blizzard that killed 145 people in the Midwest :
Fate of the collapsed superstructure
Efforts to salvage the bridge began almost immediately after its collapse and continued into May 1943.
Replacement bridge
Because of shortages in materials and labor as a result of the involvement of the United States in World War II, it took 10 years before a replacement bridge was opened to traffic. This replacement bridge was opened to traffic on October 14, 1950, and is 5,979 feet (1,822 m) long, forty feet (12 m) longer than the original bridge.
