Tacoma Narrows Bridge History Website
Tacoma Narrows Bridge resources


The Bridge as a Connection

Why were the
bridges built?

The Bridge as Machine

How did they
build the bridges?

The Bridge as Art

Why do the bridges
look like they do?
  People of the Bridge
Who designed
the bridges?

A Tale of Three Bridges - 1950

"Sturdy Gertie" - This First Narrows Bridge

Raising up the new towers.

Raising up the new towers. Crews used a "crawler crane" to build the towers. It advanced upward as workers completed each tower leg. The legs of the 1950 towers are made of hollow steel cells, stacked on top of one another. The cell sections are four columns arranged to form a hollow core in the center. Each section is 32 feet long and weighs 27 tons. To stabilize the towers during construction, temporary "outriggers" were added until the cables and deck trusses could be completed.

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