BRIDGESPANS is a newsletter of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge Project in Gig Harbor, Washington. The suspension bridge project began four years ago. To keep the community along State Route 16 up to date on the $849 million project - construction of a parallel bridge, 3.4 miles of road improvements, and upgrades to the 1950 bridge – the state Department of Transportation compiles this quarterly summary. While the parallel bridge opens in summer 2007, renovations to the 1950 continue in 2008. By early 2008 all project work will be complete: the new bridge will carry eastbound traffic; the ‘50 bridge will take drivers west to the peninsula.
Progress report on deck assembly
Three months after deck assembly began half of the 46 blocks that average 450 tons each have been lifted off the ships Swan and Teal. October 25, Tacoma Narrows Constructors lifted the last of 15 deck sections off the Teal, a semi-submersible ship that delivered the second of three shiploads of deck sections to the Tacoma Narrows. Earlier this month, Teal returned Commencement Bay where crews removed and stored mooring equipment to use on the sister ship Swan when it returns to Tacoma. As for the Swan, the ship has left port in South Korea with the final load of 15 deck sections for the parallel span. It is scheduled to arrive in Commencement Bay around Thanksgiving.
During the month between the TEAL’s departure and the SWAN’s arrival, bridge crews will bolt and weld together the 31 deck sections already lifted into place.
Currently, seventeen deck sections have been permanently placed along the main span. To date, the deck sections have been temporarily pinned together, allowing the new bridge’s main suspension cables to deflect closer to their final geometry with each deck lift. With two-thirds of the deck sections hanging in place, the cable geometry is near enough to its final profile to allow permanent bolting to begin. As for specific locations of the 31 sections: five deck sections hang in the east side span; two of the five in the east side span are in their permanent position and three of the five need to be swung into permanent placement; and one deck sits on a barge at Commencement Bay awaiting its turn. There are eight deck sections hanging from the main cable in the west side span. All of these deck sections are in their permanent position. Deck-lifting activities will continue through the end of December. In total, 46 deck sections will be used to assemble the new bridge deck. Each deck section on average weighs 450 tons, and measures 120-feet long, 78-feet wide and 30-feet deep.
Good To Go! ... a faster, safer commute across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge
The key to a faster commute across the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge is Good To Go! — the new, easy-to-use electronic toll collection system that gives you the power to pay tolls without ever stopping.
When the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge opens in summer 2007, customers who pay tolls electronically will have the benefit of maintaining highway speeds on eastbound SR 16, bypassing the toll booth area and staying in the Good To Go! express lanes. Your toll will be automatically deducted from your prepaid Good To Go! account. An overhead antenna reads the Good To Go! e-sticker adhered to your windshield and automatically deducts the toll from your account.
Those seeking to open a Good To Go! account will be able to do so starting in early 2007. The Good To Go! e-sticker will initially be distributed at no cost. The minimum prepaid account balance is $30, but frequent commuters are encouraged to prepay a month’s worth of tolls into the account. Accounts don’t expire, so even if you use the bridge infrequently, you’ll want to set up a Good To Go! account so that you never have to stop at the manual toll booths. Once your e-sticker is in place and your account is activated, you are ready to use Good To Go!
Visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/goodtogo to view a video on how the system will work; to read more about the process; and to add your name to our Good To Go! interest list. You’ll be among the first notified when customer service centers open and you’re able to establish your account.
During the assembly of the new bridge’s deck, marine restrictions will be in place around the ship and barge in the Narrows, and underneath the bridge cranes used to lift the deck sections. Between now and the end of November, boaters will need to pay particular attention to marine restrictions, including a:
1) no-boating zone in place around the cargo ship, the Swan;
2) 500-foot, no-boating radius around a barge that will move to different locations under the bridge to deliver deck sections; and
3) clear zone under any gantry crane used in deck-lifting operations.
For more information contact:
Washington State Department of Transportation
Tacoma Narrows Bridge Project
3214 50th Street Court NW, Suite D302
Gig Harbor, WA 98335
Phone: (253) 534-4640 or (877) 762-7769