The Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge that connected Seattle to Mercer Island sank to the bottom of Lake Washington 23 years ago this weekend. Hood Canal Floating Bridge Tide Times and Heights. HOOD CANAL, Wash. (AP) — The Coast Guard says eight people escaped a sinking yacht in Hood Canal. Credit: A new matching span had been built alongside and was already carrying cars across the lake, so the old bridge was closed to traffic for the renovation project. The third-longest is the Hood Canal Bridge, about thirty miles (50 km) to the northwest. The Washington state ferry system shall be efficiently managed, operated, and maintained as a revenue-producing undertaking. Many sites were considered but the best option to be found by WSDOT was in Tacoma, Wash. at Concrete Technology. First opened 59 years ago in 1961, it was the seco… “Galloping Gertie” was blown down in a gale just four months after it opened. An investigation into the sinking found that the pontoons had been exposed to water from the renovation process and from the rain and waves of the windstorm. On June 15, 1979, actual work began with the removal of the west truss and transport for storage. Are climatologists studying the pandemic’s effect on Puget Sound? 65-foot boat sinking near Hood Canal Bridge (KOMO video) Eventually it became too dangerous to stay on board and the eight people evacuated to a dinghy and row to shore. Despite a lot of anxiety about the closure, others also recall the 1979 sinking of the Hood Canal Floating Bridge, which left the area isolated for three years before the new bridge opened. [3] In its marine environment, the bridge is exposed to tidal swings of 16.5 feet (5 m).[5]. Within the first two weeks of construction, artifacts were found from an ancestral burial ground from an ancient village called Tse-whit-zen. The bridge reopened as a toll bridge, but tolls were lifted in 1985 after a court ruled that the insurance settlement constituted repayment of the construction bonds, and since federal funds were used in reconstructing the bridge, the Washington State Department of Transportation could not charge tolls after the bonds were retired. It was decided to use a large rubber dam between each of the two pontoons as they were attached, clean the concrete surfaces of all marine growth, epoxy, and tension them with a number of cables welded to a variety of attachment points. The Hood Canal Bridge (officially William A. Bugge Bridge) is a floating bridge located in the U.S. state of Washington that carries Washington State Route 104 across Hood Canal and connects the Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas. The transition spans and center draw span were also replaced during this closure. As the narrator of a newsreel about the collapse said, “No structure of steel and concrete can stand such a strain. On Tuesday, February 13, 1979, about 7 a.m., the western half of the Hood Canal Bridge sinks during a severe storm. Jump to Date Confirm Graph Plots Open in Graphs. A semi-truck driver cited for traveling too fast for conditions was blamed Tuesday morning for a wreck that shut down the Hood Canal Bridge for nearly two hours and sent a woman to the hospital. Officials and the public were stunned by the sudden loss of the old bridge. Details. When they were attached for the first time, and then towed into place and anchored, sea conditions in the Hood Canal were too severe and the pontoons were returned to a nearby bay until a better method of attaching could be devised. "Settlement reached in Indian burial site", Learn how and when to remove this template message, "William Adair Bugge assumes duties as Director of Highways on July 1, 1949", "Hood Canal Bridge opens on August 12, 1961", "William A. Bugge Bridge: Replacement Plan for the East-Half Floating Portion", "Hood Canal Bridge sinks during a severe storm on Tuesday, February 13, 1979", "Hood Canal Bridge reopens awash in traffic", "Project - SR 104 - Hood Canal Bridge Project", "SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge open again - eight days early", http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/breaking_news/15274953.htm, The Washington State Department of Transportation, Tacoma Narrows Bridge ("Galloping Gertie"), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hood_Canal_Bridge&oldid=990696501, Transportation buildings and structures in Kitsap County, Washington, Transportation buildings and structures in Jefferson County, Washington, Transportation disasters in Washington (state), Former toll bridges in Washington (state), Articles with dead external links from March 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, Articles lacking in-text citations from February 2016, Infobox mapframe without OSM relation ID on Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2007, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2012, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 26 November 2020, at 00:24. Nobody was injured or killed when the Hood Canal Bridge went down in 1979. — The U.S. Coast Guard Seattle is at the scene of a 65-foot boat taking on water near the Hood Canal Bridge. Completed pontoons will be floated out of the graving dock in Tacoma and transported to Seattle for outfitting at Todd Shipyards. Fished 11/07/2009. His consulting for government agencies included NASA, the National Science Foundation and Washington state, including an analysis of factors that led to the sinking of the Hood Canal Bridge during a 1979 storm. At that time, "there was no evidence of historic properties or cultural resources" (NEPA Re-evaluation Consultation, FHWA) and WSDOT was able to purchase the site and begin construction. Additional information about the Hood Canal Bridge is located on the Common Questions web page. Close fly bys are challenging because it’s more difficult to spot the subject, and their speed is relatively faster compared to a more distant subject, therefore requiring faster panning and tracking. bluebullitt2003. The project required the bridge to close to traffic for five weeks to allow the old pontoons of the east-half to be cut away and the new pontoons floated into position, cabled together and connected by cables to large anchors on the sea floor. Outfitting includes adding all electrical and mechanical parts, connecting the pontoons into sections and building the roadway on top of the pontoons. Eight people managed to escape to safety when their 65-foot boat began sinking near the Hood Canal Bridge Tuesday evening. When asked the purpose of their trips, respondents reported that for weekend trips 21% were for recreational, 21% for social, 19% for personal, 18% for work, 6% for business, and 4% for medical reasons. Bad design doomed that span from the start and earned the bridge an appropriate nickname. The convenience it provides has had a major impact on economic development, especially in eastern Jefferson County.[3]. The Murrow Bridge was on the bottom of Lake Washington. Before purchase, the National Historic Preservation Act required archaeologists to perform a review of the historical site. WSDOT stopped all work on the site, and a government-to-government consultation process began among the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, WSDOT, the Federal Highway Administration, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the State Historical Preservation Office. [2] It carries State Route 104 across Hood Canal of Puget Sound and connects the Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas. Peak volumes reach 20,000 vehicles on summer weekends[citation needed]. A new contractor was hired and the design modified. All eight people who were on board were able to safely get into a dinghy and row to shore. The depth of the water, however, made construction of support columns for other bridge types prohibitively expensive. 65-foot boat started sinking 1.3 miles SW of the Hood Canal Bridge. However, long established law requires the Hood Canal Bridge and others like it (Title 33, Part 177 Draw Bridge Operations) to give marine traffic the right-of-way over vehicular traffic. The eastern approach span weighs more than 3,800 tons (3,400 tonnes) and the western approach span weighs more than 1,000 tons (907 tonnes). Get a quick look at the most important local stories of the day with KUOW's Today So Far newsletter. [6][7][8][9] The western drawspan and the pontoons of the western half had broken loose and sunk, despite the drawspan being opened to relieve lateral pressure. The bridge was named for Lacey V. Murrow, longtime director of the Washington State Highway Department. The original Murrow Bridge opened in 1940 and was called the Lake Washington Floating Bridge. By Sunday, the news from Lake Washington was bad. In that storm, The Hood Canal Floating Bridge broke apart and sank to the bottom. Critics questioned the use of floating pontoons over salt water, especially at a location with high tide fluctuations and the concern that the funneling effect of the Hood Canal might magnify the intensity of winds and tides. The Hood Canal Bridge (officially William A. Bugge Bridge) is a floating bridge in the northwest United States, located in western Washington. Video of the Sinking of the Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge. The pontoons are bolted together and then tethered with heavy cables to giant concrete anchors on the lake bottom. Have an emergency kit in your vehicle and be aware of forecasts. The anchor cables on the new bridge were broken, and it wasn’t safe. The tugboats remained on this unusual duty, holding the pontoons in place, until the anchor cables could be replaced and the new bridge made safe once again. During the course of the closure an additional ferry route was temporarily added between Edmonds and Port Townsend. Since that time, it has become a vital link for local residents, freight haulers, commuters, and recreational travelers. The boat has 300 gallons of diesel and 12 gallons of oil on board. Evidence points to blown-open hatches allowing flooding of the pontoons as the cause of the sinking. Another three pontoons, built during the west-half bridge replacement in the early 1980s, were retrofitted in Seattle. "Wreck of the Lacey V. Murrow" 1990 parody song by Dave Ross for KIRO Radio. The Hood Canal Bridge (officially William A. Bugge Bridge) is a floating bridge located in the U.S. state of Washington that carries Washington State Route 104 across Hood Canal and connects the Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas. Seattle radio station KIRO won the industry’s most prestigious broadcast journalism award for their coverage of the sinking of the Lacey V. Murrow Bridge. 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