Hood Canal Bridge
47.859722 - 122.624444Koordinaten: 47 ° 51 '35 " N, 122 ° 37' 28 " W
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The Hood Canal Bridge, officially William A. Bugge Bridge is a floating bridge in the U.S. state of Washington. She leads the Washington State Route 104 from the Kitsap Peninsula on the Hood Canal on the Olympic Peninsula. From the 2398 m long bridge 1988 meters are designed as floating bridge, which makes the bridge to the longest floating bridge in the world in salt water. The bridge was opened in 1961 as the second executed in concrete floating bridge in Washington State and represents an important link for the local population and the tourism
History
The planning of the bridge lasted nearly ten years. Many engineers doubted whether it would ever be possible to build a floating bridge over salt water, especially in the Hood Canal, a fjord -like branch of the Puget Sound. At the point where the bridge should be built, the tidal range is up to 5 m and can be exacerbated by wind and current effects in the estuary. The water is 100 feet deep at the position, so that the construction of a suspension bridge was eliminated because the foundation of the pylons seemed impossible.
The pontoons for the bridge were made in the Duwamish River in Seattle, towed to site and bolted there to the floating bodies. During assembly, the storms damaged bolted connections so that their execution had to be changed and a new manufacturer had to be found for the pontoons.
The bridge was opened with a 15 - month delay on August 12, 1961 for traffic. On the opening was formed an eight -kilometer traffic jam of people who wanted to go first on the new bridge.
The building was officially renamed in 1977 William A. Bugge Bridge, by William A. Bugge, the former chairman of the Road Office of the State of Washington, in whose tenure the bridge was built.
Sinking of the bridge in 1979
Sinking the Hood Canal Bridge in a heavy storm on 13 February 1979. The storm brought winds of 140 km / h and gusts up to 190 km / h and the waves were 3 to 4.5 m high. In the morning at 7 clock failed the west part of the bridge. The bridge was closed to traffic at this time, because during storms each thrust bridge was opened to reduce the lateral forces on the building. The bridge was dropped because water had penetrated through open gaps in the maintenance float and have failed the anchor cable.
After considering other solutions, such as the establishment of a ferry or the construction of an underwater tunnel, it was decided that the missing half of the bridge rebuild with government support. The reconstruction cost 143 million U.S. dollars and the bridge could be re- opened to traffic on October 3, 1982. As a precaution, the bridge opened to traffic is blocked when the wind speed is more than a quarter of an hour over 65 km / h.
Renovation in 2009
Between 2003 and 2009, the 1979 does not sunken eastern half of the bridge, and both of truss, the bridge spans, the drive of the thrust bridge and the electrical system of the whole bridge was renovated for 500 million U.S. dollars. For the construction of the pontoons of the floating body should be dug near Port Angeles graving dock. The project had to be abandoned in late 2004 and a new place to search because it was discovered during the archaeological work, the well-preserved former Klallam village of Tse- whit - zen -. The renewed bridge was taken on June 3, 2009 after a six-week total lock again.
Building
The floating bridge consists of 23 pontoons, which are bolted together to form two continuous floating bodies and are connected by a connecting bridge for shipping. Each float weighs about 5000 tons. The floating part of the bridge with steel cables lying at 42 500 t heavy concrete blocks anchored and connected on both sides with a 85 m long truss on the landside bridge spans on the seabed.
The cruise port is 180 m wide. It is used by the submarines of the Ohio - class to achieve the Naval Base Kitsap. The bridge will open by the adjacent to the thrust bridge roadway segments will be raised by 2 m and the shear bridge be withdrawn by this.