Evening star., 1940-11-08
H,4OO,OOO Bridge
Collapse Blamed
On Faulty Design
Solid Girders Caught
Wind Like q SuiI,
Engineer Says
Ruthe Associated Press.

TACOMA. Wash, Nov. S.-The
elements won in the battle for the
S6.4OO.OO0 NarroWs Bridge, and the
floor of the worlds third longest
suspension span lay III Puget Sound
today. But man and his science will
try again.
Aeitated and twisted by wind OF
gale proportions, the colossal struc-
ture. which only four months ago
was dedicated as a monument to
engineering science, crumbled, then
collapsed with a mighty roar yeSter-
day into the White-creSted waves of
the sound.
There was no loss of human life.
Two men-an engineer and a news
paperman-Who were on the bridge
when it began to twist violently,
miraculouSly escaped, even as Sec
tions Of the floor began hurtling into
the waters 200 feet below.
Tubby, a cocker spaniel riding in
the car with Leonard CoatSWOrth,
Tacoma neWSpaperman, was not so
fortunate. MI. COatsWorth had to
abandon his car to save his life. And
the terrified Tubby nipped at the
knuCkles Of Prof. F. G. FarquharsOn,
the engineer, who attempted to re-
lease the dog. AS Prof. FarquharsOn
and Mr. Coatsworth made their
separate and precarious ways to
safety, the car and the dog fell into
the sound.
Solid Plate GirderS Blamed.
A. F. Andrew, chief engineer of
the Washington Toll Bridge Au-
thority, who announced that plans
for rebuilding the bridge would be
undertaken Immediately, attributed
the tragedy to substitution of plate
girders 8 feet in depth for a truss
design which had previously been
planned" He explained:
The solid metal eXpanses acted
like a sail, catching the wind and
swinging the bridge. He had plan
ned to bore holes to allow the wind
to pass through, but had not had
time"
It was a race with the elements
that the engineers lost. From its
opening, the bridge had shown
menacing signs of sway whenever
high wind whipped up. There was
an up-and-doWn swing that gave
motorists a Sea-sick feeling.
A $4,000 model of span conse-
Quently was constructed in the Uni
verSity of Washington engineering
laboratory, and was studied by en-
gineers seeking a means of arresting
the sway.
Model Disclosed Weakness.
With the scrutiny of this model,
engineers discovered the bridge was
susceptible, in certain wind condi-
tions, to a twisting motion which
might mean the crash of the struc-
ture. They hoped to find a solution
before the weakness was aggravated
by the elements.
But the wind yesterday was of
the sort that had been feared. The
twisting motion began, and in
evitably the floor collapsed.
The State carried insurance of
S5,2OOOOO on the bridge, plus inSur-
ance against loss of tolls. 1t. Col.
Lacey V. MurrOW, State director
of highways when tse span was
built, estimated it would cost about
S3,000O00 to rebuild, if the super
structure should prove a total loss.
He pointed out large item in the
bridge expense was in the concrete
foundations in the deep NarroWS
channel, with its tricky, strong
tides.
Bridge a Mile Long.
Mr.. Andrew, in expressing his
opinion as to the cause of the COL
lapse, said it was the first time the
solid plate girders had been used
in a bridge so long and narrow.
The structure, reaching from the
mainland outside of Tacoma to
the Olympic Peninsula, is over a
mile long. The collapse came in the
2,8OO-foot center suspension span.
The towers holding the 17-inch
cables were bent about u feet out
of line, but Mr.. Andrew said the
towers might be utilized in recon-
StruCtion. He said the cables also
were probably all right, but they
would be inspected to determine
whether they were frayed. He es-
timated the bridge could be rebuilt
by next July 4.
Prof. FarquharSon, who directed
the experiments on the laboratory
model, disclosed the tests had pro-
duced the twisting motion that
caused the collapse.
1--WE watched it," he recalled,
land we said that if that sort of
motion ever occurred on the real
bridge it would be the end.
I'VE had hopes, and I am sure we
could have found the remedy if we
had only been given a little more
time"
The bridge was constructed with a
P. w. A. grant of $4,000 900 and an
r. F. c. loan of S3,5200OO. 1t cut
so miles from the travelling distance
between Fort Lewis and the United
States Navy Yard at Bremerton.
Mr.. Andrews said a Tacoma con-
tracing firm (Woodworth & Cor
nelD would start today to dismantle
the concrete from the sagging ap-
proaches.
Leon S. Moisseiff of New York, de-
signer of the bridge, said he was
completely at loss to eXp}ain the
collapse" He telephoned Mr..
Andrew that he was sending a rep
resentative from the East. Ralph
Keenan, of the Pacific Bridge Co.,
the bridge builders. flew up from
San Francisco to inspect the wreck
age.
p. w. A. Orders Probe;
Grant Wne g Qnn 90