The Tacoma Narrows Bridge is a pair of twin suspension bridges that span the Tacoma

Narrows strait of Puget Sound in Pierce County, Washington. The bridges connect the city
of Tacoma with the Kitsap Peninsula and carry State Route 16 (known as Primary State Highway
14 until 1964) over the strait. Historically, the name "Tacoma Narrows Bridge" has applied to
the original bridgenicknamed "Galloping Gertie", which opened in July 1940 but collapsed because
of aeroelastic flutter four months later, as well as the replacement of the original bridge which
opened in 1950 and still stands today as the westbound lanes of the present-day twin bridge
complex.
The original Tacoma Narrows Bridge opened on July 1, 1940. It received its nickname "Galloping
Gertie" because of the vertical movement of the deck observed by construction workers during windy
conditions. The bridge became known for its pitching deck, and collapsed into Puget Sound the
morning of November 7, 1940, under high wind conditions. Engineering issues as well as the United
States' involvement in World War II postponed plans to replace the bridge for several years; the
replacement bridge was opened on October 14, 1950.
By 1990, population growth and development on the Kitsap Peninsula caused traffic on the bridge to
exceed its design capacity; as a result, in 1998 Washington voters approved a measure to support
building a parallel bridge. After a series of protests and court battles, construction began in 2002 and
the new bridge opened to carry eastbound traffic on July 15, 2007, while the 1950 bridge was
reconfigured to carry westbound traffic.