(2) A fantastic one-of-a-kind Feature story on the last person to successfully make it across the Galloping Gertie bridge & pay the toll, just before it collapsed! Her name is Frances Carlson, and all the details of her near-catastrophic trip is in the PEOPLE section, with a link to the Feature Story. Click Here to go straight to the story.

(3) A pair of neat collectibles; an original 1940 poster stamp of the McChord Field & Narrows bridge opening, and a most unusual TacomaGram of the 1950 bridge. These are in the BRIDGEABILIA section. Also, a few new Rare items; original Colonial paper money from 1776 & a note printed by Benjamin Franklin; as well as one of the longest panoramic photos on the internet of the Olympic Mountain range. It was made from 16 individual photos that were sequenced together. These are in the RARE ITEMS section.

(4) A unique fantasy photo of the 3 Narrows bridges- all connected as one. A journey thru time if you will; starting in the year 1940, and on thru to 2007 & beyond. Also, a couple of new panorama photos of the twin Narrows bridges that you can click on for a Full Size view. These can all be seen in the PHOTOS ASSORTED section.

(5) A great find- the 1950 bridge engineer; Charles E. Andrew's own copy of his book "Tacoma Narrows Bridge, A Final Report". This vintage book has excellent photos of the Sturdy Gertie bridge, and it can be seen in the PHOTOS 1950 section, along with Charles picture & autograph in the PEOPLE section.

(6) An orginal & unusual panoramic photograph of the 1950 bridge, provided by Mathew Hargreaves. He discovered it while doing research on the Narrows bridges. It is in the PHOTOS 1950 section, and a special feature for this photo is a larger size when you click on the photo! Also, a unique photo of a young girl standing on the newly completed Galloping Gertie bridge. Alice Howard of Yelm, WA provided it, and perhaps you can help her identify the girl in the photo? See it in the PHOTOS 1940 section. And a VFW hat badge from Post 10018 can be seen in the BRIDGEABILIA section.

(7) An extremely rare find: a circa 1939 early advertising wooden plaque of the yet-to-be built 1940 bridge, made by the American Sign & Poster Company. Only one other example of this plaque is known to exist, and it's in the Harbor History Museum's collection. Although theirs is a different version- making each one unique. Also a Vivid Tone plaque of the Gertie bridge with facts about the construction. These rarities can be seen in the BRIDGEABILIA section.

(8) A New section titled RARE ITEMS that has extremely rare or highly unusual items of various kinds. From a genuine autograph by General George Washington dated July of 1776, to a most unusual engraving by Victor D. Brennan of coin collecting fame; this new section is a must-see!

(9) New dvd videos; a series of Galloping Gertie & the 1950 bridges being built, the Galloping Gertie scale model, and some of the bridge relics in video format. This gives viewers a little better perspective. These can be seen in the VIDEOS section.

(10) See the Tacoma Narrows Bridge Funsite's photostream on . Our photostream shows many bridge photos that are not seen here. Also see our YouTube videos on . We have movies of the new bridge construction, and of Galloping Gertie relics, as well as the Gertie Scale Model.

(1) The new 2007 Narrows bridge will be getting decorative lighting installed. A group has been working towards their goal of having the bridge's two main cables illuminated, ever since the TNC builders had their temporary construction lighting in place to do night work. The group, NarrowsBridgeLights dot Org has reached an agreement with the State Department of Transportation on the installation & maintenance of a series of LED light fixtures across the two main cable spans. More details will be finalized, such as when the lights will be turned on, how long they will be on each night, what colors the lights will be, and where they will be controlled from. Once they are in place, photos will be posted here for you viewers to see. * UPDATE *: Due to the State's budget problems, and spending cuts; their portion of the funding for this project will not be available as planned. This has put a damper on the progress, and made private funding & donations more important.

(2) The 2007 Tacoma Narrows bridge has won a National Award thru the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials. This is the first year of this competition. To see the webpage about this contest

Click HereThe story appeared in the Tacoma News Tribune, Aug. 28, 2008.

(3) The Toll amounts are higher as of July 1, 2008. The Citizens Advisory Committee recommended that the Washington Transportation Commission move up the schedule for these increases from mid-2009 to this summer; about 1 year ahead of what was planned. This first round of rate increases has been approved & will bring up the price by $1.00. According to the original schedule, the second round of increases slated for 2012 are another dollar more, and in 2015 another increase of $1.00 will be charged. The handling of the contract for toll collection has already been under fire for a low estimation of commuters using the Good-To-Go accounts, and subsequent higher costs that must be paid to the contract company for re-negotiating this contract for the higher number of account holders.

(4) The Washington State Department of Transportation has modified some of the signage leading up to the Gig Harbor Toll facility. Many complaints were made quote, that the signs were either inadequate, or not informative enough to direct drivers who are unfamiliar as to how & which entrances & lanes they should be in to pay the toll if they did not have a transponder- or "Good To Go" account set up. I had the occasion to accompany one person in the Pierce County Court where she disputed the toll infraction she received after she was in the wrong lane, and missed the toll lanes. The judge stated that the signs were deemed adequate by the Department of Transportation, and therefore could not be construed as a reason for not paying. This person's offense occured before the signage was modified, which left me to wonder; if the State felt the signs were adequate, why were they modified?

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Current Projects
An important preservation project has been stalled, due to technical difficulties, and tightening of railroad security. The project involves the original 1940 Galloping Gertie construction- which included two concrete cast pours, upon which were installed metal brackets that held retaining cables. The cables were attached to the East span of the first bridge. The hopes were to stabilize the bridge's swaying, and at the time additional plans were quickly drawn up & approved to further stabilize the bridge with deflecting shields mounted to both sides of the bridge girders. Unfortunately, they did not get the time to manufacture or install these shields before the bridge tore apart in November of 1940.
Hold-downs #1 and #2
Hold-downs #3 and #4 The concrete bases and attached metal brackets are still in existance, though worn by time & exposure to the elements. The hillside has also been engulfing these two glimpses back in time, as the earth has been settling at the bottom, and threatens to bury them. The project is to excavate, or remove the earth away from the two "structures", to prevent their total loss. The National Historic Preservation designation of the original Galloping Gertie remains only applies to the underwater remnants, therefore this above-ground site is not protected. The very difficult project of removing the vegetation and encroaching earth from this not-yet historically recognized site is privately-funded, and the only known effort of it's kind.
Unfortunately, the work has been temporarily halted, in part because of a train derailment that occured in April just north of this location, and the resulting tightened security from this event, as well as the number of people that have been hit by trains in the Northwest area. These unrelated tragedies have forced the railroad to step up safety & inspections, and their efforts to keep the public away from the train tracks. The derailment may have been an intentional act, but it is more likely simply due to wear & tear of the rails, and the loosening of tie fasteners (which I have noted in many areas of Tacoma's tracks). And the death of people standing on the tracks is an obvious disregard for one's own safety. All of these occurances are avoidable accidents that have far-reaching effects beyond the loss of life. However, the safety of the public, and the railroad takes precidence over things such as my preservation project, and I am in co-operation with the railroad in this matter. I hope to be allowed to return to this project when the railroad regains the safety factor it once had.

Seen in the images above was the first step in this project; excavating hold-down #1, which took place on March 25, 2008. The amount of metal deterioration at the bottom of the brackets and large bolt shafts is more than was expected, and further verifies the need for this project. Without preservation, these genuine parts of Galloping Gertie may be lost permanently.
* UPDATE *: An effort is underway to request the Railroad, who owns the property; to remove these unique parts of history and donate them to the Harbor History Museum as part of their exhibits. This would allow for the hold-down's parts to be properly preserved, it would remove them from their being exposed to further deterioration & vandalism by spray paint graffiti, and it would provide a place for visitors to see them easily in a museum setting.