TACOMA TRAFFIC DRIVERS
Situations like that can panic drivers and cause vehicles to slam into each other. The top 10 deadliest years for fires in California, where wildfire deaths are most common, range from 11 to 85 per year, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.Ĭrashed and burned vehicles are seen in this aerial photo of the aftermath of a deadly dust storm pileup on Interstate 55 near Springfield, Illinois, on Monday, May 1, 2023. That compares to a 10-year average of eight deaths per year attributed directly to hurricane winds by NOAA. Previously published data only counted 10.Ī further breakdown counted 14 to 32 deaths per year. Looking at records from 2007 to 2017, the researchers estimated there were 232 traffic deaths related to dust storms in the U.S. (MORE: 6 Dead, 3 Dozen Hurt In Illinois Dust Storm Pileup On Interstate 55 ) “We found that dust events caused life losses comparable to events like hurricanes and wildfires in some years,” Daniel Tong, author of the paper and a research scientist at NOAA and George Mason University, said in a news release.
Recent research by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration shows that these kinds of traffic deaths are underreported and happen more often than thought. It was dedicated on July 15, 2007.Sign up for the Morning Brief email newsletter to get weekday updates from The Weather Channel and our meteorologists.Ī deadly pileup in a dust storm in Illinois Monday is the latest example of the danger of car crashes in low visibility caused by blowing dirt or sand. The new Tacoma Narrows Bridge is a twin bridge and has a separated bicycle and pedestrian walkway. In 2003 WSDOT began construction on a third Tacoma Narrows Bridge, parallel to and south of the existing bridge. By 1967 traffic built up to 67,000 vehicles per day, which by 2004 had increased to some 90,000 vehicles per day. Traffic was heavy on the bridge almost immediately. The bridge has passed every test and remains a steady, solid, reliable structure. In 1965 the Washington Department of Highways, later renamed Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), took over ownership. The Washington Toll Bridge Authority operated the bridge until the bonds were paid off. The bridge cost $11 million and was financed by a $14 million bond issue. Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel fabricated and erected the steel truss part of the bridge. The work of Theodore von Karman in wind tunnel analysis at the California Institute of Technology was also of vital importance. The team did elaborate tests on a model bridge using a wind tunnel. They collaborated on the design with Farquharson's research group at the University of Washington. Smith and the Principal Engineer was Charles E. The Design Engineer of the new bridge was Dexter R. Also, a larger width-to-span roadway proportion (the wider roadway) works against any tendency to twist. The second Tacoma Narrows Bridge, built from 1948 to 1951, has perforated girders and open grating in the deck that lets the wind pass through. The bridge failed because it was too light, with a too-narrow a roadway, and because of solid girders and the solid deck that caught the wind like a kite instead of letting it pass through. Farquharson led the team and he was on the ground taking measurements on the day the bridge collapsed. The Washington Toll Bridge Authority, which owned the bridge, had engaged the University of Washington Engineering Department to study the structure. The research was already in progress when the first bridge collapsed, since the structure's habit of undulating on windy days (causing it to be affectionately termed "Galloping Gertie") worried engineers. Years of study followed the collapse of the first Tacoma Narrows Bridge, which became a textbook case of problems to avoid in building suspension bridges. The bridge connects Tacoma to the Kitsap Peninsula, a link vital to the economy of Tacoma. With this bridge, aerodynamic testing becomes standard procedure in building suspension bridges.
The structure is the first suspension bridge built in the United States since the failure of its predecessor, and the design incorporates engineering knowledge gained from that catastrophe. The opening is a momentous event not only for Tacoma but also for the worldwide engineering community. It replaces the first Tacoma Narrows Bridge, which collapsed on November 7, 1940. The bridge carries State Route 16 across the Tacoma Narrows, a windy and treacherous part of Puget Sound. On October 14, 1950, the second Tacoma Narrows Bridge opens to traffic.
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