The Hood Canal Bridge, carrying Washington State Route 104 from the Olympic Peninsula to the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington state, is the third longest floating bridge in the world, at 6,521 feet (1,988 m). When the pontoons were attached for the first time, and then towed into place and anchored, sea conditions in the Hood Canal were too severe and the pontoons were returned to a nearby bay until a better method to attaching could be devised. It was decided to use a large rubber dam between each of the two pontoons as they were attached, clean the concrete surfaces of all marine growth, epoxy, and tension them with a number of cables welded to a variety of attachment points. This system seemed to work from 1961 until the disaster of 1979. There is considerable evidence that the failure was caused by hatches blowing open and water flooding in. In addition, a complete investigation seemed to be blocked by the eventual settlement between the state and the insurance company -- too many facts might have gotten in the way of a settlement.

The Hood Canal Bridge suffered catastrophic failure during the February 13, 1979 Windstorm. Fortunately the bridge had been closed to highway traffic, the drawspan opened beforehand due to the exessive winds, the tower crew had evacuated, and no casualties resulted. The broken span was unusable for approximately three years, and the replacement cost for the western span was $143,000,000 USD.

In August 2003, the Washington State Department of Transportation started to work on replacing the pontoons on the bridge. The site selected for the casting, when grading started, revealed human remains and then cultural artifacts associated with a centuries-old beachfront village of Tze-whit-zen of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and its ancestors. On December 10, 2004, the Tribe asked WSDOT to leave the site. On December 21, 2004, WSDOT announced its intention to pursue construction elsewhere.

External links

• Washington State Department of Transportation
• More information about the Project