Mt. Rainier and Lenticular Clouds - Dec. 2008 copyright: JMM

July 16, 2007

Good to Go!

The new Tacoma Narrows Bridge opened yesterday with a ton of fanfare and hoopla. The new bridge will carry traffic eastbound to Tacoma, and the old bridge has turned into westbound lanes only, to Gig Harbor. There is a toll booth, but people who cross every day for work have transponders on their windshields, called "Good to Go!" passes. Here's a shot from this morning. So many people stayed home today because they were afraid that traffic was going to be really bad, and it wasn't. When school is back in session in the fall, it'll be a different story.

The Bridge has been under construction for about 5 years now, and highway 16 has been in the process of widening and adding lanes to accomodate the bridge traffic. Unfortunately, the last part of the project has not been completed, and that is the tearing down and rebuilding of the 2-lane Nalley Valley Viaduct, so instead of traffic bottlenecking at the bridge, it now bottlenecks further down Hwy. 16. I am in the process of figuring out a new route to work when the viaduct teardown begins in 2008.

This is an aerial of the current Nalley Valley Viaduct, it's the elevated section from the "t" in "Center Street" to the "T" in "To 38th". WSDOT will be tearing it down and rebuilding it to include more lanes.We did not drive into Tacoma for the grand opening, hating hot weather, crowds and traffic the way we do! My boss was at the office yesterday at 6:00 a.m. and said that our parking lot, as well as the parking lots at TAPCO Credit Union next door and across the street at the community college were already packed w/ people who parked so as to take shuttle buses to the bridge. Yesterday was the only time that it would be open for pedestrian traffic.

Here's a nice aerial, looking northwest, to Gig Harbor from the Tacoma side.

This is current construction on I-5, something I've been navigating for the past several months. They've torn down those overpasses and are rebuilding 2 of them. That's the Tacoma Dome in the background.

14 comments:

  1. isn't this the third bridge they've built here??? geez, driving into tacoma from your house looks like a lot of fun...i can see where you get frustrated. just eat lots of chocolate!

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  2. Yes, you are right, if you count "Gallopin' Gertie", the bridge that collapsed in the 1940's & rebuilt in 1950, this would be the 3rd bridge. Well done! :)

    The 4 seasons in Washington State are: Almost Winter, Winter, Almost Spring and Road Construction.

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  3. Anonymous6:06 PM

    Hey did you guys know that She Who Must Not Be Named called into my show Shakedown Street(see link from Jo Jo's home page).

    She even mentioned Elizabeth Hitchens!

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  4. ya know, anonymous, your cover is so blown!!!

    jojo, the four seasons in michigan are winter, 2 days of spring, hot-sticky-sweaty and football

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  5. No way you'd get me on that Bridge!! (Or any other for that matter)

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  6. i love that film of "gallopin' gertie"...you just can't take your eyes off that poor bridge

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  7. I can't stop thinking about that poor dog plummeting to it's death inside the car, while the guy, who could have rescued the dog, flees to safety. The story is that it was his wife's dog and he hated it, so he left it to die.

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  8. NOOOOO! how could anyone do that to a defenseless animal...better he shoulda been the one left in the car!!!

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  9. And so the great god traffic spawns another demonic offspring.

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  10. Anonymous2:37 PM

    I wish we had room for something that looks like this!

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  11. Anonymous5:23 PM

    I was in detention at Remann Hall all day Sunday--would have loved to break out and see the bridge fun instead. It was a beautiful day for it. Me? I instead got surly teenagers.

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  12. Kristy - Remann Hall on a Sunday? Bummer! I only work about a mile or so, from there & my former boss, who is now a Court Commissioner is doing a rotation at Remann!

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  13. Ugh! i hate traffic...

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  14. I loved your pictures Jojo. I miss Tacoma SOOOO much. But I'm hoping to save up some money so that I can go back sometime next spring.

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