Why build a floating bridge?
While a floating bridge might seem pretty exotic, it’s really the only cost-effective solution that works for spanning Hood Canal. The bridge is located at one of the narrowest points of the canal, but the channel is still about 1.5 miles wide and up to 340 feet deep, with several hundred feet of mud below that before hitting bedrock. If a suspension bridge like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge were built here instead of a floating bridge, its towers would have to extend 810 feet above the bedrock (500+ feet below the water surface). That’s taller than the Columbia Tower in Seattle. Total cost would be about $4 billion – four times the cost of this project.
While a floating bridge might seem pretty exotic, it’s really the only cost-effective solution that works for spanning Hood Canal. The bridge is located at one of the narrowest points of the canal, but the channel is still about 1.5 miles wide and up to 340 feet deep, with several hundred feet of mud below that before hitting bedrock. If a suspension bridge like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge were built here instead of a floating bridge, its towers would have to extend 810 feet high from bedrock (500+ feet below the water surface). That’s taller than the Columbia Tower in Seattle. Total cost would be about $4 billion – 9 times the cost of this project.
