Hood Canal Bridge

Hood Canal Bridge
USS Ohio (SSBN-726) maneuvers through the drawspan of the Hood Canal Bridge returning to her homeport in Bangor, Washington.
Coordinates	47°51′36″N 122°37′30″W / 47.86°N 122.625°W / 47.86; -122.625Coordinates: 47°51′36″N 122°37′30″W / 47.86°N 122.625°W / 47.86; -122.625
Carries	SR 104
Crosses	Hood Canal
Locale	Kitsap and Jefferson counties, Washington, U.S.
Official name	William A. Bugge Bridge
Other name(s)	Hood Canal Floating Bridge
Maintained by	Washington State DOT
Characteristics
Design	Pontoon bridge with retractable draw span
Total length	7,869 ft (1.49 mi; 2.40 km)
Longest span	600 ft (183 m) (drawspan)
History
Construction begin	January 1958
Construction cost	$26.6 million
Opened	August 12, 1961
Statistics
Daily traffic	13327 (2002)

The Hood Canal Bridge (officially William A. Bugge Bridge) is a floating bridge in the northwest United States, located in western Washington. It carries State Route 104 across Hood Canal of Puget Sound and connects the Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas. At 7,869 feet (1.490 mi; 2.398 km) in length (floating portion 6,521 feet (1.235 mi; 1.988 km)), it is the longest floating bridge in the world located in a saltwater tidal basin, and the third longest floating bridge overall. First opened 56 years ago in 1961, it was the second concrete floating bridge constructed in Washington. Since that time, it has become a vital link for local residents, freight haulers, commuters, and recreational travelers. The convenience it provides has had a major impact on economic development, especially in eastern Jefferson County.

The bridge is officially named after William A. Bugge (1900–1992), the director of the Department of Highways from 1949 to 1963, who was a leader in the planning and construction of the bridge. The bridge, however, has continued to be popularly known as the Hood Canal Bridge.

The design and planning process for the Hood Canal Bridge took nearly a decade amid criticism from some engineers throughout that time. Critics questioned the use of floating pontoons over salt water, especially at a location with a high tide fluctuations and the funneling effect of the Hood Canal might magnify the intensity of winds and tides. The depth of the water, however, made construction of support columns for other bridge types prohibitively expensive. The water depth below the pontoons ranges from 80 to 340 feet (24 to 104 m). In its marine environment, the bridge is exposed to tide swings of 16.5 feet (5.0 m).

The pontoons for the bridge were fabricated in the Duwamish Waterway in Seattle; during fabrication, two of the pontoons sank. When they 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 of attaching could be devised. The structural engineers and the contractor decided the design was faulty. A new contractor was hired and the design modified. 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 when the bridge opened in 1961 until the disaster of 1979.