Floating bridgeIn 1963, the longest floating pontoon bridge in the world opened. The Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, connecting Seattle and Bellevue carries state road 520 with a floating length of 7,578 ft - almost 1000-ft more than the second-longest bridge (Lacey V. Murrow Bridge). Like the Hood Canal Bridge, the 520 bridge has a retractable drawspan in the middle, which is opened to protect the bridge when the windspeed reaches 40mph. Experts believe the bridge will reach the end of its useful life by 2025, by which time at least the pontoons will have to be replaced. However, it already has been plagued by crippling mechanical problems over the past ten years. On 3 Mar 1999, it was stuck open when one of the drawspan rollers broke.« |
