The land of opportunity has always bean at the forefront of progress across its 50 states.

The nation has enjoyed decades of successful development after the devastating effects of the Wall Street crash of 1929 late 19 thirties and early 19 forties saw the steady resurgence of the wounded economy.

Country began to construct a new breed of magnificent skyscrapers, bridges, railroads and dams to impress the world.

Recognizing the importance of good highways and roads, all levels of government from county to federal spend over $3 billion a year on the nation's highway system.

In 1937 the iconic Golden Gate Bridge opened in San Francisco, becoming at the time the longest suspension bridge in the world.

Construction of Golden Gate started in January 1933 and it was opened on May 1937.

So I took four years and four months.

One year later, nearly 800 miles north in Washington state, construction began on a bridge to connect the city of Tacoma.

With the kits at Peninsula, it would take the threat of war for the U.

S.

Government to finally approve funding for the bridge.

As Japan invaded China and the world saw the rise of Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler, U.

S President Franklin D.

Roosevelt began quietly strengthening the U.

S.

Military funding rearmament but at the same time spending millions of dollars on roads, dams and bridges.

On June the 23rd 1938 the Tacoma Narrows Bridge was finally approved.

Bridge had been proposed since the 18 eighties, but according to local papers at the time, the reason it finally got the go ahead was a military necessity to link the McCord airfield on the Tacoma side with the Puget Sound Naval Base on the Kits Up Peninsula.

This was a period off important financial constraints because the country was moving into in the international ward and was the Depression on dhe.

The moment federal agency awarded the grand for the construction of the breach.

It actually awarded for half the price more or less off what the initial cost indicated on dhe.

These came also with a requirement to hire are some specific engineers, including little mousy.

If Leon Massif was a bridge engineer, graduating from Columbia University in 18 95 the original design was a pretty conventional suspension bridge.

The original breach was designed by state engineer.

Neon was brought in from New York City, and his proposal was a much more streamlined bridge, which not only looked more elegant but cost about half the amount because of the reduced amount of steel being used.

Although the state originally estimated the cost of the bridge at $11 million engineers from the East Coast working with deceased claimed they could make it for less.

On were awarded $6.4 million.

It was famously nicknamed Galloping Gertie by the construction workers.

I believe movement was felt during the construction of the bridge that caused concern on various strategies were used to try and reduce this motion, but none of them were effective.

Although the bridge was designed to withstand winds of up to 120 miles per hour, engineers installed four buffers of the towers toe active shock absorbers.

They didn't appear to make any improvement, but the bridge was deemed safe.

On the first of July 1940 Tacoma Narrows Bridge was opened at the third largest suspension bridge in the world, covering 5900 feet, with a main span of 2800 beaten only by New York City's George Washington Bridge on San Francisco's Golden Gate Nation heal the opening of the new six and 1/2 $1,000,000 Tacoma Narrows Bridge over Puget Sound.

Governor Clarence Marten officiated at the dedication that was the first over the new mile long shortcut to the Olympic Peninsula.

The National Guard find a 19 gun salute, and 7000 people joined the governor to marvel at the structure.

What an engineering marvel it see 2000 cars crossed on opening day alone in a few months.

Over 1/4 of a 1,000,000 cars use the bridge.

Although structurally sound, the bridge still moved in the wind, with the roadway rising and falling up to five feet.

Some motorists stopped using the bridge.

Others flock to it to experience the waves for themselves.

Before the bridge was built to travel from Tacoma to the Kits Out Peninsula was a long journey, taking two and 1/2 hours.

Now it would only be 11 minutes.

In the early hours of the seventh of November 1940 high winds blew through the narrows.

Stiff winds blowing a Puget Sound caused it to sway and finally to weave and twist as you see here these amazing pictures taken at risk of life.

At 10 a.m. Leonard Coatsworth was the last person to cross before highway officials and state police closed the bridge.

I saw the Narrows Bridge die today, and only by the grace of God escaped.

Dying with it.

I drove on the bridge and started cross in the car With me was my daughter's Carter Spangled Tubby, a reporter desert in his car on the bridge and crawl back to safety as the great roadway like a pendulum of doom, swayed and twisted in its death agony.

Just as I drove past the towers, the bridge began to sway violently from side to side before I realized it tilt became so violent that I lost control of the car.

I jammed on the brakes and got out, only to be thrown onto my face against the curb around me.

I could hear concrete cracking.

I started back to the car to get the dog that was thrown Before I get regent.

He abandoned his car with a dog inside, the only like lost in a disaster.

The bridge is breaking up, and my only hope was to get back to shore giant cables around us to penned a strain.

I crawled 500 yards or more to the towers.

My needs are raw and bleeding, my hands bruising, swollen from breaking the concrete curb.

Safely back the toll plaza, I saw the bridge in its final collapse and saw my car plunge into the narrows.

It literally shook itself to pieces.

There it goes, double sensational seeing films since the Hindenburg disaster.

It seems like a bad dream.

It's hard to believe with real tragedy, disaster and blasted dreams all around me.

I believe that right at this minute.

What appalls me most is that within a few hours I must tell my daughter that her dog is dead when I might have saved him.