The desire for the construction of a bridge in this location dates back to 1889 with a Northern Pacific Railway proposal for a trestle bridge; however, it was only in the late 1920s that interest in this project was revived. In 1937, the Washington State legislature created the Washington State Toll Bridge Authority and appropriated $5,000 to study the request by Tacoma and Pierce County for a bridge over the Narrows. The bridge was designed by Leon Moisseiff and cost $6.4 million. thumb|267x267px|The collapse of the original bridge. The first Tacoma Narrows Bridge opened to traffic on July 1, 1940. Its main span collapsed into the Tacoma Narrows four months later on November 7, 1940, at 11:00 a.m. (Pacific time) possibly as a result of aeroelastic flutter caused by a wind. The bridge collapse had lasting effects on science and engineering. In many undergraduate physics texts, the event is presented as an example of elementary forced resonance, with the wind providing an external periodic frequency that matched the natural structural frequency; the cause is still debated by engineers today. A contributing factor was its solid sides which did not allow wind to pass through the bridge's deck. Thus, its design allowed the bridge to catch the wind and sway, which ultimately took it down. It was the first suspension bridge to utilize these solid I-beams as a form of support for the road deck, as other bridges would incorporate trusses in their designs in order to catch the wind. Its failure also boosted research in the field of bridge aerodynamics and aeroelastic fields which have influenced the designs of all the world's great long-span bridges built since 1940.
The desire for the construction of a bridge in this location dates back to 1889 with a Northern Pacific Railway proposal for a trestle bridge; however it was only in the late 1920s that interest in this project was revived In 1937 the Washington State legislature created the Washington State Toll Bridge Authority and appropriated $5000 to study the request by Tacoma and Pierce County for a bridge over the Narrows The bridge was designed by Leon Moisseiff and cost $64 million thumb|267x267px|The collapse of the original bridge The first Tacoma Narrows Bridge opened to traffic on July 1 1940 Its main span collapsed into the Tacoma Narrows four months later on November 7 1940 at 1100 am (Pacific time) possibly as a result of aeroelastic flutter caused by a wind The bridge collapse had lasting effects on science and engineering In many undergraduate physics texts the event is presented as an example of elementary forced resonance with the wind providing an external periodic frequency that matched the natural structural frequency; the cause is still debated by engineers today A contributing factor was its solid sides which did not allow wind to pass through the bridge's deck Thus its design allowed the bridge to catch the wind and sway which ultimately took it down It was the first suspension bridge to utilize these solid I-beams as a form of support for the road deck as other bridges would incorporate trusses in their designs in order to catch the wind Its failure also boosted research in the field of bridge aerodynamics and aeroelastic fields which have influenced the designs of all the world's great long-span bridges built since 1940