Spring Is Here, Bridges Are Blooming

Greetings and apologies to my loyal readers. I am well, just very busy teaching at this time of year.

Nevertheless, I'm walking the streets of Tacoma and excited about developments in this great city. Something my wife and I are enjoying watching is the construction of the new bridge going up alongside Tacoma's famous Narrows Bridge. (The existing bridge's main claim to fame is the collapse of its predecessor; see video of "Galloping Gertie's" demise.) Because the present bridge is a bottleneck for commuters traveling from Washington's peninsula to Tacoma, Olympia and Seattle, a second bridge is going up right beside it. Here's a telephoto shot of the pinnacle of one of the new towers:

Please click on the photo to enlarge it. You may just be able to see one of the workers (in a yellow helmet). I added a yellow arrow pointing to him.

But to get perspective, here's the panoramic view of the bridges with the Olympic Mountains in the background:

Do click on this bottom photo, because it enlarges nicely. As you can see, the older bridge is on the right, accomodating traffic. The new bridge is going up on the left (west) side. The workman I pointed to is up there to the right of the crane, but you won't be able to see him at this resolution!