Opening day... Windstorm (not the storm)... The aftermath
It was around 7 o'clock in the morning and as I was listening to the radio I heard a news flash that the western half of the Hood Canal Bridge was breaking up and floating away down the Canal. Well, one of the pontoons floated away for a bit, but the next one just went down and in the process damaged and caused the following pontoon to sink and so forth until there was nothing left but the Western High Rise. It took over 3 years and $143 million to rebuild, restore and reopen the Hood Canal Bridge.
The storm that day was exceptionally fierce with sustained winds of 80 MPH and gusts up to 120 MPH. These high winds combined with strong tidal currents that morning proved to be to much for the structure to withstand.
No one was hurt that day but the last person to get off the bridge had a very exciting ride. He was a long haul trucker waiting near the draw span gate for the bridge to reopen to traffic when he and other commuters were told to get off by the bridge tender. The cars made it OK but the truck could not turn around on the road span. With his trailer pinned to the side of the guardrail by the wind the driver managed, with great difficulty, to back his rig to the safety of the western high rise as the bridge pontoons were sinking before his eyes! An exciting day to be sure!
As for the bridge cache, it should be a pretty uneventful hunt as long as the blackberry pickers are at work. The path to the prize is clear but could, over time, get a little sticky. The box is a small Tupperware container in a black plastic bag.