Ethics issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ethics issues - Essay Example The development of financing interests for the project began in the 1920s by governments and businesses. The first design for the project was developed by Joseph Strauss and David Steinman who presented a suspended bridge. Due to suspicions that Steinman was not capable of raising sufficient money for the project, the chamber of commerce in Tacoma resorted to terminating its contract in the year 1931. Fresh interests however developed in 1937 with the creation of the Washington State Toll Bridge Authority by Washington State. Using the revenue from the tolls of the bridge, the authority conducted a practicability study. In the end it became clear that the design and construction of the bridge was not possible through the toll revenue finances alone. Another interested body in the building of the bridge was the United States military. The military required a route to directly link the Bremerton’s Puget Sound Naval Shipyard to Army’s McChord Field and Fort Lewis on the si de of Tacoma. The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard was on the Pierce County of the Narrows (Board of Engineers Appointed to Report on the Failure of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, Othmar Hermann Ammann 143). It was also in the interest of the federal agencies to create more job opportunities amidst the Great Depression. This set up the political and economic forces that later on contributed to the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. ... Deep truss girders that were 25 feet supported the roadway to stiffen it. Therefore, the Eldridge design was submitted to the Federal Public Works Administration (PWA) by the Authority. The requested fee was $ 11 million. This prompted Leon Moisseiff, a renowned New York to submit a proposal to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) and PWA for the design of $8 million Bridge. As compared to other initial projects, this implied a huge and significant savings. The costs saved came as a result of the 25-feet deep roadway through the replacement done by Moisseiff. These supported the truss girders with that had a depth of 8-feet. This design was not only slender and elegant but also reduced the bridge’s stiffness (Cronn-mills 11). The bridge’s cost savings and the reputation of Moisseff together slender and beauty of the design led to awarding of the contract to Moisseff and the engineering firm that was associated with him. The engineering firm was called the Moran & Proctor. Apparently, this engineering firm was favored instead of Washington Department of Highways and Eldridge. By the month of June 1938, PWA had permitted $6 million for the project. The remaining cost was paid with proceeds from the toll revenue. By the end of the project, a total of $6.4 million had been spent on it. It took 19 months to complete the project that began in September 1938. Characterized by the major span of 2800 feet, this became the third highest bridge on suspension. In July 1940, the bridge was opened. However, it collapsed in November of the same year (Scott 273). Sequence of Events The Moiseiff design began with the theoretical underpinning that was published in a 1933 paper with the help of Fred Liehard. The Moisseiff