Tacoma Narrows Bridge noisier than expected

The new Tacoma Narrows Bridge is making an unexpectedly loud noise when car tires travel over the steel expansion joint at each end.

One neighbor said the impact makes a squeaking sound, while another compared it to traffic crossing a cattle grate. The state Department of Transportation has received a half-dozen complaints since the bridge opened early Monday, spokeswoman Claudia Cornish said.

The DOT will conduct a noise study, and contact the firm that made the joints, she said. The problem could be difficult to solve, she said, because noise walls and sound-absorbing materials typically don't shield houses that sit above a highway, as is the case here