I used the old bridge and new, plus the fishing pier remains of the old bridge. The north side gets all the fishermen, but the south side has yielded far more fish for me.
OT: Scary bridge crossings.
- Thread starter LionJim
- Start date
When we drove from Clearwater to Venice last spring, my son made us drive a solid 25 minutes further to avoid crossing that fella.
Hard to believe I have been over most of the mentioned bridges, including the Dingmans years ago, the one in LA 2 summers ago in our RV and Mackinac to the UP in our RV this past summer. I’ll add another that is no longer - the old 7 Mile bridge in the keys when it was a single, narrow 2 lane structure. Crossed it a few times in the early and mid 1970s, but apparently it has been replaced.
To me, this Is about the least scary of all the ones mentioned here, but maybe that’s because I drive it fairly often.
I have driven that.
The Causeway bridge connecting New Orleans to the northshore over Lake Pontchartrain is 24 miles long. I drive that regularly.
I drive over the WCB 2-3 times a week. My wife hates it and always stays too close to the guardrails and forgets to pull her mirrors in. BTW never had a bridge phobia until early 1980's. Driving an empty company van to a conference in Newport RI. I crossed the Jamestown Island bridge in windy conditions and all I remember is white knuckles and white caps. They have since replaced the bridge but it was so narrow.scary in an unusual way is the Washington Crossing bridge. It spans PA - NJ, over the Delaware River, from Washington Crossing, PA to Washington Crossing, NJ.
The bridge was built in 1905, and its road deck is only 15 feet wide, meaning that lanes in each direction are only 7.5 feet wide. In addition, while the access road on the PA side is straight onto the bridge, on the NJ side it's nearly a 90° turn from the access road to the bridge. The 90° isn't too bad when going from PA into NJ, but when going from NJ to PA, you pretty much can't turn onto the bridge unless there is a break in the cars coming from PA.
Due to the narrowest of the road decks, even on bright sunny days, it's pretty rare to go the entire length of the bridge (@ 877 feet) without encountering a car coming in the opposite direction that stops due to concerns that they're going to side-swipe a car driving in the opposite direction. As such, backups frequently occur on the bridge due to cars stopping as the driver loses their nerve.
I believe the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, which owns the bridge, issued Request for Proposals earlier this year for a consulting team, to start the environment review process, for the purpose of eventually designing and constructing a replacement bridge.
Unfortunately my phobia has remained and I drive many miles out of the way to avoid Very High bridges. I thought I was going to have a heart attack crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in bad weather. BTW had a friend drive over the Sunshine bridge in Tampa in October. I made up an excuse to let him drive. I also told him on the way over a Japanese ship captain hit this bridge twice in fog. It is a beautiful view from DeSoto State Park.
I remember when my buddy came down to visit once, turns out he loves bridges and made me drive it an extra 2x. It can be quite a rush when you go over the peak and start going down.
Not a scary bridge but a fun one to drive on the way to Virginia Beach or the Outer Banks Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel
Familiarity certainly changes things. I had quite a few people who got nervous riding with me up the road along the side of Mt. Washington and under the inclines on the way up to my apartment in Pittsburgh. I was completely desensitized to it.
I've driven over it in a car and through it on a destroyerNot a scary bridge but a fun one to drive on the way to Virginia Beach or the Outer Banks Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel
Yep, but they are replacing the 2 lane bridge at Washington’s Crossing.it's still there, and is called the Burlington-Bristol bridge.
Not so scary for me necessarily, but my mother would always bow her head and cover her eyes every time my father drove us over this, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Coincidently enough, my father actually worked on its construction (is that what you say for a bridge? I was going to say erection but though that might be cause for inappropriate responses, and I wouldn’t want that).
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That is great field for nerds! Dumb engineers? No bueno.This is a good read for engineering nerds.
Tacoma Narrows Bridge (1940) - Wikipedia
en.m.wikipedia.org
This happened on the I65 bridge in Louisville yesterday (where I am right now, awaiting my daughter’s track meet to begin). Pretty scary for the driver, I’m sure.
That baby looks WAY higher when you’re on it than it does in this picture! I looked it up… the measurement is in between those extremes … 228 feet.
Your dad’s erection is at 59 years and counting.
The bridge from San Diego to Coronado always freaks me out. They have the suicide hotline posted all along the bridge.
Great view coming back into SD though.
Great view coming back into SD though.
Oh, I just remembered. One time my wife and I took our kids, about 11 and 10 at the time, on a bike ride across the Golden Gate Bridge. I mentioned this to my younger daughter not too long ago and got back the coldest stare I’ve ever received from her, or from anyone else for that matter.
Long time ago, my family would go to visit my uncle at the VA hospital in Pittsburgh. Our route took us across the old 62nd Street Bridge over the Allegheny River.
The bridge had timber planks as the driving surface and they would bounce as the vehicles drove over them.
We named the structure "The Piano Bridge" because the planks looked like piano keys.
I never liked that trip.
The bridge had timber planks as the driving surface and they would bounce as the vehicles drove over them.
We named the structure "The Piano Bridge" because the planks looked like piano keys.
I never liked that trip.
Little children in London sing, "Pittsburgh bridges falling down, falling down, falling down. Pittsburgh bridges falling down my fair lady."
You would be a little concerned if you knew how close the large Navy ships get to the top of the tunnel.Not a scary bridge but a fun one to drive on the way to Virginia Beach or the Outer Banks Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel
My recollection from my one time steaming through Thimble Shoals channel on the Enterprise as a shipyard worker was only 10-12 feet.
I hate all bridges, it's something thats happened as I've gotten older. Oddly enough the Bay Bridge doesn't bother me but then I don't go over it in bad weather. I absolutely hate the Key Bridge and will avoid it all costs. There is another, I think outside of Chesapeake City that I don't like. Golden Gate Bridge didn't bother me. The Rio Grande Bridge in NM scared the crap out of me but I walked across it. I even went into the little bump out to get a pic of the Gorge. It didn't last long though because a tractor trailer went over it and the entire thing shook. I was out of there post haste. LOL. But I got the pic.
You mean this bridge?
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You mean this bridge?
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Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.
For those of you feeling a bit timid doing a bridge crossing by vehicle, you are IN LUCK. The New River Gorge Bridge offers a bridge walk across the 3,000 ft. long structure, after completing the bridge walk, your fear of engineering failures should diminish.
BUT... Hey guys, we all goof up sometimes, but when it comes to engineering, you’ve gotta be on your A-game to best dodge those errors & mistakes.
"Sometimes, people get a little too cocky. Picture baking the same cake a thousand times. By the 1001st attempt, you’d probably skip measuring every ingredient, right? Well, some engineers fall into that trap too. They might think they’ve got a natural knack for their work, but others might see it as just plain lazy. Either way, it’s a risky move that goes against engineering ethics."
In the early 70's, As young engineer in the Bridge Division of Michael Baker Jr., I was fortunate enough to be included in a team of about 8 other engineers and half dozen draftsmen completing the design documents for the New River Gorge Bridge located in the beautiful mountains of West Virginia.
BUT... Hey guys, we all goof up sometimes, but when it comes to engineering, you’ve gotta be on your A-game to best dodge those errors & mistakes.
"Sometimes, people get a little too cocky. Picture baking the same cake a thousand times. By the 1001st attempt, you’d probably skip measuring every ingredient, right? Well, some engineers fall into that trap too. They might think they’ve got a natural knack for their work, but others might see it as just plain lazy. Either way, it’s a risky move that goes against engineering ethics."
In the early 70's, As young engineer in the Bridge Division of Michael Baker Jr., I was fortunate enough to be included in a team of about 8 other engineers and half dozen draftsmen completing the design documents for the New River Gorge Bridge located in the beautiful mountains of West Virginia.
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I’ve mentioned that my grandfather was a civil engineer in DC and until today I thought his biggest project was the Islamic Mosque on Massachusetts Avenue at the Rock Creek Parkway. Today I found out (via my genealogy-obsessed first cousin) that he was chief engineer during the construction of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
Also found out today that he first met my grandmother at the 1927 Army-Navy game, at the Polo Grounds. Cool. I had known that he played on the last Catholic University football team to beat Maryland, 1915. I like sharing that last little tidbit.
Also found out today that he first met my grandmother at the 1927 Army-Navy game, at the Polo Grounds. Cool. I had known that he played on the last Catholic University football team to beat Maryland, 1915. I like sharing that last little tidbit.
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