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Scariest bridge you've ever driven across

Started by bugo, June 15, 2010, 04:45:59 PM

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nexus73

The Huey Long Bridge in New Orleans gets my vote as the scariest bridge I ever drove across.  Once was enough for me!

Rick
US 101 is THE backbone of the Pacific coast from Bandon OR to Willits CA.  Industry, tourism and local traffic would be gone or severely crippled without it being in functioning condition in BOTH states.


hobsini2

Quote from: kharvey10 on March 05, 2011, 02:49:22 AM
as a kid there was this bridge
http://www.riverbender.com/tv/index.cfm?id=1033

any incident on the bridge was big problems

That is quite scary.  Must be murder at night Kim. The construction when you got over the bridge the first time, was that for a new and better crossing?
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1995hoo

The old Waldo-Hancock Bridge over the Penobscot River in Maine. It just felt old and rickety and very narrow. The Goethals and Outerbridge are more nerve-wracking due to the narrow lanes and heavy traffic, but the one in Maine felt very isolated and less likely to get regular maintenance.

My brother says the scariest bridge he drove across was the George Washington Bridge on his way home from our grandmother's funeral in 1995. Why that one? He was on the lower level in his 1974 Beetle in slow traffic and he saw a pothole near his car through which he says he could see the Hudson far below.
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roadman65

#78
The Aurthur Ravenel Bridge in Charleston, SC when its windy!  Also, the nearby I- 526 bridge has "taken control" of my vehicle when its gusty.

The Huey P. Long Bridge in Louisiana is also very scary.  I was stuck in traffic on it this past Monday, and felt the whole entire bridge shake!  There was not even a train on it, so I imagine when a train crosses it the whole structure really will give you a good mixin!  The empty trailer being towed by a pick up in front of me was moving to it and there were no trucks going the opposite way!  Locals here tell me this is normal!
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

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roadman65

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTClulXrws4

check out this here video of my crossing the Huey P. Long Bridge Westbound.  Sorry I did not get the whole crossing of it as there was a major traffic jam happening at the approach from the Eastbank.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

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Ian

Another one I had the pleasure of crossing: the Wheeling Suspension Bridge.
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DeaconG

Chesapeake Bay Bridge.  Drove it once back in the early 80's, on my way back to NC.  Everything was copasetic until I realized..."Is that a GRATING for the bridge deck? OH MY GOOOOOOD!"

No, sir.  Not even for free.
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corco

Heh, I've always felt more comfortable on grates than anything else on bridges. Those things are solid.

agentsteel53

Quote from: corco on July 11, 2011, 06:04:29 PM
Heh, I've always felt more comfortable on grates than anything else on bridges. Those things are solid.

really?  I've noticed that their traction is sometimes less than ideal. 
live from sunny San Diego.

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Jim

When I first started driving, the NY 103 bridge over the Mohawk River between Rotterdam Jct. and Glenville was a steel grated deck.  It's also a Barge Canal lock, so I assume that's why it was like that.  I distinctly remember my car feeling like it was being tossed all over the place as soon as I got onto the bridge, especially during snow tire season.  I wouldn't say it was scary, especially once I came to expect it. I don't think the car was moving side to side that much but it sure felt like it.  The bridge has long since gotten a more traditional surface, plus it's now a much less important route since the NY 890/Exit 26 bridge was constructed.


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english si

I've been on the back of a motorbike over a couple of bridges in the Indonesian jungle where you have two ropes 3ft apart, and then some planks resting on them, with fairly big gaps in between. The planks weren't fixed and it was a 10ft drop into the river below.

vdeane

Only 10 ft?  I thought it was mandatory for those things to be 100 ft up!  Perhaps I've seen too much Indiana Jones.

Grates don't strike me as too abnormal because there are a few in upstate NY (including a couple right near home, though the one I used to go on all the time was replaced over a decade ago with a "real" bridge deck), including the Thousand Islands Bridge.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

texaskdog

Anyone driven over royal gorge in Colorado?  I walked it but a few people did drive it.  Worst I've ever seen are the ones in India the Ice Road Truckers went over

english si

Quote from: deanej on July 12, 2011, 12:04:43 PM
Only 10 ft?  I thought it was mandatory for those things to be 100 ft up!  Perhaps I've seen too much Indiana Jones.
They have fixed planks and handrails those ones.

Also Indy and co tend to be walking, not on a motorbike.

Chicagosuburban

The Chicago Skyway bridge (mainly because of its sheer height)
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rgauthie

I have three scary bridges.

The first is probably only scary to me.  I had recurring dreams for a while of the end of the world coming and these two twin gateways of doom featured.  I eventually came face to face with them, the Delaware Memorial Bridge.  I must have seen them on a trip down 95 as a kid and called them back up.  And lit up at night, they look like Cirith Ungol in the LotR movies.

Second is only due to my personal experience with the bridge.  Millard E. Tydings Memorial bridge over the Susquehanna on I-95.  Crossed it during the edge of a tropical storm with lightning striking the bridge, wind gusts and no visibility.

My real vote is the outer roadway lower level eastbound on the Queensboro Bridge, though.  I didn't even know it existed until I got lost trying to find the entrance to the normal lower level.  (My wife gets skittish on bridges, so I go lower level middle lane.)  I got onto the bridge and its a single lane, a former trolley path and very narrow, swerves near the bride abutments, and was the single worst experience I've had in a car.  It's the mirror of the pedestrian path and is NOT for the faint of heart.

Sykotyk

Quote from: texaskdog on July 12, 2011, 01:14:51 PM
Anyone driven over royal gorge in Colorado?  I walked it but a few people did drive it.  Worst I've ever seen are the ones in India the Ice Road Truckers went over

Yep, quite fun. You can feel a little bit of 'give' while you drive on the wood slabs.

Mdcastle

The Fort Madison toll bridge. I had the misfortune to be stuck on an approach when the middle was open for ships.

kkt

The old I-90 bridge across Lake Washington.  It had a reversible lane in the center, so inattentive drivers could easily cross over and get into head-on collisions at 60 mph.  And no shoulders.

The Evergreen Point floating bridge (SR-520) across the same lake is just above water level.  Whenever there's a storm, waves come crashing over the sides of the bridge and across the bridge deck.  If it's bad, they close the bridge, but if the storm comes up suddenly things can get interesting.  Also no shoulders and it used to feature a tight curve around a drawspan, which was sometimes a problem for drivers who didn't believe a freeway bridge could really have a 45 mph (or whatever it was) curve in the middle.


Brandon

Quote from: Mdcastle on July 23, 2011, 06:03:53 PM
The Fort Madison toll bridge. I had the misfortune to be stuck on an approach when the middle was open for ships.

This one?




I thought it was a blast to drive.
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Lightning Strike

Agree with the bridge over the Susquehanna River in MD on I-95, what makes it a little more un-nerving is the big sign before you get on that says "Caution Area of Crossover Winds"

Alps

Quote from: Lightning Strike on August 16, 2011, 09:13:05 PM
Agree with the bridge over the Susquehanna River in MD on I-95, what makes it a little more un-nerving is the big sign before you get on that says "Caution Area of Crossover Winds"
Oh, I'll third that. One of the only bridges I'm uncomfortable crossing in the outermost or innermost lanes due to the propensity for sudden gusts.

SteveG1988

Supposedly, people are afraid of the delaware memorial twin span bridge....only reason i see is due to the approaches being steep looking.






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Brandon

Not so much uncomfortable driving on bridges as stopping on bridges.  This may have to do with the fact I grew up in/live in a city where 6 out of 7 bridges across the major river in town tend to move when barges and boats approach.  Hence I don't like stopping on a bridge a bridge over water, any bridge over water, period.
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D-Dey65

Quote from: Steve on August 16, 2011, 11:52:42 PM
Quote from: Lightning Strike on August 16, 2011, 09:13:05 PM
Agree with the bridge over the Susquehanna River in MD on I-95, what makes it a little more un-nerving is the big sign before you get on that says "Caution Area of Crossover Winds"
Oh, I'll third that. One of the only bridges I'm uncomfortable crossing in the outermost or innermost lanes due to the propensity for sudden gusts.
Even without the wind gusts, it's scary. The thing looks like a mere overpass. Picture a bus driver on that bridge falling asleep at the wheel or having a heart attack. Now imagine him cutting off another driver before they all take a final dive in the Susquehanna. To make matters worse, it's a measely six lanes wide, while the rest of I-95 is eight!




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