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[Tom]

This didn't happen to me personally, but I read that a woman from the Dominion of Canada was pulled over for going 100 m.p.h. on the Mackinac Bridge (maximum speed 45 m.p.h. on a calm day).  She said it scared her to drive on it and wanted to get across it as quickly as possible

[jemacedo9]

The Merritt Pwky bridge over I believe the Houstatonic River, tons of traffic at 60 MPH, narrow lanes with a steel grid deck, eastbound on an upgrade, and it's pretty high up...in a rain storm it's a white-knuckle experience.  Haven't been that way in several years...

[Alps]

The Merritt Pwky bridge over I believe the Housatonic River, tons of traffic at 60 MPH, narrow lanes with a steel grid deck, eastbound on an upgrade, and it's pretty high up...in a rain storm it's a white-knuckle experience.  Haven't been that way in several years...

The bridge you refer to has been replaced with a wide 6-laner.

[jemacedo9]

i thought i remembered that - i hated that bridge!

[SteveG1988]

I would like to add the following spans,

Calhoun Street Bridge, Trenton NJ

3 Ton Weight Limit, 15 MPH speed limit
Opened Oct 24 1884, 126 years old in a few days.


Recently re-opened after a 6 month closure to replace the steel grid deck.

And the awesome, but scary for drivers who are not used to driving a stick shift car,

The Burlington Bristol Bridge, Burlington NJ.
Opened 1931, 12 foot wide lanes, two lanes total. Steep approach on the NJ side.
http://d.facdn.net/art/dragonsteve/1250817947.dragonsteve_p3030084.jpg
(photo by me)

Added width tag, converted hotlink protected image to a URL

[Bryant5493]

It wasn't necessarily scary to me, but my grandmother's afraid of heights -- so she didn't like driving over the new I-10 Twin Spans. This was last year sometime when eastbound traffic was utilizing the westbound bridge. That migtht still be the case right now. I'm not sure. Haven't been to NOLA in a minute.


Be well,

Bryant

[beau99]

Honestly, the crossing over the Hoover Dam.

Yes, the area is very nice to look at overall, but the approach from either side is a nightmare and NOT because of traffic.

For a more conventional bridge, the Ironton-Russell Bridge connecting Russell, KY and Ironton, OH. It's ancient, hard to maintain, the steel is VERY brittle, and they can't replace it because of the economy. I was always afraid of a bridge collapse going over it years ago when I was just a kid. I can't imagine what I'd feel like if I had to go over it these days.

[jdbx]

Easy:  Golden Gate Bridge.

There have been so many head-on collisions over the years, any time I cross I deliberately avoid the center left lane.  It is disconcerting to be driving across those narrow lanes in a dense 50 mph traffic flow knowing that all it takes is somebody fumbling with a cell phone or having a blowout, and you're toast.

I'll also add that riding a bike across the Golden Gate bridge can be pretty harrowing too.  The winds come howling in off the Pacific, and if you're riding on the bikeway adjacent to the southbound lanes, it's very easy to feel like a gust is about to blow you over the short railing and onto the lanes of traffic.  Add to that the mix of slow-moving tourists and Lance Armstrong-types on time trials, and it's a white knuckle (though beautiful) ride all the way across.

[Bryant5493]

^^

Aren't there just reversible stick bollards acting as the divider on that bridge?


Be well,

Bryant

[jdbx]

Yes, short plastic bollards placed at a regular interval are the only "divider" for the entire length of the bridge.  Here is a good example:



There is a project to install a movable barrier similar to the one on San Diego's Coronado Bridge, but it is still in the design stages and won't be in place for at least another year or two.

[SteveG1988]

The Betsy Ross,Walt Whitman, commodore barry, and Ben Franklin bridges used to use regular traffic cones to divide traffic until the year 2000 when a movable concrete barrier was installed. I think the golden gate should keep its bollards, yes it is not the safest idea but the bridge would look wrong with a massive concrete barrier down the middle, would ruin its look.

[triplemultiplex]

Got to personally experience the Mackinac Bridge this past weekend.  Very impressive.
I know some people are intimidated by the grated roadway in the left lane of the suspension span, but I found the diminutive guard rail on the approach spans to be more unnerving.  Didn't give me any problem though, despite the lake effect snow that kicked in on the Mackinaw side.
Gorgeous views from their this time of year with the ice floes starting to pile up.  Contrasts nicely with the deep blue of the lakes and the dark green of the pine-heavy forests on the shore.
The sign at the apex of the bridge, "No stopping or parking" was darkly humorous given the bridge's popularity with jumpers.  The sign implies that the traffic obstruction created by a newly abandoned vehicle is the main problem.

[bulldog1979]

The sign at the apex of the bridge, "No stopping or parking" was darkly humorous given the bridge's popularity with jumpers.  The sign implies that the traffic obstruction created by a newly abandoned vehicle is the main problem.

I wouldn't say that the bridge is popular with jumpers. A quick Google search shows maybe one suicide off the bridge every few years at most.

[MDOTFanFB]

The Harrison Street bridge over the south branch of the Ecorse River between Lincoln Park, MI and Wyandotte, MI. But it has been closed since last year.

[hobsini2]

3 years ago, while visiting my Uncle in Groton, CT, we took a day trip to Newport RI and on the way back we went thru Providence.  The Jamestown and Clairbourne Pell Bridges (RI 138) were not too bad just high.  However, the Mt Hope Bridge (RI 114) was a scary-ass bridge. Narrow 2 lane bridge that had steel grates instead of pavement and it had to be at least 200 feet over the water of Naragansett Bay. 

[Duke87]

the Mt Hope Bridge (RI 114) was a scary-ass bridge. Narrow 2 lane bridge that had steel grates instead of pavement and it had to be at least 200 feet over the water of Naragansett Bay. 

Steel grates?

Last summer when I went over that bridge it was definitely paved.

[hobsini2]

the Mt Hope Bridge (RI 114) was a scary-ass bridge. Narrow 2 lane bridge that had steel grates instead of pavement and it had to be at least 200 feet over the water of Naragansett Bay. 

Steel grates?

Last summer when I went over that bridge it was definitely paved.

That's what i remember the bridge having.  I could be wrong though. i didn't take any pics since i was driving.

[Stephane Dumas]

I remember a old trestle bridge at East-Angus on PQ-214 who have now been replaced by a more modern bridge 20 years ago. That bridge was a narrow one-lane and we wished then no one arrive in the opposite direction.

And the older Quebec bridge when I check the state of the steel....
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=46.744522,-71.287279&spn=0.004544,0.027466&z=16&layer=c&cbll=46.744545,-71.28728&panoid=i3AsCD7d77Ro1f1tMCwa4g&cbp=11,325.91,,0,-1.33

[Dr Frankenstein]

I think it's worth mentioning that the Québec bridge collapsed into the river as it was being built.

Twice.

But quite honestly, the Honoré-Mercier bridge (QC-138) into Montreal scares me more in its current state. But thankfully it's being rehabilitated.

[kharvey10]

as a kid there was this bridge
http://www.riverbender.com/tv/index.cfm?id=1033

any incident on the bridge was big problems

[berberry]

I can't remember ever crossing a really scary bridge, 'cept maybe my first time across the old Byram swinging bridge near Jackson, but I well remember specific crossings that were very scary.  By that I mean that conditions at the time made the bridge more than usually harrowing.

One would be the Huey P Long in New Orleans, during a very thick fog in 1991.  It had been raining very hard for a while, and heavy rain all by itself is scarier in New Orleans than in most other places, and as I reached the bridge, at a point where it was too late to turn around, I saw a heavy fog bank ahead.  This was on a Friday at about 5:30pm, so traffic was horrendous.  I could barely see the cars around me, and I was scared. to. death.

Another would be once across the old Vicksburg bridge, in about 1985.  Weather conditions were perfect, but the guy coming at me - who I could see from quite a distance - was obviously drunk and weaving all over the roadway.  I almost turned to liquid before that guy passed by.

[Stephane Dumas]

I think it's worth mentioning that the Québec bridge collapsed into the river as it was being built.

Twice.

But quite honestly, the Honoré-Mercier bridge (QC-138) into Montreal scares me more in its current state. But thankfully it's being rehabilitated.

I agree, I spotted some videos showing the bridge before its rehabiltation

[Dr Frankenstein]

I think the westbound patchwork is still there. (1^st and 3^rd vids)

Eastbound, there are two grooves in the asphalt where most vehicles' wheels would end up. At one point, a hole appeared.
http://pontmercierbridge.ca/eng/2010/07/emergency-work-starting-at-7-pm-tonight-friday-july-23-one-lane-close-in-each-direction/
http://pontmercierbridge.ca/eng/2010/07/follow-up-on-the-partial-collapse-of-the-concrete-deck-panel/

They also banned trucks on the westbound side recently.
http://monteregieweb.com/main+fr+01_300+Trucks_banned_from_southbound_Mercier_Bridge.html?ArticleID=679361&JournalID=24
http://monteregieweb.com/main+fr+01_300+Trucks_try_to_inch_forward_despite_ban.html?ArticleID=687350&JournalID=24

[sandiaman]

  The  scariest bridge  for  me  was some un-named  one lane bridge  across  the Snake  River  close  to Twin Falls, Idaho.  The  "roadway"  on the bridge  was  made of  roofing material  covering planks  which  creaked as you drove over it.   
Which  reminds me of another  scary bridge , The  Roylal Gorge  in Canon  City ,  Colorado,  1100  feet above the  Arkansas  River.  It is a privately  owned  toll bridge, which  you can either drive or walk  or crawl across.  The  planking on the bridge  is old  railroad  ties  with about a two inch gap  between each tie,  and of course it   makes  a racket  when somebody drives across  it.  It is only wide enough  for one  car  to cross at a  time.

[roadman65]

The Aurthur Ravenel Bridge in Charleston, SC can be scary under high wind conditions!  Ditto for the I-526 bridge upstream.  I had to fight the steering wheel on the mini van I drove across both of these.