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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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roadman65

Quote from: Flint1979 on December 03, 2020, 01:04:39 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on December 03, 2020, 10:01:31 AM
Quote from: Flint1979 on December 03, 2020, 09:44:16 AM
I think I'd avoid the Verrazzano just because of the price of the toll. It's like $20 to cross it but only in the Staten Island bound direction so going towards Brooklyn you don't have to pay but coming back you get nailed with a $20 toll.

It is back to two way tolling courtesy of semis shunpiking for good reason.  They were using streets of Lower Manhattan to get to NJ creating problems. So they reinstated two way tolling again.
That's good. Hopefully they off set the price of the toll and don't charge $20 in each direction, should be $10 which I still think is too high. Seriously if you live in Staten Island or Brooklyn you should be able to cross the bridge for a lower rate.

Staten Island residents do get a break but Brooklyn residents don't.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe


1995hoo

Quote from: Flint1979 on December 03, 2020, 01:04:39 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on December 03, 2020, 10:01:31 AM
Quote from: Flint1979 on December 03, 2020, 09:44:16 AM
I think I'd avoid the Verrazzano just because of the price of the toll. It's like $20 to cross it but only in the Staten Island bound direction so going towards Brooklyn you don't have to pay but coming back you get nailed with a $20 toll.

It is back to two way tolling courtesy of semis shunpiking for good reason.  They were using streets of Lower Manhattan to get to NJ creating problems. So they reinstated two way tolling again.
That's good. Hopefully they off set the price of the toll and don't charge $20 in each direction, should be $10 which I still think is too high. Seriously if you live in Staten Island or Brooklyn you should be able to cross the bridge for a lower rate.

It was $19.00 westbound. It's now $9.50 each way (makes sense). Staten Island residents are eligible for a discount, which was started because they pay a toll every time they return to the island.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

mrsman

Quote from: 1995hoo on December 19, 2020, 10:08:31 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on December 03, 2020, 01:04:39 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on December 03, 2020, 10:01:31 AM
Quote from: Flint1979 on December 03, 2020, 09:44:16 AM
I think I'd avoid the Verrazzano just because of the price of the toll. It's like $20 to cross it but only in the Staten Island bound direction so going towards Brooklyn you don't have to pay but coming back you get nailed with a $20 toll.

It is back to two way tolling courtesy of semis shunpiking for good reason.  They were using streets of Lower Manhattan to get to NJ creating problems. So they reinstated two way tolling again.
That's good. Hopefully they off set the price of the toll and don't charge $20 in each direction, should be $10 which I still think is too high. Seriously if you live in Staten Island or Brooklyn you should be able to cross the bridge for a lower rate.

It was $19.00 westbound. It's now $9.50 each way (makes sense). Staten Island residents are eligible for a discount, which was started because they pay a toll every time they return to the island.

Right.  When looking at the NYC area tolls, it pays to view them as a system rather than as an individual toll.  To cross from west of Hudson (NJ, Rockland county) to east of Hudson (Staten Island, Manhattan, Westchester) you pay a toll, but you don't pay a toll in the reverse (westbound) direction.  The southern crossings run by the port authority are the most expensive and then the tolls are cheaper further north.  There is at least some toll to be paid to cross the Hudson relatively far north until you reach the Albany area.

The toll crossings that connect the land mass of Long Island (Brooklyn and Queens) to other parts of the city are run by the MTA.  These include bridges to the Bronx, two tunnels to Manhattan, and the Verrazano bridge to Staten Island.  The Triboro bridge connects Queens to either Bronx or Manhattan.  With the change in the tolling on the Verrazano, these are now all $9.50 each way (cash rate, but EZ Pass discounts may apply).  So if you are in Brooklyn/Queens and are heading to New Jersey, regardless of whether you travel via Staten Island, Manhattan, or Bronx you pay $9.50 on your first crossing and then the crossing to New Jersey would be free.  However, NYC runs 4 bridges between Queens/Brooklyn and Manhattan that are currently free in both directions.  So if you instead use a NYC bridge (Queensboro, Williamsburg, Manhattan, Brooklyn), you can go from Brooklyn/Queens to NJ entirely free.

So basically, for travel between NJ and Brooklyn/Queens,  unless you use one of the 4 free bridges, you will be paying the same rate regardless of whether you use a combination of Goethals/Verrazano, Lincoln Tunnel/Midtown Tunnel, or George Washington Bridge (GWB)/Triboro (or other equivalent combinations).

And yes, the administrators of the MTA basically allow for a Staten Island resident discount since you must always pay a toll of some kind to return home.  Brooklyn residents can still use the free bridges to basically reach anywhere.  It may be quicker to use a toll facility, but it isn't strictly necessary.

There are plans to eventually toll the 4 free bridges under a Manhattan congestion pricing scheme for most travelers.  This got delayed due to coronavirus.  Based on my understanding of the proposed plan, you can still cross the bridges for free so long as you don't enter the surface streets of Manhattan below 59th street.  So you can cross the Brooklyn Bridge and reach FDR drive (a parkway) for free as long as you don't exit in lower Manhattan, and you can cross the Queensboro Bridge for free so long as you only drive to the north of 59th when you land in Manhattan.  But the Manhattan Bridge and Williamsburg Bridge empty out onto streets so those crossing would be subject to congestion pricing.

The main purpose of congestion pricing is to raise revenue, but I beleive a secondary purpose would be to allow crossings that avoid the Manhattan CBD to be cheaper.  So driving from Brooklyn to NJ would be cheaper via Staten Island (or Bronx) than via Manhattan surface streets to reach the Holland or Lincoln Tunnels.   Presumably, it would still be free if you use the Brooklyn Bridge to the FDR Drive to the GWB or the Queensboro Bridge and drive north on some Upper East side surface streets to the FDR to the GWB.

Flint1979

I use to know which bridge was the furthest south bridge without a toll. Just thinking off the top of my head it's the bridge where US-9 and 20 both cross the Hudson.

mrsman

Quote from: Flint1979 on December 28, 2020, 01:51:10 PM
I use to know which bridge was the furthest south bridge without a toll. Just thinking off the top of my head it's the bridge where US-9 and 20 both cross the Hudson.

That is correct.  It connects Downtown Albany to Rennselaer and is also known as the Dunn Memorial Bridge.

Flint1979

Quote from: mrsman on December 28, 2020, 02:28:38 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on December 28, 2020, 01:51:10 PM
I use to know which bridge was the furthest south bridge without a toll. Just thinking off the top of my head it's the bridge where US-9 and 20 both cross the Hudson.

That is correct.  It connects Downtown Albany to Rennselaer and is also known as the Dunn Memorial Bridge.
Right. I've crossed that bridge before. I didn't know the name of it.

1995hoo

Quote from: mrsman on December 28, 2020, 01:15:42 PM

.... (cash rate, but EZ Pass discounts may apply) ....

No more cash tolls on the TBTA facilities. They did away with them and it's now E-ZPass or toll-by-plate.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

roadman65

Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

Rothman

Quote from: roadman65 on March 22, 2021, 09:13:27 AM
I have driven the Verrazano Bridge many times, but theses photos sho the structure as dangerous.
https://www.silive.com/news/2021/01/2-staten-island-bridges-named-among-the-scariest-for-truckers.html
Those photos do nothing of the kind.  The bridge is safe.

Driving a truck, especially unloaded, during a hurricane is dangerous.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

dlsterner

Here's one that I found a bit intimidating as a newly licensed driver (more intimidating than scary).

The bridge over the Apalachicola River on FL 20 between Bristol and Blountstown back in the late 1970s.  Back then the original 1938 bridge carried both directions of FL 20, and the combination of narrowness, curvature, length, and height made the 18 year old version of me a bit nervous.  This is one of the better pictures I found of the old span - although the picture is from 1947, it looked about the same in the late 1970's except for improved striping.



Nowadays, a parallel bridge has been built (1998) carrying two lanes eastbound, and the old bridge now carries one (!) lane westbound.

Here is a relatively current GSV of approximately the same vantage point, looking east on the westbound bridge.  Not nearly as intimidating.  It does look a tad wider as well.

http://www.google.com/maps/@30.4399291,-85.0026323,3a,75y,127.61h,74.74t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1snV6rOPoYljLcKK_VTXH8zw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Nowadays it wouldn't get a second look from me.

Rothman

The only bridge I thought I'd cross on a whim, but then decided not to was the Tunnel Road bridge across the Deerfield River near the Hoosac Tunnel's east portal.

Probably should have just crossed it.  Don't really know why I chickened out.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

Flint1979

I drove across the Mackinac Bridge twice yesterday in the rain and fog and didn't feel intimidated one bit.

Max Rockatansky


D-Dey65

#463
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on May 20, 2021, 05:07:40 PM
This probably was a top ten for me:

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=29001.0
Yikes! My '02 Camry weighs a lot less than 5 tons, and I wouldn't touch that thing. Somebody get CalDOT to build a replacement and reserve the old bridge for pedestrians!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/151828809@N08/51105560442/



Max Rockatansky

Quote from: D-Dey65 on June 22, 2021, 10:46:53 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on May 20, 2021, 05:07:40 PM
This probably was a top ten for me:

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=29001.0
Yikes! My '02 Camry weighs a lot less than 5 tons, and I wouldn't touch that thing. Somebody get CDOT to build a replacement and reserve the old bridge for pedestrians!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/151828809@N08/51105560442/

El Dorado County is slated to build a replacement and preserve the existing bridge.  The most daunting part wasn't the bridge of the weight limit, it was the approach inclines on both sides.  The southbound decline in particular is very steep and only sporadically wide enough for two vehicles.  I had a blast driving over the structure a couple times, definitely was the worth the effort to get something unique/intimidating in. 

kphoger

I recently drove across the Sam Houston Ship Channel Bridge.  I'm not generally bothered by high bridges, but that one was REALLY high!
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

D-Dey65

I used to not be afraid of the Chesapeake Bay Bridges (US 50-301), and part of the reason I took it was to spite all the people who were afraid of them. The other part was that there were sometimes places I wanted to go along US 301 in Delaware or that part of Maryland.

After seeing this video, I might become one of the people afraid of that bridge now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_5yV-DPOBc

Amaury

Haven't driven over any scary bridges. At least not yet.

Now, and I realize this is somewhat off-topic, but two of the most beautiful bridges, in my opinion, that I've driven over are the Astoria-Megler Bridge and the Deception Pass Bridge.
Quote from: Rean SchwarzerWe stand before a great darkness, but remember, darkness can't exist where light is. Let's be that light!

Wikipedia Profile: Amaury

hotdogPi

While I don't drive, as a pedestrian, the Duck Bridge in Lawrence had a whole bunch of loose planks (when stepped on) to the point where I felt like I was going to fall. Most of those planks have been replaced with new ones that are a different color from the existing ones (so you can tell which ones they are), but it's not quite fixed entirely.
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

davewiecking

Quote from: D-Dey65 on April 06, 2023, 12:34:13 AM
I used to not be afraid of the Chesapeake Bay Bridges (US 50-301), and part of the reason I took it was to spite all the people who were afraid of them. The other part was that there were sometimes places I wanted to go along US 301 in Delaware or that part of Maryland.

After seeing this video, I might become one of the people afraid of that bridge now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_5yV-DPOBc

I kept waiting for something to happen. A semi in the middle lane that didn't belong there, but it was keeping in its lane. I've encountered similar drivers who can't read, but it looked like any of literally hundreds of crossings I've done.

Terry Shea

Quote from: D-Dey65 on April 06, 2023, 12:34:13 AM
I used to not be afraid of the Chesapeake Bay Bridges (US 50-301), and part of the reason I took it was to spite all the people who were afraid of them. The other part was that there were sometimes places I wanted to go along US 301 in Delaware or that part of Maryland.

After seeing this video, I might become one of the people afraid of that bridge now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_5yV-DPOBc
Why is there 2-way traffic when both spans are being used?

dlsterner

Quote from: Terry Shea on April 10, 2023, 10:38:56 PM
Quote from: D-Dey65 on April 06, 2023, 12:34:13 AM
I used to not be afraid of the Chesapeake Bay Bridges (US 50-301), and part of the reason I took it was to spite all the people who were afraid of them. The other part was that there were sometimes places I wanted to go along US 301 in Delaware or that part of Maryland.

After seeing this video, I might become one of the people afraid of that bridge now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_5yV-DPOBc
Why is there 2-way traffic when both spans are being used?
Traffic balancing.  The other (older) eastbound span is only two lanes.  Especially on summer weekends, there is a lot of vacation traffic heading east over the bridge towards the beaches of Maryland and Delaware - much more so than the amount of traffic heading west.  By using the "swing" lane on the newer bridge as a third eastbound lane, more traffic can be pushed though.

MCRoads

Quote from: Terry Shea on April 10, 2023, 10:38:56 PM
Quote from: D-Dey65 on April 06, 2023, 12:34:13 AM
I used to not be afraid of the Chesapeake Bay Bridges (US 50-301), and part of the reason I took it was to spite all the people who were afraid of them. The other part was that there were sometimes places I wanted to go along US 301 in Delaware or that part of Maryland.

After seeing this video, I might become one of the people afraid of that bridge now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_5yV-DPOBc
Why is there 2-way traffic when both spans are being used?

Beach traffic.
I build roads on Minecraft. Like, really good roads.
Interstates traveled:
4/5/10*/11**/12**/15/25*/29*/35(E/W[TX])/40*/44**/49(LA**)/55*/64**/65/66*/70°/71*76(PA*,CO*)/78*°/80*/95°/99(PA**,NY**)

*/** indicates a terminus/termini being traveled
° Indicates a gap (I.E Breezwood, PA.)

more room plz

Urban Prairie Schooner

Crossing the I-10 Mississippi River bridge in free flow traffic is not particularly scary. However, the frequent traffic queues on that bridge (particularly EB) means that it is fairly common to sit in stopped traffic suspended high above the river. At that point you cannot fail to notice that the roadbed noticeably shakes with the heavy truck traffic. I understand that this is part of the design to some extent, but it is quite unnerving.

Rothman

I can't think of getting scared of any bridge I have driven across.

But, this bridge is one I chickened out on driving across -- old truss with wooden deck that leads to nowhere...

https://maps.app.goo.gl/qVYeceLQuu6R1Q5p6
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.



Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.