Cities with bridges and/or tunnels

[craigs]

Where is Pittsburgh in this thread? I've never been anywhere that had more bridges than metropolitan Pittsburgh.

photoLith?

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by craigs

Where is Pittsburgh in this thread? I've never been anywhere that had more bridges than metropolitan Pittsburgh.

photoLith?

There's just too damn many -- it's a lot of work! ... we had a bit of discussion regarding Pittsburgh's bridges above... I'll try to get myself motivated to put something decent together.

edale's Cincy display shows very familiar bridge styles to Pittsburgh; and that Roebling bridge is a gorgeous work of engineering. Unfortunately, none of Roebling's Pittsburgh bridges remain, which is too bad, especially since it's his American hometown.

Anyway, here's one I like that spans the Allegheny, connecting the Strip District to Deutschtown on the North Side. Replaced an 1838 covered wooden bridge called the Northern Liberties/Mechanics Street Bridge.

16th Street Bridge (1922)
1,900'

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by pj3000

There's just too damn many -- it's a lot of work! ... we had a bit of discussion regarding Pittsburgh's bridges above... I'll try to get myself motivated to put something decent together.

The old suspension bridge in Wheeling, WV is totally punk rock:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheeling_Suspension_Bridge

It's the only example of one of the super-old suspension bridges still standing in something resembling its original form.

The suspension bridge in Cincinnati used to look primitive like the one in Wheeling but was substantially rebuilt in the 1890s. They added a second set of main cables and completely rebuilt the bridge deck into its present form. The thing that's really interesting about the Cincinnati bridge is that the original cables were manufactured in England but the new ones were manufactured in the United States. There's no way to know that without somebody telling you (they look the same today under layers of paint) but it's really indicative of how the United States catapulted from the periphery of the industrial revolution to the center of it.

One-by-one, the Ohio River has been losing its old bridges, but it's really the tributaries where they are disappearing. We had some small but full-of-attitude bridges in my area as a kid that have been replaced by generic highway deck girder bridges.

[Emprise du Lion]

There are nine bridges crossing the Mississippi River connecting the City of St. Louis to Illinois.

Chain of Rocks Bridge (1929)
Length: 5,353 ft
Longest span: 700 ft
Traffic: Pedestrian and cyclist traffic only
Maintained by: Great Rivers Greenway District
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/ChainOfRocksBridge_StLouisMO.jpg

Eads Bridge (1874)
Length: 6,442 ft
Longest span: 520 ft
Traffic: Vehicle, pedestrian, cyclist, and MetroLink light rail
Maintained by: City of St. Louis
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Eads_Bridge_2025a.jpg

MacArthur Bridge (1917)
Length: 18,261 ft
Longest span: 677 ft
Traffic: Freight and passenger rail
Maintained by: Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/MacArthur_Bridge_2025c.jpg

Martin Luther King Bridge (1951)
Length: 4,009 ft
Longest span: 962 ft
Traffic: Vehicle
Maintained by: Illinois Department of Transportation
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Martin_Luther_King_Bridge_St._Louis_2025.jpg

McKinley Bridge (1910)
Length: 6,313 ft
Longest span: 519 ft
Traffic: Vehicle, pedestrian, and cyclist
Maintained by: Illinois Department of Transportation
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/McKinley_Bridge_%28cropped%29.jpg

Merchants Bridge (1889)
Length: 2,490 ft
Lognest span: 520 ft
Traffic: Freight and passenger rail
Maintained by: Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Merchants_Bridge_2025.jpg

New Chain of Rocks Bridge (1966)
Length: 5,411.4 ft
Longest span: ???
Traffic: Vehicle
Maintained by: Illinois Department of Transportation
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/New_Chain_of_Rocks_Bridge.jpg

Poplar Street Bridge (1967)
Length: 2,164 ft
Longest span: 600 ft
Traffic: Vehicle
Maintained by: Missouri Department of Transportation
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Poplar_Street_Bridge_2025a.jpg

Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge (2014)
Length: 2,803 ft
Longest span: 1,500 ft
Traffic: Vehicle
Maintained by: Missouri Department of Transportation
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c...erans_Memorial_Bridge_From_Big_Mound.jpg

Edit: So a lot of the images ended up being huge. I went ahead and took them down but left the links to Wikipedia.

[muppet]

London has 35 bridges crossing the Thames and Lea rivers, 9 dock bridges, and an anomaly.

AI says there are 45 tunnels under the Thames, about half publicly accessible.

That anomaly is the 1700ft Thames Barrier, which has been used 220x to stop flooding (most recently last year):






Royal Victoria dock bridge is my favorite, for the quietude and views. Plus the fact it's so massive yet pedestrian:





Hungerford Bridges are technically three (two footbridges built either side of a Victorian train one), but we'll count them as one:





The most famous and grandest is of course Tower Bridge, which in person is huge -the towers reach a height of 363ft above the water, and it's 800ft across:




In 1952 this genuinely happened:





The most boring is London Bridge itself, which is a motorway bridge deluxe. Many tourists end up here either thinking its Tower Bridge or expecting something grander befitting the nursery rhyme. Still worth a visit for the views of Tower Bridge, that many people then realise they're not on. The neighbourhoods and market at either end are great too:






It's a far cry from Old London Bridge which was one of the wonders of the medieval world. The narrow arches made the slow moving river a torrent there:




There is still a covered bridge though -Blackfriars station is built on top of one, with great views of the financial district while you wait:





My local is little known, but quite pretty, Albert Bridge aka Fairy Cake bridge :

[muppet]

Bad Bridges:


The most bizarre is Cannon Street Bridge, which is corrugated and almost looks unfinished. There was once a massive glass, arched roof between the towers, that was stored in a distant facility, to protect it during the war. It was subsequently destroyed by a random bomber offloading after a run. It's a mystery as to what style the bridge is - Costco deco?




There's a scheme to add pedestrian access, but sadly waiting 2 decades for money to materialise. If you want to donate your life savings, or 50p you can do so here:




Next to it is Southwark Bridge. Anyone you see on it is likely lost -after 30 years I've never been able to find access, or ever have the need:





The most infamous is the Millennium Bridge (famed also for a Harry Potter scene), aka the Wobbly bridge for its dodgy opening day in 2000. It started swaying in time with the footsteps of the thousands who marched across:




Although the wobble is now fixed, it still gets dangerously crowded as it connects the city's largest cathedral with the worlds largest modern art gallery:




At the mo though, the infamy cup goes to Hammersmith Bridge, which was suddenly closed after an inspection, causing traffic chaos for the bridges either side taking the 'emergency' overflow. It's been 6 years now and not a single bolt laid.




Also the notorious Dartford Crossing, which is really a car park for 180,000 daily vehicles, masquerading as a bridge




The most recent crossing opened this year, the Silvertown Tunnel that will take pressure off, aswell as the Blackwall Tunnel that was nearing 100,000 vehicles daily




The Greenwich Foot Tunnel is quite creepy at night, where you can spot the haggard outline of your schizoid killer 1200 ft away. She's called Mary:



By day it looks exactly the same. They sometimes set up art and sound installations down there, because obviously it's not spooky enough.



Finally, the beautiful and elegant Westminster Bridge. An icon attracting tourists from around the world for its majestic views, of the UNESCO World Heritage sites, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey...




..becomes Londonhenge at a magical, golden hour of the day. A rare and exquisite sight when the sun appears maybe once a year...

[montréaliste]

@Muppet/

Cheeky one, alright. Laffs.

[muppet]

aw fanks mista, Bless yer cockles x

[mrnyc]

oh dee ah.

that’s quite a lot of london bridges you’ve scratched up for us young chap.

cheerio.

[mrnyc]

we stayed right next to the duluth aerial lift bridge for a week and i was charmed watching it in action —




another more local eye catching and unusual charmer i am fond is the mystic, ct. bascule bridge —



it’s very flintstones — yabba dabba do —

[Razor]

Great thread, and I enjoyed the pics! Bridges and vehicular tunnels really do add character and splendour to a city. As Molson mentioned, Montreal has a lot of both. It's a bit of an experience driving through a lengthy well lit tunnel.

[Derek]

Excluding rail only bridges, Portland has 2 bridges that cross the Columbia River, 11 bridges that cross the Willamette River, and 1 bridge that crosses a ravine (Tanner Creek Canyon).

Columbia River:
Interstate Bridge (Interstate 5)
Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge (Interstate 205)

Willamette River:
Marquam Bridge (Interstate 5)
Fremont Bridge (Interstate 405)
Sellwood Bridge
Ross Island Bridge (U.S. Route 26)
Tilikum Crossing (closed to motor vehicles but carries bus lines, MAX and Streetcar lines, as well as bicycles and pedestrians)
Hawthorne Bridge
Morrison Bridge
Burnside Bridge
Steel Bridge (carries vehicular traffic, freight rail, Amtrak, MAX lines, bus lines, pedestrians and bicycles)
Broadway Bridge (carries vehicular traffic, Streetcar lines, bus lines, pedestrians and bicycles)
St. Johns Bridge

Tanner Creek Canyon:
Vista Avenue Viaduct

Portland also has two major tunnels, the Vista Ridge Tunnels carrying U.S. Route 26 beneath the Tualatin Mountains/West Hills, connecting the western suburbs with Portland.

Honorable mention goes to the Robertson Tunnel which only carries MAX trains beneath the Tualatin Mountains/West Hills. It is 2.9 miles long and features the Washington Park station, which is the deepest “subway” station in the United States, and the fifth deepest in the world. This tunnel also connects the western suburbs with Portland.

[dave8721]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

we stayed right next to the duluth aerial lift bridge for a week and i was charmed watching it in action —

Miami has tons of bridges but as far as I can tell, only 1 lift bridge. The Parker Lift Bridge over the Miami River between Miami Springs and Hialeah:

[mrnyc]

being a fjord bridges and tunnels come with the hellishly expensive territory for nyc -- because the place sure has a lot of them, somebody counted more than 2000. 789 are managed by the city dot and the rest by various agencies like nys, mta, port authority and others. there is always something being built too, but the current major headache is a much needed reno of the existing brooklyn bqe, which has 21 bridges and the infamous triple cantilever.

a random trio of local nyc bridge favs --


high bridge (1848, oldest in the city)


hell gate (1912)


bayonne bridge (1928)

[dave8721]

I was wondering. What draw bridge has the most lanes? I wondering because its impressive to see the 6-lane Brickell Avenue in Miami bridge go up though it technically is 2 separate 3 lane bridges (one for each direction) though they do go up simultaneously and there is only a tiny space between them. The 7th Avenue draw bridge has 5 lanes in a single slab.

Google is useless for such searches these days.


btw, it was super fun seeing the Tower Bridge go up as a pedestrian right behind the gate.

[mrnyc]

speaking of bridges that open --

more great lakes --
lorain ohio charles berry bascule bridge --
the longest bascule bridge in the world when built in 1940 --
it's still second longest --

[muppet]

That Bayonne Bridge is gorgeous.

One of the cutest bridges is the rolling bridge in Paddington that reminds me of a snail or pill bug:

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

bayonne bridge (1928)

I didn't know that the deck was recently rebuilt for the post-panamax ships.

When I was a boy my grade school's library had a book from around 1965 on the world's famous bridges, and the Bayonne Bridge was in it. I reread it many times over a 2-3 year period. I didn't take a particular interest in this bridge (I was much more interested in the long-span suspension bridges), but it's a little upsetting to see it bastardized with this modification.

It's interesting to note that a truly significant new bridge hasn't been built anywhere in the United States since the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge because there aren't any wider bodies of water to cross. The Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa Bay and maybe the Gordie Howe Bridge are two newer landmarks, but they didn't bridge bodies of water that didn't already have a crossing.

It seems like the proposed bridge from Italy to Sicily aims to be a tourist attraction in its own right - i.e. their government hopes to bring more tourism and new economic life to that part of the country not so much by the functionality of the bridge but rather the spectacle of it.

[ThatDarnSacramentan]

Originally Posted by Derek

Excluding rail only bridges, Portland has 2 bridges that cross the Columbia River, 11 bridges that cross the Willamette River, and 1 bridge that crosses a ravine (Tanner Creek Canyon).

Columbia River:
Interstate Bridge (Interstate 5)
Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge (Interstate 205)

Willamette River:
Marquam Bridge (Interstate 5)
Fremont Bridge (Interstate 405)
Sellwood Bridge
Ross Island Bridge (U.S. Route 26)
Tilikum Crossing (closed to motor vehicles but carries bus lines, MAX and Streetcar lines, as well as bicycles and pedestrians)
Hawthorne Bridge
Morrison Bridge
Burnside Bridge
Steel Bridge (carries vehicular traffic, freight rail, Amtrak, MAX lines, bus lines, pedestrians and bicycles)
Broadway Bridge (carries vehicular traffic, Streetcar lines, bus lines, pedestrians and bicycles)
St. Johns Bridge

Tanner Creek Canyon:
Vista Avenue Viaduct

Portland also has two major tunnels, the Vista Ridge Tunnels carrying U.S. Route 26 beneath the Tualatin Mountains/West Hills, connecting the western suburbs with Portland.

Honorable mention goes to the Robertson Tunnel which only carries MAX trains beneath the Tualatin Mountains/West Hills. It is 2.9 miles long and features the Washington Park station, which is the deepest “subway” station in the United States, and the fifth deepest in the world. This tunnel also connects the western suburbs with Portland.

An excellent summary, and I just want to add that it gets even more interesting than it seems with the Steel Bridge.

The Steel Bridge is a through truss, double-deck vertical-lift bridge across the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States, opened in 1912. Its lower deck carries railroad and bicycle/pedestrian traffic, while the upper deck carries road traffic (on the Pacific Highway West No. 1W, former Oregon Route 99W), and light rail (MAX), making the bridge one of the most multimodal in the world. It is the only double-deck bridge with independent lifts in the world and the second oldest vertical-lift bridge in North America, after the nearby Hawthorne Bridge.

[craigs]

Portland has great bridges. I've ridden my bike across two of them, walked across Tilikum Crossing, and driven on several. My favorite (for aesthetics) is still the Fremont Bridge. I remember driving back to Portland from Seattle in a torrential rainstorm, and just as we got up onto the deck of the Fremont Bridge, the rain stopped and the sun lit up the Portland skyline. It was magical.