World's Scariest Bridges

[ALVAREZ6]

The stats for some of them are absurd and the images as well.

Bridges are awesome I guess


http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-scariest-bridges/1

[ALVAREZ6]

Some of the last ones have video clips, #25 is crazy.

[CubanSucks]

That Louisiana is fucked up, no land for 24 miles?!

[SpursNextRomanEmpire]

The one in France and the brand new one in China are sweet looking

[mrsmaalox]

That Louisiana is fucked up, no land for 24 miles?!

That lake is pretty shallow and the bridge sits right above it; doesn't really feel like you're even on a bridge.

[CuckingFunt]

Yeah, the Causeway isn't that scary to drive over. It would be a sucky place to have an accident or run out of gas or something, but just driving it is a breeze.

Not being afraid of heights, though, there weren't many of those that looked too scary to me until #23 or so.

[chunticakes]

25 looked fake as fuck.

[BRHornet45]

That Louisiana is fucked up, no land for 24 miles?!

son and I drive across it all the time for Hornets and Saints games without thinking twice ... but damn what if

[ALVAREZ6]

There are many that I would not walk across. Fuck no.

[LoneStarState'sPride]

Yeah, I'm leaving most of those suckers alone.

[PuttPutt]

I've been on #15 Deception Pass Bridge several times. The fog can get really nasty.

[CosmicCowboy]

Yeah, the Causeway isn't that scary to drive over. It would be a sucky place to have an accident or run out of gas or something, but just driving it is a breeze.

Not being afraid of heights, though, there weren't many of those that looked too scary to me until #23 or so.

The worst thing about those long Louisiana bridges is the concrete expansion joints. that la-lump-la-lump-la-lump-la-lump-la-lump-la-lump sound as you drive over them puts you right to sleep...

[mrsmaalox]

I've driven the Chesapeake Bay bridge many times and it was always fine unless there was a wreck or something. And it was absolutely never as unnerving as driving that tunnel that goes underneath the bay.

[CosmicCowboy]

Check this bridge out...I studied it in engineering...a classic harmonic vibration failure.

j-zczJXSxnw

[mrsmaalox]

Check this bridge out...I studied it in engineering...a classic harmonic vibration failure.

I've lived in that area too and driven over the replacement bridges many times. But I thought about this video every single time I drove it :lol

Wasn't that bridge only a year or so old when it collapsed?

[CosmicCowboy]

I've lived in that area too and driven over the replacement bridges many times. But I thought about this video every single time I drove it :lol

Wasn't that bridge only a year or so old when it collapsed?

Yeah, it was basically brand new.

[Cry Havoc]

Check this bridge out...I studied it in engineering...a classic harmonic vibration failure.

j-zczJXSxnw

I've seen that before, scary and amazing.

What elements in a well-made suspension bridge prevent such oscillations?

[ALVAREZ6]

lol bridge failures are funny looking

[CosmicCowboy]

I've seen that before, scary and amazing.

What elements in a well-made suspension bridge prevent such oscillations?

Technically it was aerostatic flutter, but it was essentially forced resonance with the wind providing an external frequency that matched the natural bridge frequency. Some cost compromises were made in the design phase (remember this was the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time and they were still learning) and the solution would have been better isolation/absorbing structural mounts and a stiffer structure on the bridge itself. It was a beautiful "slender" design that was still strong enough in all other ways but when the resonance started it wasn't stiff enough to overcome it...

[lefty]

They are not scary

[CubanSucks]

Yeah, the Causeway isn't that scary to drive over. It would be a sucky place to have an accident or run out of gas or something, but just driving it is a breeze.

Not being afraid of heights, though, there weren't many of those that looked too scary to me until #23 or so.

that's what I was talking about. I knew it wasn't scary

[DeadlyDynasty]

I've driven the Chesapeake Bay bridge many times and it was always fine unless there was a wreck or something. And it was absolutely never as unnerving as driving that tunnel that goes underneath the bay.
I used to live on the Delmarva Peninsula and have driven both the bay bridge and the bay bridge tunnel numerous times:toast
sometimes they close down the tunnel during storms, but if you ever drive it during one it's freaky how you can see water splashing over as you exit both tunnels:wow.

I've also been across the Royal Gorge Bridge (riding, not driving), which was listed at 25 i think, and GODDAMN that scared the piss out of me.

The scariest bridge by far though was the Grace Memorial bridge in Charleston, SC, which is gone now and replaced with a new one. That was tall, narrow, rickety, and just a frightening experience.

[DeadlyDynasty]

son and I drive across it all the time for Hornets and Saints games without thinking twice ... but damn what if
yeah the drive over Pontchartrain gets boring after the first few miles, nothing really exciting. You familiar with Toledo Bend Lake? When I worked down there a couple years ago i had to take a patient to Nacogdoches (sp?), TX, and we crossed that bridge during a pretty good storm...normal, low-level bridge but kind of a surreal experience for some reason

[CuckingFunt]

The worst thing about those long Louisiana bridges is the concrete expansion joints. that la-lump-la-lump-la-lump-la-lump-la-lump-la-lump sound as you drive over them puts you right to sleep...

I can see how that would be a problem, but the only times I've driven them (recently) for any length I had my cat in the car with me. All I heard was angry meowing.

[DeadlyDynasty]

Really, Pakistan?

http://static1.travelandleisure.com/images/amexpub/0017/5798/201009-w-bridges-hussaini.jpg


does this lead to the temple of doom?

[Soul_Patch]

#24 makes me pucker...that bridge is sooo close to getting swept away in the water.


#23 is pretty gnarly too.

[CosmicCowboy]

I can see how that would be a problem, but the only times I've driven them (recently) for any length I had my cat in the car with me. All I heard was angry meowing.

I used to road trip to New Orleans back in the day when drinking and driving was a competitive sport and we'd bail out after work and drive all night. That la-lump-la-lump-la-lump-la-lump-la-lump was mesmerizing about 3am.

[phxspurfan]

I've seen that before, scary and amazing.

What elements in a well-made suspension bridge prevent such oscillations?

Ah, control systems.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Control_theory

Most, if not all structures have a resonant frequency. Engineers study the structure in before building it so they build something that has a resonant frequency (one that increases wobbling until it breaks) that is either very high or low so no natural factors (people/cars going over it, wind, rain) can subject the structure to that frequency.

Also feedback elements are good, like dampers (different energy absorbing materials put in key places) and without feedback most control systems (like shocks in your car) can become unstable given the right input.

And some engineers like to make things that have certain resonant frequencies for other applications, like this Lexus:

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[CuckingFunt]

I used to road trip to New Orleans back in the day when drinking and driving was a competitive sport and we'd bail out after work and drive all night. That la-lump-la-lump-la-lump-la-lump-la-lump was mesmerizing about 3am.

Might be going out on a limb here, but... I'd reckon the drunk driving at 3:00 AM had more to do with the sound putting you to sleep than any feature inherent to the bridge itself.

Just a hunch.

[scampers]

The Mackinac Bridge isn't too bad. I've been over it a couple times in high winds and it can make my palms sweat a little bit, but nothing overly terrifying. I probably wouldn't want to drive over it in a motorhome during a storm, though.

The scariest bridge I've ever been over probably was the one in Port Huron, MI at the Canadian border. I remember it being rather narrow, and I was stuck in traffic on it for about a half hour during a rather nasty snowstorm.

Bridges don't really bother me. I'm sure I'd shit my pants going over some of those foot bridges made of vine and whatnot though.

[Hornets1]

the only bridge that scares me in louisiana is the huey p. long bridge. The causeway, the basin and I-10 ponchatrain don't bother me at all