MetaFilter posts tagged with bridge

The Bay Bridge is now closed

gingerbeer — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:51:06 -0800

The San Francisco Bay Bridge has been shut down for the weekend to allow workers to roll a section of the old bridge away, and roll in a temporary section, while they build the new permanent bridge. Download the video here showing how they'll do it. Web cams let you keep an eye on the whole thing. BART is running 24 hours, which inspired at least one pajama party on the BART trains. Everyone's gearing up for all sorts of transportation confusion, despite months of warnings and efforts to redirect people. Hopefully, everyone headed for Burning Man has already left the city. All of this work is to build a replacement for the Eastern span of the Bay Bridge, the section damaged in the 1989 earthquake. Yes, it has taken 20 years to replace it. The whole thing is being filmed by National Geographic, for a show on "unprecedented construction feats." Google Earth will show you what the finished product will look like (turn 3D Buildings on). Previously, with much of the history behind the construction.

Historic Bridges of the U.S.

Devils Rancher — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 08:05:21 -0800

Historic Bridges of the U.S. This is the most complete database of historic bridges I've seen. The front page is blog style that seems to have an emphasis on preservation, and which links to a database that is actively being updated & expanded. You can search by state or by county, and look at each bridge's individual page, including a wealth of stats, and a high-res photo, when available. At the bottom of each page, they're actively accepting comments and photo submissions from site users, and using that input to update info on each bridge.

Landscapes of the Dream

WPW — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:13:33 -0800

Industrial Span, Dead Cars, Burnout, Roadside Memorials. Short films by Ashley Perry.

Totentanz

445supermag — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 06:53:42 -0800

What flies and creeps, what strives and hovers What swims and flows, yes all that ever lives Flees from death, yet there's no place On earth, where death would not be.

Holy Shit. Holy Fucking Shit.

Skeptic — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:46:21 -0800

An article deep in this week's "Economist" comments on an intriguing, rather megalomaniac project: twin "Cities of Light" at both sides of the Bab al-Mandib strait, the entrance to the Red Sea, linked by a bridge. The Noor City Development Corporation remains remarkably vague about the practical aspects of the project, never mind its much-vaunted greenery. The Economist notes with some trepidation the connections of the consortium with the US military and defence industry. All the more significant considering that the project is led by Middle East Development, a real-estate company headed by Dr. Tareq Mohammad Bin Laden, half-brother of You-Know-Who Reports of the involvement of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Auric Goldfinger, and Drs. No, Doom and Evil remain however unconfirmed.

Building mighty dreams

infini — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 05:44:19 -0800

Today is the 202nd birthday of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, one of the world's greatest engineers and a personal hero. I gaped at the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol when the shock of recognition dawned on my jetlagged brain. This was the man that laid the foundation for Britain's global economic might, built the first underwater tunnel, Paddington Station and inspired engineers everywhere. His legacy lives on in his works, a university, a museum or two among others.

spanning the world: beautiful bridges

madamjujujive — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 09:55:00 -0800

18 stunning bridges from around the world. (via Mira y Calla) Two other "best of" nominations: the world's most breathtaking bridges and best bridges of the new millennium.

Longest suspension bridge in the world

gimonca — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 11:16:07 -0800

Plans for the longest suspension bridge in the world have gotten another go-ahead. The bridge from Java to Sumatra would have a center span of 3km and island-hop a total of 30 km. Concepts have been floated for several years, now focusing on a bridge rather than a tunnel project. The Australian press is a bit more skeptical, not only due to the natural wonders in the area. The main domestic corporate backer and it's tycoon, Tommy Winata, has been associated with harrassing critics, ethnic violence, political and military cronyism, and even hunting protected species, and is said to be one of Jakarta's "nine dragons" bosses, associated with generally unsavory types. A very similar project to put a bridge across the Straits of Messina between mainland Italy and Sicily was recently cancelled under oddly similar circumstances.

beautiful ways to span a gap or a river

nickyskye — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 10:01:34 -0800

Construction of the World's Highest Bridge, Millau Viaduct in France, which is slightly higher than the Eiffel Tower. It is now included in a list of Google Earth extremes. World's most interesting bridges. Gallery of beautiful world bridges. Le viaduc de Millau, in French. Previously. Images of pretty images of bridges from around the world (no captions). Types of bridge construction basics.

Rama's Bridge or Adam's Bridge

East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 05:35:56 -0800

Indian Government withdraws scepticism of bridge-building monkey army

Collapsed bridge leaves mess, quarantines locals

taursir — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 17:03:57 -0800

Deliberately turning her camera from the wreckage, That Red Girl gives us a look at what's going on in her now quarantined life mere blocks from the recent Minneapolitan bridge collapse.

"Several neighbors and I stood in our driveway late into the night debriefing the day. We now live in lockdown. Police must escort us around. We must meet any guests at the corner, they cannot approach the building alone. Residents are told to ask people they do not recognize to show their keys and prove themselves. We joke about seeing everyone’s “FOBs” to those we know well. The dogs are all leashed, tying themselves together as they try to play like normal. It’s frustrating to everyone that we can’t run around as normal. The word “quarantine” is tossed around. People are nervous. One of the residents hasn’t been seen since Wednesday morning. She may be on vacation… no one knows. We see one of the neighbors being interviewed on the corner and a few young girls trying to flirt with the police to gain entrance to our complex. The dogs continued to wrestle and we continued to talk."

I-35W collapse

baphomet — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 17:27:06 -0800

The I-35W bridge by the University of Minnesota campus has collapsed. The bridge, one of the most heavily traveled freeway bridges in the Twin Cities metro area, collapsed around 6:05 this evening. Sections of the freeway are said to be floating in the Mississippi as cars are stranded on standing portions of the bridge. Slideshow of images. Real-time updates at MPR.

Galloping Gertie for the 21st Century

humboldt32 — Thu, 31 May 2007 09:37:51 -0800

Galloping Gertie for the 21st Century. A friend sent me a link to this photo set. Quite something. Let's hope this doesn't happen again.

International Orange

oneirodynia — Sun, 27 May 2007 12:06:30 -0800

"November 4: Voters from the six counties of the District agree to a $35 million bond issue, using their homes, farms and business properties as collateral, in order to support the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. The vote is 145,657 in favor and 46,954 against." On May 27th, 1937, the World's longest suspension bridge opened to the public. Happy 70th anniversary, Golden Gate.

Rolling bridges and other discontinuities

Burhanistan — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 19:48:46 -0800

The Rollling Bridge is one of many interesting public art projects produced by Heatherwick studio.

The Digital Bridges Project

carter — Sat, 25 Mar 2006 07:40:46 -0800

The Digital Bridges Project Digitized 19th century bridge engineering documents. Luckily for people like me, they've collected links to all the illustrations on one page. See for instance an amazing chronological series of pictures documenting the construction in 1892 of the 330 feet high, 3000 foot long, Pecos Viaduct in Texas.

The Story of Suicides at the Golden Gate Bridge

Masi — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 03:26:50 -0800

Lethal Beauty is a seven-part series by the San Francisco Chronicle about the Golden Gate Bridge and its history of suicides. The articles present both sides of the argument regarding a barrier which would stop such tragedies. The presentation includes graphic representations of suicides by location, a timeline and podcasts from survivors & relatives, among others.

Calatrava bridges

dios — Wed, 19 Oct 2005 09:27:52 -0800

The proposed Trinity River Calatrava Bridge in Dallas. As part of an urban renewal and ecological renewal project called the Trinity River Corridor Project, the city of Dallas has contracted with famed architect Santiago Calatrava to design a landmark bridge. The massive project, in addtion to the three signature bridges, is supposed to create right downtown two lakes, a forest, wetlands, outdoor recreation and overall economic renewal to Downtown Dallas. Of course, this massive renewal project depends large part on public funding. Some discussion exists whether large scale public works projects should be undertaken on the public dime. (Previous discussion of Calatrava)

Shreve asks: Why don't they go to their own neighborhood and jump?

Rev. Syung Myung Me — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 23:54:07 -0800

The Suicide Bridge. Sitting in the sun, waiting for her ride, Babcock recounts the story of one Thanksgiving. As she placed the turkey on the dinner table, she heard the sirens. Before she could stop him, her teenage son, Larry, ran outside to find the body. When he returned, he refused to eat.
"The guy's head was splattered all over the place," she says. "It was a younger fella that had jumped off the bridge. It shook us all up -- someone that young. He was only 20 or 21."
The All America Bridge in Akron, Ohio is built over a lower-class neighborhood; unfortunately, it's also a popular suicide spot. Often times bodies will land in people's yards, in business' parking-lots, and even through the roof of a building. A sad, disturbing article about people who have grown used to the sight of people dying on their property.

The intricate underbelly of civilization.

naomi — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 15:32:05 -0800

His ability to create a home in a city drawbridge was instinctual. "You've got to be kind of agile," he said. "You can't be a idiot.... It doesn't take long to figure out what you need to do. How long has mankind lived in caves? The first time it was scary. After that, it was almost like riding a Ferris wheel.''

dancu — Thu, 01 Nov 2001 01:13:10 -0800

Leonardo's Bridge became a reality, with the construction of the 100 meter bridge spanning the E-18 in the township of Ås, east of Oslo. The design of the bridge makes modern bridges seem old in comparison. It seems that many of DaVinci's 500 year old ideas are coming to fruition.