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. [more inside]
posted by Devils Rancher on Aug 17, 2009 - 31 comments

The Living Root Bridges of Cherrapunji, India. [Via]
posted by homunculus on Aug 8, 2009 - 32 comments

A glance will show / Why Phoebe Snow / Prefers this route / To Buffalo.
And Phoebe's right / No route is quite / As short as Road / of Anthracite.

In 1908 the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad began work on the New Jersey Cut-Off to make its New York to Buffalo mainline (the Road of Anthracite so liked by Phoebe Snow) even shorter and faster. It was to have no grade crossings, and was to be as straight and level as possible — through hilly terrain. The 28-mile Lackawanna Cut-Off, as it is now known, was built over three years, cost $11 million, and was an engineering marvel of massive reinforced concrete bridges, enormous cuts, and the largest railroad embankment in the world. All of this has been abandoned for years, though there are plans afoot to restore the Cut-Off for commuter rail. [more inside]
posted by parudox on Dec 24, 2008 - 17 comments

Nine amazing bridges. (Via.)
posted by Astro Zombie on Aug 27, 2008 - 40 comments

18 stunning bridges from around the world. (via Mira y Calla) [more inside]
posted by madamjujujive on Jan 20, 2008 - 95 comments

A virtually unlimited supply of randomly-generated logic puzzles, in a variety of sizes and difficulties: Nonograms. Slither Link. Nurikabe. Bridges. Light Up.
posted by Upton O'Good on Nov 28, 2007 - 18 comments

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. [more inside]
posted by nickyskye on Oct 5, 2007 - 23 comments

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) published their latest Infrastructure Report Card in 2005. America's infrastructure got a D. The ASCE estimate that it will cost $1.6 trillion over a five-year period to bring the nation's infrastructure to good condition. They also have a Critical Infrastructure blog. [Via Gristmill.]
posted by homunculus on Aug 3, 2007 - 49 comments

Roads To Riches (or We've Got a Bridge in Brooklyn to Sell You--Seriously) -- Why investors are clamoring to take over America's highways, bridges, and airports—and why the public should be nervous.--...a slew of Wall Street firms—Goldman, Morgan Stanley, the Carlyle Group, Citigroup, and many others—is piling into infrastructure ... Assets sold now could change hands many times over the next 50 years, with each new buyer feeling increasing pressure to make the deal work financially. It's hardly a stretch to imagine service suffering in such a scenario; already, the record in the U.S. has been spotty. ...
posted by amberglow on Apr 29, 2007 - 107 comments

Attention lovers of privacy & salt air! This island, the house on top of it, and the bridge connecting it to the mainland are all on sale for a mere 750,000 pounds.
posted by jonson on Sep 9, 2006 - 44 comments

In honor of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, here are YouTube videos of bridges being destroyed. Only this one is sad to watch.
posted by thirteenkiller on Sep 1, 2006 - 13 comments

Le Viaduc de Millau on the A75 between Clermont-Ferrand and Béziers in France is the world's tallest and most technologically advanced bridge. At 2,460m long and 343m tall, its multi-stayed spans are suspepended from seven pylons. It is not only an engineering marvel, but a work of art. It took 14 years of preparation, but the bridge was built in only 3 years. This film shows how it was built. Here is a live view from the webcam. Previous Metafilter discussion in August 2004 before the bridge opened in January 2005 here.
posted by three blind mice on Sep 1, 2005 - 13 comments

There are many different types of sundials, from the very large to the small and portable. Some of the more unusual specimens include the spectacular new Sundial Bridge in Redding, CA, topiary and garden sundials in Britain, and, perhaps most lovely, stained glass sundials, rare now, but more common from the 16th through the 19th centuries.
posted by madamjujujive on Jan 16, 2005 - 23 comments

Now that's a bridge. Highest bridge in the world from Jan 2005. Slightly scary as well. (euro post week)
posted by johnny7 on Aug 18, 2004 - 48 comments

Bridges of New York Black and white photographs by Dave Frieder.
posted by carter on Jun 6, 2004 - 4 comments

Might as well jump. JUMP! An interesting article (nicked from linkfilter) about suicide and the Golden Gate Bridge. Only 26 people are known to have survived the 220 ft drop into water 350ft deep. I have been across the bridge once and was "amused" by the fact that there is a free counselling phone as you get halfway across. Reading this article and realising the numbers involved, it suddenly seems less funny... BTW, the jumper (who before he went a second time was one of the 26) protesting the Iraq War was discussed here.
posted by jontyjago on Oct 7, 2003 - 38 comments

Bridges and Tunnels of Allegheny County. They hold bridge conventions here in Pittsburgh because there are around 2000 bridges in and around the city. Take the tours to see some of them. My favorites: Westinghouse, Smithfield St., East St., Panther Hollow.
posted by tss on Jun 12, 2003 - 14 comments

The Devil's Bridge. For Halloween, tales of bridges where the devil took a hand in the building: "If I help you, I'll have the soul of the first who crosses the bridge!" But the devil gets fooled... [more]
posted by languagehat on Oct 31, 2002 - 9 comments

Photos taken from the space shuttle have revealed what is believed to be a 1.75 million b.p. human-made bridge from India to Sri Lanka. Incredibly, legend says the army of Vanaras (monkeys) built a bridge across the ocean to enable Rama (a Hindu Moses) to conquer Sri Lanka, possibly makeing it a 1.75 million year oral tradition. It is proposed to be a land bridge again.
posted by stbalbach on Oct 20, 2002 - 57 comments

Bridge Collapses in Oklahoma A barge collides with the I-40 bridge at 7:30 am this morning (CDT), sending 9 vehicles and 3 trucks plummeting 62 feet to the river below.
posted by somethingotherthan on May 26, 2002 - 22 comments

California Governor Announced that there is a credible threat against the bridges of the state of California. Including the Golden Gate Bridge. The attacks are likely to take place between the second and ninth of November, during rush hour.
posted by yevge on Nov 1, 2001 - 57 comments

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.
posted by dancu on Nov 1, 2001 - 10 comments

Bridge Builder, revamped I posted a link to this program months and months ago. Since then, the program has been revamped. It's now called PONTIFEX, and it gives you more options for bridge building materials, as well as better 3-D graphics (including an option to view your bridges from the point of view of the train's engineer). It's well worth another look.
posted by crunchland on Oct 30, 2001 - 8 comments

Tired of fighting that suicidal urge to jump the fences into the roiling waters of the Golden Gate whenever you drive across The Bridge?

Well, now you have a choice! Amidst practically no fanfare, the Golden Gate Tunnel has opened, featuring the best in subaquatic transportainment™, and all the donuts you can eat! Remember, folks, Those who know, go below.

Gosh, I haven't been to SF for almost a decade. Things sure have changed. ;)
posted by brownpau on Sep 3, 2001 - 13 comments

Egged on by Crowd, Woman Leaps From Bridge She survived and is in critical condition. There's also an astonishing photo of her fall from the bridge.
posted by msacheson on Aug 29, 2001 - 39 comments

BRIDGE BUILDER : It's fun for a girl and a boy! A downloadable demo of a pretty cool but geeky bridge building simulator. Each level, you're given the task of spanning a gap using limited materials. Your goal is to build a bridge not only strong enough to stand under its own weight, but to also support the weight of a train crossing over it.

There is no right way to build a bridge, but there is a lot of wrong ways.

System Requirements: 200 MHz or faster CPU, Windows 95/98/00/NT, Direct X version 6 or later, Keyboard recommended, OpenGL video card and drivers

posted by crunchland on Mar 6, 2001 - 22 comments