516 Arouca
April 30, 2021 3:51 PM   Subscribe

 
I think the real problem there is convincing people to use it...
posted by suelac at 3:56 PM on April 30, 2021 [5 favorites]


Nooooooooope. Not for me.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 3:56 PM on April 30, 2021 [6 favorites]


I mean, pretty cool from an engineering point of view, but ain’t no way Abehammerb is taking that trip.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 3:57 PM on April 30, 2021 [3 favorites]


Sign me up. That's going on my list of places to take the kids when we can. I won't do rollercoasters or any of that upside-down shit, but bridges are one of the unequivocally cool things humans do.
posted by pipeski at 4:05 PM on April 30, 2021 [14 favorites]


Scary. Thanks.
posted by kfholy at 4:07 PM on April 30, 2021 [1 favorite]


Man, I'd like to jump off that.
posted by dobbs at 4:13 PM on April 30, 2021 [4 favorites]


Agree with Abehammerb Lincoln that it’s a cool bit of engineering, but I’m pretty reluctant to walk it. And definitely wouldn’t want to build it!
posted by TedW at 4:14 PM on April 30, 2021 [1 favorite]


I'm happy to admire the impressive engineering from solid ground.
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:17 PM on April 30, 2021 [6 favorites]


or even via video.
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:18 PM on April 30, 2021 [3 favorites]


I couldn’t be there on a windy day without thinking of Galloping Gertie.
posted by TedW at 4:23 PM on April 30, 2021 [2 favorites]




"If you don't suffer from the heart, this adventure is for you!"
posted by stevil at 4:42 PM on April 30, 2021 [3 favorites]


Equally gorgeous and terrifying. I'd go there just to do the Holy Grail thingy. On the side path, trembling.
posted by Hardcore Poser at 4:55 PM on April 30, 2021 [2 favorites]


I can't wait for travel to open up again so I can - nope not doing it.
posted by piyushnz at 5:21 PM on April 30, 2021 [2 favorites]


Everyone seems to be marveling about the engineering. But it hasn't really been up that long. We don't really know when it's going to break. Might be soon, might not.
posted by cccorlew at 5:44 PM on April 30, 2021 [3 favorites]


There should really be a mental health professional or some sort of help line in the middle to talk people down from their inevitable wibbly breakdowns.
posted by yasaman at 5:53 PM on April 30, 2021 [2 favorites]


What a graceful thing! Shame they had to have the reinforcements every few feet above your head; it looks a little bit like a safe enclosed tunnel rather than a fully open deathly experience.
posted by Nelson at 6:13 PM on April 30, 2021 [5 favorites]


I would walk on that bridge, confident that it’s reasonably unlikely to break while I am on it. Anything less than 10% is basically not going to happen right?
posted by aubilenon at 6:29 PM on April 30, 2021 [2 favorites]


I’d do it. While only 440 feet long, so less than a third of the length, and 65 feet above the river, the Black Bridge at the bottom of the Grand Canyon is also a suspension pedestrian bridge, supported similarly to this one. I’ve crossed it several times. It has been in use since 1928. The new bridge will be fine.
posted by azpenguin at 6:38 PM on April 30, 2021 [2 favorites]


516 meters long.

Well, there's this 567 meter long pedestrian suspension bridge in Nepal, though it hasn't officially been opened yet (though people have walked across it).
posted by eye of newt at 6:43 PM on April 30, 2021 [3 favorites]


Terrifying and cool. Obrigado!
posted by veggieboy at 7:05 PM on April 30, 2021 [1 favorite]


I get that it's a tourist/thrill seeker thing, but it's still weird to me to look at this and realize it's a... pedestrian toll bridge? Not three words I tend to see in that order.
posted by phooky at 7:18 PM on April 30, 2021 [2 favorites]


This is why drones were invented.
posted by AugustWest at 7:57 PM on April 30, 2021 [2 favorites]


I totally would do this. Thank you.
posted by mochapickle at 8:14 PM on April 30, 2021 [4 favorites]


I guess if it's more of a destination, it's all right if they charge admission. Otherwise, charging pedestrians a toll is somewhat iffy.
posted by tigrrrlily at 8:17 PM on April 30, 2021 [1 favorite]


Nope and noper.


This is why drones were invented.
posted by AugustWest


sorta reminds me of when a nuclear able B-47 Bomber flew under the Mackinaw Bridge.
posted by clavdivs at 8:45 PM on April 30, 2021 [2 favorites]


World's longest NOPE.
posted by NoxAeternum at 9:39 PM on April 30, 2021 [3 favorites]



World's longest NOPE.


aaah you havent been to one of my end of semester review sessions then
posted by lalochezia at 11:16 PM on April 30, 2021 [9 favorites]


That looks like it would've been a fun job to work on.
posted by calamari kid at 12:01 AM on May 1, 2021 [2 favorites]


This is not a suspension bridge. It's a suspended bridge.
posted by yclipse at 5:29 AM on May 1, 2021 [1 favorite]


This is the kind of thing that I don't even need to have a moderately-irrational fear of dying to explain why I completely avoid it. I can rely on my entirely rational fear that walking across it is going to be uncomfortably bouncy and sway-ey.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 5:52 AM on May 1, 2021 [2 favorites]


it's still weird to me to look at this and realize it's a... pedestrian toll bridge?

As we've talked about over and over, you have NO PROBLEM with bridge tolls when trolls and ogres collect them. What IS it with you and this CONSTANT hating on humans who might want to have a toll bridge from time to time? I mean REALLY why do you hate your own species so much?

/fake bridge beef
posted by medusa at 5:54 AM on May 1, 2021 [2 favorites]


None of the articles I read said how much the toll will be. If the cost was reasonable, I'd love to walk across the bridge.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:35 AM on May 1, 2021 [1 favorite]


Went to the Arouca 516 link first, saw the top image, and thought, "oh, the suspension cables help, kind of like a hug." Then I saw the perspective from underside during down-scroll.

Full Agree: NOPE.
posted by filtergik at 6:48 AM on May 1, 2021 [1 favorite]


Admission/Pricing

12 euro for adults. I think that’s fair. They could even motivate people by charging 20 euro and refunding 8 on the other side.
posted by mochapickle at 7:34 AM on May 1, 2021 [5 favorites]


Just hope that whatever just fell out of your pocket is bigger than the holes in the mesh, lol...
posted by clawsoon at 7:46 AM on May 1, 2021 [2 favorites]


I imagine that, at some point, there was a conversation along the lines of:

"Sir, people are saying they're scared of the wobbliness."

"That may be, but we must accept the wobbliness. Embrace the wobbliness. Incorporate the wobbliness into the logo."


Seriously, though, anyone know how this is engineered to deal with lateral excitation? Or to discourage people from trying to go over the side?
posted by evidenceofabsence at 12:46 PM on May 1, 2021 [1 favorite]


See, the 8 euro could be helpful for that as well.
posted by mochapickle at 2:12 PM on May 1, 2021 [2 favorites]


Hell to the no.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 5:13 PM on May 1, 2021 [3 favorites]


I’m busy that day.
posted by Salamander at 10:44 PM on May 1, 2021 [2 favorites]


How long before a mobile phone is dropped over the side?
posted by a humble nudibranch at 11:35 PM on May 1, 2021 [1 favorite]


How long before the first YouTube rope swing video goes up?
posted by flabdablet at 1:51 AM on May 2, 2021 [1 favorite]


I remember vividly being a little kid with our family in a maple sugar-bush park, considering crossing a short but long enough wild plank cable bridge on a windy day. My adventurous siblings were intrigued, but a big HELL NOPE from cooler heads in the family prevailed, thankfully.

In related, Sorcerer Bridge Scene. Special effects extravaganza with hydraulic pistons pumping below the set. Cost a ton of money.
posted by ovvl at 3:21 PM on May 2, 2021 [2 favorites]


Okay, here's my plan: I'm going to sell everything I own and move to there and I'm going to pay the 12 euros every day and try to walk across it. Eventually my frustration and boredom will get the better of my fear and I'll put a whole foot on the bridge. Several months later, I'll put weight on that foot. Then in a year or so, I'll take a second step. And so on and so on until one day I manage to walk all the way across it. Then I'll walk across it every day unless I'm sick. Eventually I'll die of old age or exposure or starvation from spending all my euros on bridgewalks. That's my new life plan.
posted by Don Pepino at 12:44 PM on May 4, 2021 [3 favorites]


Don Pepino: Okay, here's my plan: I'm going to sell everything I own and move to there and I'm going to pay the 12 euros every day and try to walk across it.

If you live there, you can get a resident card for 5 Euro that lasts for 3 years.

Happy to get you closer to your life goals.
posted by clawsoon at 3:15 PM on May 4, 2021 [3 favorites]


Tourist stranded after gale damages glass bridge in China. Different bridge, glass has a unique failure mode, but the photo of the tourist clutching to the remnants of the bridge for dear life is worth the visit.
posted by Nelson at 11:19 AM on May 9, 2021 [1 favorite]


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