Bridges between... is brought to us monthly by RuneE. Stop by to pay him a visit and find other bridge posts.Another snapshot from Dad's album:
The notation under this photo in the album states: "Highest Bridge in the World -- 476 ft. above Snake River--Twin Falls, Idaho" (145 m.)
Of course, this photo was taken in 1929, two years after its completion. At that time the bridge was a toll bridge.
In the nearly eighty years since the picture, the bridge is no longer the highest...
for two reasons.
That bridge is not the one we cross when we stop in Twin Falls on our way to Arizona. It was replaced in 1974 by the four lane I. B. Perrine bridge, which you can see here. That does look much more ready for today's traffic.
So is the new bridge the highest?
No.
That honor now goes to this bridge in France, the Millau Viaduct, which opened in 2004. The I. B. Perrine does not appear on any list of tallest bridges that I have been able to find.
But is the Millau Viaduct actually the highest bridge? That all depends on how you define highest. The tallest tower of the Millau is 1,122 feet (341 m.)--definitely tallest since its nearest competition is 928 feet (283 m.).
The Bally Bridge in the Himalayas is 18,379 feet (5602 m.)above sea level--the highest bridge in the world.
The deck of the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado stands 1,053 feet (320 m.)above the Arkansas River. The Millau is only 891 (272 m.)above the Tarn.
So when I started this post, I intended to comment on how things change. Now I realize that the post is really about how not everything is what it seems.
9 comments:
That really look like a high bridge. Not a good thing to be scared of highdes when passing through thisone :)
An interesting compilation. The one on your post looked impressive enough for me, even though it is no longer the highest in the world - and much more fascinating that the one that replaced it.
I saw a program on TV about the building of the one in France - no wonder things are not the same any more (or maybe we are not??)
PS My Odd shot will be up a little later.
That`s an interesting Bridge.Old and very high.Great post!
Nice and interesting bridge posting.
I remember that old bridge from Twin Falls! Remember, I'm an old Idaho girl!
thanks for the post and the links to see all the bridges you mentioned. Good work
Hi, surfed my way here, interesting re. bridges. Have you heard of New River Bridge in Fayetteville, WV? People jump off every October during Bridge Day.
I'd like to join Odd Shot, great fun.
Sandra @ Thistle Cove Farm
thistlecovefarm.blogspot.com
because I'm computer stupid and don't know how to make my farm blog here instead of my county blog.
These make me queasy just thinking about going across them! I do not like bridges over gorges or over rivers. That old photo is neat, however :-)
the highest bridge u mentioned as bally bridge is actually a multispan bridge over river hooghly in kolkata and much at ground level.. the highest is definitely in india at an altitude of 5602 m and built by the indin army in 1982 but that's in ladakh and it doesn't have a name per se.. it's a type of portable bridge called bailey bridges n since it sounds like "bally" i am sure therein cropped the confusion.. hope that stands cleared now! a more appropriate link would be this http://incredblindia.blogspot.com/2009/05/bailey-bridge-worlds-highest-bridge.html
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