Bridges

I long since got past it enough not to affect my driving, and as engineering feats I think they’re cool, but I was always terrified of bridges and elevated stretches of road.  Some more than others. 

It still freaks me out a bit to go over the Bourne or Sagamore bridge over the Cape Cod Canal, and I prefer it to go as fast as possible.  One of the scariest things ever was being a passenger, going over the Bourne Bridge after watching fireworks at the Bourne High School when I was a kid.  The cottage was on the mainland side of the canal.  Traffic completely stopped, so we sat on the bridge, taking forever, feeling it vibrate.  It doesn’t help that it’s such a long way down, as that’s just fear of heights/falling by another name.

The other bridge that especially scared me as a kid was the French King bridge on route 2, over the Connecticut River in western Massachusetts.  It seemed oddly rickety, as well as high and long, but something like the Tobin scared me no more than it did.  As an adult it scared me because it looked like it would crumble to pieces any second, it needed maintenance so badly.  That bridge I also had the pleasure of going under on a boat tour that was part of a company picnic when I worked at The Renovator’s Supply.

In 1998 I went over Confederation Bridge, between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.  While I never forgot where I was, it was more of a “hey, cool” experience than a scary one.  It didn’t hurt that I couldn’t see over the side of the bridge from the Sentra.  It also didn’t hurt that I always found it more scary to ride the ferry, at least if I stared over the side into the black water and imagined I was falling… falling…

Which was the only reason I was concerned about adding Newfoundland to the itinerary, which to my regret I didn’t.  It would have been cool to have been there, even if there wasn’t time to drive all the way north to the viking settlement.  I wondered about my reaction to a far longer trip, closer to open ocean than the short hops on PEI ferries.

As horrifying as a bridge collapse is, they are remarkably rare, and bridges tend to be well designed and built.  But I doubt I will ever be completely nonchalant about crossing them - the larger examples, anyway.  When disaster does strike, it helps assure that.

Posted by on 08/02 at 08:00 AM

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