Before the Great Flood of this past summer, which wiped out one of the crossings, Valencia had a wide array of historic bridges, many of them dating as far back as 200 years ago. Most of them survived the disaster mainly in tact, although repairs are needed for some of the crossings. Valencia also has some unique crossings, including one designed and built by famous architect, Santiago Calatrava. Here’s a video on the bridges you can find in this seaside city. There’s also a written tour guide that accompanies this.
You will find Valencia as candidate in the category Best Bridge Tour Guide International, together with the ones mentioned already in this series. There are some great candidates in each of the 11 categories for this year’s Bridgehunter Awards. Click on the window below and vote today. The winners will be announced on January 26th. Remember: Your Bridge Matters! ❤ 🙂
If there’s a candidate that deserves international recognition for its unique crossings regardless of where, it would have to be this one. The railroad line is 96 km long and provides tourists with a stunning view of the Himalayans. Yet along this stretch of rail line, one will find 107 tunnels and 850 bridges! But not just any ordinary bridges- we’re looking at stone arch viaducts that are several stories high and over 150 years old! This line is in the running for Best Bridge Tour Guide and when clicking on the window below to access the guide, one will see why this area is worth the visit, let alone your vote:
One of the candidates for this year’s Bridgehunter Awards was one of many that was affected by this year’s Great Flood. Winona has several different reputations, including being the only town on the Mississippi River whose crossings go from north to south. One doesn’t realize what unique crossings that exists there- and should be visited. Have a look at the tour guide by clicking on the window below 👇
Winona is in the running for this year’s Bridgehunter Awards in the category Best Bridge Tour Guide USA. Voting is currently ongoing until January 25th. Click on the window below and check out the candidates in 11 categories. Submit your votes today! Your bridge matters ❤️🌉😊:
When we think of Christmas, we think of decorations on the streets, houses and even historic bridges. We have a pair of photos of the historic Apple Creek Mill and Bridge in Missouri taken at the most wonderful time of the year. The bridge has been a pedestrian crossing for over two decades and has been a magnet for visitors especially because of the lights and the tree, which is decorated quite nicely.
A good way of sending you all a wonderful Christmas greeting from our family to yours. Have a great one with lots of fun, stories and even card games. 😁 All the best to you, also as we approach an interesting new year of 2025!
For the first time in the awards history, we are profiling the photo candidates for the Bridgehunter Awards, to give you an idea what the bridges look like and where they are located. It’s a closer look to help you decide which bridge photos deserve to be in the top six. Remember, the winner in the category Best Bridge Photo will be featured in the Chronicles for the first half of the year.
So without further ado, let’s have a look at the candidates:
Photo 1: Golden Gate Bridge Photo 2: Mackinac BridgePhoto 3: Bridge of Sighs in Oxford, EnglandPhoto 4: The Bridges of RotterdamPhoto 5: Tees Transporter BridgePhoto 6: Llajaron Bridge in SpainPhoto 7: Rendsburg High BridgePhoto 8: Pont JulienPhoto 9: Kylesku Bridge in ScotlandPhoto 10: Schenevus Creek Bridge near Maryland, NYPhoto 11: Invermoriston Bridge in ScotlandPhoto 12: Thunder Bridge in Spencer, IowaPhoto 13: Astoria-Megler Bridge in Oregon Photo 14: Hammersmith Bridge near London Photo 15: New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia Photo 16: Llangonen Bridge in WalesPhoto 17: Truss Bridge near Marquette, Michigan Photo 18: Truss Bridge in Pinehurst, Nova Scotia, CanadaPhoto 19: Cull Drain Bridge near Sarnia, Ontario, CanadaPhoto 20: Cull Drain Bridge near Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
Now that you had the chance to get a closer look at the pictures in the running, it’s your turn to vote. Click on the window below and vote for your favorite candidates. You can vote for more than one candidate. The winners will be announced on January 26th.
Two candidates entering the 2024 Bridgehunter Awards feature works built by Lawrence H. Johnson. Born in Flensburg, Germany in 1862, L.H. emigrated to the US in 1875 and after having lived in New York and Michigan, he settled down in Minneapolis, MN in 1884, living there until his death in 1947. He left his legacy, not only as a bridge contractor who built dozens of bridges in the upper Midwest (also as president of Hennepin Bridge Company which he founded in 1909 and operated until 1937), but also as one behind the design and construction of the world’s first bridge with a loop approach span with the Spiral Bridge in Hastings, built in 1895.
The Dodd Ford Bridge near Mankato, MN is one of two bridges left in the state that was built by Johnson before he created Hennepin Bridge Co. Built in 1901, the bridge was one of the last examples of a pin-connected Camelback through truss bridge built before the era of riveted truss bridges was ushered in in ca. 1910. The bridge was closed twice due to structural issues: in 1984 and again in 2010. It was restored in a unique fashion in 2015-16 and you can watch the videos on the project:
As part of the restoration project, it included an observation platform for people to enjoy the view of the bridge and the Blue Earth River. At the time of the reopening in 2016, a music group paid tribute to the bridge with a song of their own:
I had an opportunity to visit the bridge before and after its restoration in 2016. In my first visit in 2010, the bridge was closed to traffic and the structure was in sound shape, except with some issues with the lower chord. This past summer I visited the bridge right after floodwaters ravaged through the region and saw that the bridge, with its new decking and abutments was in order with traffic flowing through as if nothing happened. The restoration of the bridge serves as a reminder and example of how it is possible if there’s enough manpower, interest and creativity to make it happen.
The Dodd Ford Bridge is a candidate for Best Example of a Restored Historic Bridge in this year’s Bridgehunter Awards. It’s one of two works by LH Johnson that is in the running.
There is still lots of time to vote for this year’s Bridgehunter Awards. Eleven categories and many candidates to choose from. Click on the window below to vote on them today. Feel free to spread the word to others. The winners will be announced on January 26th. Remember Your bridge matters! 🌉❤️😊
This Bridgehunter Awards candidate requires a TYB moment. It has to do with a small bowstring arch bridge in Newfield, New York and a woman who spearheaded efforts to save it successfully. Her name was Karen Van Etten, and her book on her project is a candidate in the category Best Bridge Media and Genre; Ms. Van Etten herself is a candidate for Lifetime Achievement.
Here’s the article I wrote about this unique historic bridge:
2024 will hit the books in ways we never imagined 20 years ago. It was the warmest year on record, with average temperatures going over the 1.5°C barrier for the first time ever, causing fears that our planet will be 3°C warmer than on the 1990 levels by 2100, if not warmer.
It was also a record-setting year for natural disasters with drought, flooding, forest fires, severe storms and hurricanes and derechoes happening in our backyard. In some regions in the US, all of the aforementioned happened all at once this year, while other places had all four seasons happen in one month! Our planet has become schizophrenic and we’re being taken for a ride.
There are many places where one could write about this disaster, but the best spot is from your own backyard as the documentary on the Great Flood of 2024 in the Upper Midwest showed us. The BHC, sister column The Flensburg Files and several other bloggers, columnists, and photographers teamed up to provide stories about the disaster which turned everyone’s lives upside down: from the destruction of the Rapidan Dam and Store near Mankato, MN, to the creation of Little Venices in Spencer, Rock Valley, Sioux City, Humboldt and Estherville in Iowa, to the unbelievable transformation of McCook Lake, and lastly, the destruction of several bridges and highways in its path. There were touching stories of people who came together to help those in need and to rebuild after the floods took their livelihoods away. The projects are still ongoing but the stories will forever send a signal to those out there that solidarity is the key to making a community strong again, through thick and thin.
The documentary is in the running for Best Bridge Media and Genre and you can click on the windows below to access them. For the Files, it is under German-American Multicultural Topics under the title Great Flood of 2024 in the United States.
Several bridge candidates affected by the Great Flood area nominated in this year’s Bridgehunter Awards, including Bridge of the Year, Spectacular Bridge Disaster and Endangered TRUSS. To vote on these and other candidates in the 11 categories, click on the window below to access the ballot and vote today. The winners will be announced on January 26th. Remember: Your Bridge Matters ❤️😊🌉
Paul Goltzsch presented this unique setting that is fitting for this time of year. It’s a photo of a stone arch bridge spanning one of the canals that goes through the town of Stade, located in Lower Saxony west of Hamburg in Germany. While this was taken at low tide (D: Ebbe), it shows the structure in its original glory- well lit and flanked with Fachwerk houses, many of them restored recently and lit with various colors. There’s even a hint of Christmas decorations in the background which makes the Christmas setting complete. What is missing is something we’re seeing more and more often in the past decade: snow. Since 2009, there have been only three White Christmasses, which is half as often as in the past 30 years. But we all know where that is coming from and even if we speak, hear or read nothing of it, it’s here and we all have to live with it, mitigate the losses, and reverse our course in terms of consumption, etc.
While you are at it, check out the ballot for the 2024 Bridgehunter Awards, and vote for your candidates in the 11 categories presented. We are getting some considerable traction in some of the categories, with others catching up. As mentioned yesterday, some of the candidates will be mentioned here in this website as well as the Chronicles’ Instagram page, with some information about them and why they are nominated for the awards. Remember: Your Bridge Matters:
This is a blog about my project of visiting every bridge over the Genesee River and what I learned about the history, structure, and natural surroundings of each bridge.
The Bridgehunter's Chronicles 