The Secrets of London’s Bridges- Documentary

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

When looking at the bridges in London, here are some well-known facts to keep in mind:

There are 35 bridges in London spanning the River Thames and hundreds more spanning tributaries, canals and other roadways. London Bridge is known for its song “London Bridge is Falling Down” and that the original 12th Century span is now in Lake Havasu City in Arizona. It was one of the oldest house bridges ever built. Tower Bridge is the only drawbridge along the Thames and is one of London’s Seven Wonders, especially because of its housed towers and its proximity to the Tower of London. Westminster Bridge has the same color and design as the House of Parliament and Big Ben. And the over 130 year old Prince Albert Bridge bans marching across one of the oldest cable-stayed bridges.

Each bridge has its own secret, whether it is known by many or discovered by only a few. In this documentary The Secret of London’s Bridges, we will look at the hidden treasures each structure has, some of which will take you by surprise. It looks at the famous crossings and some of the not so popular in the metropolis. Enjoy this documentary. 🙂

.

Information on London’s bridges can be found in the following links:

TootBus: https://www.tootbus.com/en/london/inspiration/bridges-london

Visit London: https://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/sightseeing/london-attraction/bridge

Trip Advisor: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g186338-Activities-c47-t5-London_England.html

Thames Bridges: https://www.pla.co.uk/Travel/Tourists-visitors/Thames-Bridges/Thames-Bridges

Best Kept Secret: Town on a Bridge in Chonquin, China

Photo by Aleksandar Pasaric on Pexels.com

.

Located in the southwestern part of China, Chongquin is a city like its counterpart in the east, Shanghai. It’s a modern and bustling city that prides itself on its architecture and engineering. The city is located at the junction of the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers, the city is located not far from the Three Gorges Dam. A museum exclusively devoted to that project can be found there. In the city center, the large, domed Great Hall of the People complex stands above pedestrianized People’s Square. Its skyscrapers and setting makes the city the Chinese version of Pittsburgh in the USA- Where three rivers meet in the middle of modern architecture.

Not far from Chongquin in the township bearing the city’s name is a tourist attraction that serves as a remonder that houses can exist on structures crossing ravines and rivers regardless of how it is designed. A Town on a Bridge spans the Liziang River and features a simple, 400 meter long concrete viaduct crossing a deep valley. However the housing on the bridge mimicks the architecture of the western countries as well as the local architecture in China. In other words, it blends the two together. The project was built with a purpose of attracting tourists.

In this video below, we will have a look at the project and what a person can find on this Town on a Bridge. While it has not drawn in as many tourists as the city had hoped, the idea of a town on a bridge is one that will most likely be practiced elsewhere in the future for many reasons, one of which is environmental. Whether it will mimick what we see for housed bridges, like here or in places like Germany or Britain, remains to be open. Have a look at the video and feel free to comment on it.

Link with more photos you can click here: https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201802/26/WS5a9366afa3106e7dcc13e0af_6.html

.

Best Kept Secret: Castlefield Viaduct in Manchester, England

Chesterfield Viaduct in the background. Source: Clem Rutter, Rochester, Kent., CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The City of Manchester in north central England has a wide selection of unique bridges and viaducts, many of which were built more than 130 years ago. You can find a list of bridges with information on them in the link here. There is one bridge in Manchester that has become a focus of national attention lately because of its repurposing- namely as a sky park bridge.

The Castlefield viaduct features a pair of viaducts standing side by side. The older of the two is the is a Grade II listed^[ viaduct that was designed by Heenan & Froude, and constructed in 1892. It used to serve heavy freight rail between the Great Northern Warehouse in Chesterfield and Manchester until it was abandoned in 1969. Until 2021, the bridge had been sitting disused until local planners and designers came up with a plan to make the crossing an attraction for tourists and pedestrians. The idea of Skypark was based on the model used to convert a section of the Elevated Railway in New York City into a Green Space Trails and Park. The 350 meter long viaduct would be converted into a combination garden and walkway, designed to give tourists a unique experience seeing Manchester and the surrounding from up in the air.

An overview and some details of the project can be found via link here.

Fellow youtuber and history enthusiast Martin Zero did an exclusive interview with the planners behind this ambitious project. Check out this video.

A small note: The Sky Park on Castlefield Viaduct is a pilot project that is scheduled to remain open through the end of 2024. Afterwards a decision on making it a permanent park will be made pending on the feedback by the public. Let’s hope this project is a success.

.

A Generic Name — Old Structures Engineering

Yet another obscure truss form that I had not heard of, coming at me from the HABS/HAER index: the Smith truss. The picture above is from Robert Smith’s 1867 patent and I’ll make this short: that’s a double Warren Truss. (…..)

A Generic Name — Old Structures Engineering

In this guest post, the author looks at the history of one truss bridge that he considers generic because it copies another design. The difference is that this truss design was used mainly on covered bridges. Click on the link above to read up on this story.

.

Historic Waco Suspension Bridge Reopens after Two-Year Restoration

All photos courtesy of Nathan Holth

1914 Icon opens for the first time after undergoing a thorough restoration

WACO, TEXAS (USA)- When the Waco Suspension Bridge opened on January 7th, 1870, the structure was one of the largest in the world. It was a toll bridge for almost 20 years until it was sold to McLennan Co. for a buck on September 1st, 1889. It became a general “wagon” bridge with horse and buggy, Ford Model Ts, pedestrians and especially herds of cattle crossing it on a regular basis. It was built by John Roebling and Sons, using the wire cables that were later implemented on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. It was rebuilt in 1914 where all but the signature stucco towers were replaced. But even before and after the rebuild, the suspension bridge became one of the symbols of Waco.

The bridge reopened to traffic again this past weekend. And like in the past, it started with the herd of longhorns crossing the structure, followed by a parade and entertainment. The Waco Suspension Bridge underwent an extensive rehabilitation project that lasted over two years and cost over $12.4 million.

The work featured the total replacement of the bridge’s suspension cables, the cable anchors, cable bearings and the decking. The trusses were refurbished and repainted and repairs were made on the towers. The parts replaced were over a century old and had shown signs of wear and tear over the years, resulting in the enforcement of weight limits on the suspension bridge itself,” said City of Waco Assistant Parks Director in an interview with Fox44. “The cables above our heads, those had been in place since 1914 and about 100 years of wear and tear had taken their toll. We discovered we had about ten years left before we would have really had to put this bridge on a load diet.”

The restoration of the bridge was for the improvement of safety and the conservation of the structure itself. While the City of Waco has undergone many revitalization projects in the downtown area over the years with many more to come, the Waco Suspension Bridge, listed as a National Landmark for more than 50 years, stands out as one of the biggest attractions of the city, not just because of its association with Roebling, but because it brings the city together. It’s the symbol of the city and its heritage which officials hope will bring together people of all generations. With the suspension bridge reopened, it reconnects two parks and the Riverwalk Area, which is along the Brazos River. In addition, the bridge is the centerpiece of several local events and will continue to do so for years to come.

Here are a few videos of the Reopening of the Waco Suspension Bridge for you to enjoy! 🙂 As a bonus, like the Union Chain Bridge, the Waco Suspension Bridge has been nominated for the 2023 Bridgehunter Awards in the category Best Example of a Restored Historic Bridge. Congratulations! Your bridge matters! 🙂

Drone Light Show at the Waco Suspension Bridge:

Walks: Vicosoprano In Southeast Switzerland — Boomers Daily

AKSense – Zurich – Vicosoprano village – the old capital of the Val Bregaglia valley in Graubunden region of Switzerland. This beautiful valley is framed by glaciated mountain ridges and opens up towards the south and Italy. The peaceful valley landscape surrounding this medieval village is in contrast to its eventful past. The “Pretorio”, the […]

Walks: Vicosoprano In Southeast Switzerland — Boomers Daily

Big Blue Bridge Update: Petition to the Governor of Indiana

Drone photo courtesy of Friends of the Big Blue Bridge of Portland

A few weeks ago, I posted a Pic of the Week article and mentioned in a podcast about the Big Blue Bridge in Portland, Indiana. For those who don’t know about this, it’s a Parker through truss bridge spanning Salamonie River, carrying State Highway 26. It was built in 1941 by the Yost Brothers Company of Decatur using the standardized designs established by the Indiana Highway Commission.

Construction on the new bridge was supposed to begin a couple weeks ago. Yet the project has been delayed by two months, and already, interest has been accelerating to save the bridge and reuse it for recreational purposes, including support from the city council. In my correspondences with Jenny Bricker, who is in charge of the initiative to save the bridge, the City of Portland has three possible places to relocate the bridge and a place to store the structure should it be a necessity. The Indiana Department of Transportation has been offering to sell the bridge to the City for $468,000- something that has been considered a very tall order, especially at short notice. However, not all the cards have been played, especially as support for keeping the historic bridge has been growing since receiving the good news regarding the delay.

A petition has been launched to the state governor of Indiana, Eric Holcomb, asking him to look into the matter, give the bridge to the community, and provide whatever support is needed to save the structure and reuse it for the purposes Portland residents have been suggesting. If you are interested in signing the proposal and donating to save the bridge, click on the link below:

Link: https://www.change.org/p/help-save-the-blue-bridge/u/31515449

It only takes five minutes to sign and you can follow up on the latest regarding the efforts to save the bridge through this initiative. If you want to help in the fight to save the bridge, click here and you will be directed to the Friends of the Big Blue Bridge page.

Ideas have been tossed about regarding how the bridge should be reused and given the photos I received by Jenny Bricker, the structure still has a lot of life let in her with little rust and corrosion. The bridge has been well-maintained from that aspect. Its beautiful blue color and its settings make the structure a very popular place for many in Portland and many residents have a lot of memories of their town.

While a new State Highway Bridge is already set to proceed, we’re hoping that the Big Blue Bridge will have a life as trail crossing either in or around Portland. The question is can you help make it happen? If so, click on the link and sign. Then get the word out as much as possible. The more signatures and support, the better. Even Europe has Portland’s back and its prized bridge as well.

.

We’ll keep you posted on the latest developments on this bridge. Your bridge matters. ❤ 🙂

.

BHC Pic of the Week Nr. 233

This week’s Pic of the Week presents an example of how a historic bridge perfectly blends into nature- so perfect that you don’t see it right away until you are right on the structure. This bridge was posted on a fb-page dealing with Oklahoma’s Historic Bridges by fellow pontist Paul Philipps. It’s the Eagle Fork Bridge spanning Eagle Fork Creek on the road bearing the bridge and creek’s name. It’s located near Smithville in McCurtain County in the southeastern part of the state.

The Parker through truss span features a typical A-frame portal bracing, lattice strut bracings and rivated connections. While the total bridge length is 250 feet, the truss bridge itself has a span of 146 feet. It was built here in 1940, yet it had originated in Octavia, which was nine miles away in LaFlore Co., according to one source on bridgehunter.com. Because truss bridges started falling out of favor in the 1940s because of the need for steel for WWII, it would not be surprising if this structure was constructed in the 1920s, because of the standardized truss bridges being constructed in the state, and then relocated here in 1940.

In either case, this photo shows the bridge’s portals tucked away in the trees making it camouflage in the nature. What stands out is the color of the bridge, which has a reddish-brown texture to it. While side pictures of truss bridges standing out across the river from the forest shows what design was used in the construction, the bridge’s portals are just as important for it provides the historian with a blick of how they evolved over the years. The A-frame for example was introduced before 1890 and had become the norm for through truss construction together with the W, M and X frame. In addition, some portals have builder’s plaques and ornamental features which has information on when exactly the bridge was built. But when looking away from that aspect, the portal bracing also serves as a dimension going from one side of the heavily forested riverbank to the other and can serve as a marker for cars, and for photographers, a photo delight with something like this one, which is ripe for a photo contest.

How we look at this photo is up to our photographic taste, but from my perspective, I look at it from a nature’s point of view. While concrete beam bridges in the wilderness is nothing but bland and plain, truss bridges with its natural colors of red, silver, brown, green or even black, blends in perfectly with nature, making it a quiet place to visit.

For the photographer, it’s the photo artist’s dream.

.

Sur le Pont d’Avignon – France’s Most Famous Half Bridge — StickyMangoRice

For French kids growing up, le Pont d’Avignon might be the most famous bridge in France. Why is it famous? Just like London’s Tower Bridge, there is a popular children’s song about the bridge. But songs aside, le Pont d’Avignon represents a very interesting piece of French history. One of its most peculiar traits is […]

Sur le Pont d’Avignon – France’s Most Famous Half Bridge — StickyMangoRice

2012: The Inauguration of a Bridge in Dallas — Transportation History

March 29, 2012 A cable-stayed bridge in Dallas, Texas, was formally opened to vehicular traffic, with a group of motorcyclists being among the first to travel across the new structure. This bridge was named after Margaret Hunt Hill (1915-2007), a longtime Dallas resident and renowned philanthropist. The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge spans the Trinity River […]

2012: The Inauguration of a Bridge in Dallas — Transportation History