# Do you have a bridge to nowhere? We do **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 7, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-bridge-to-nowhere-we-do/556355 "2010-10-07T14:06:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-bridge-to-nowhere-we-do/556355/1 "2010-10-07T14:06:13Z")
[This is a bridge on US Highway 12](http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=43.212953,-89.605554&spn=0.001924,0.005284&t=k&z=18), between Madison and Sauk City, and for the life of me, I can’t figure out why it’s there. The good news is that it’s a foot bridge, so at least it was cheap. One of my neighbors claims it’s a livestock bridge built so local farmers can get their cattle safely across the highway. I’m pretty sure that’s bullshit because there are no fences around the approaches. If cattle were herded toward the bridge, there’ nothing to stop them from walking around it and onto the road. I’ve driven by this bridge a lot and never seen anyone on it. You can zoom out and see that there are no neighborhoods on either side it might serve. It also looks fairly new, though I have no recollection of it being built in the 15+ years I’ve lived around here. I’ve been curious about it, but I don’t know how to look it up and get any more information about it. There is no name on a sign as you approach it from either direction. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-bridge-to-nowhere-we-do/556355/2 "2010-10-07T15:40:32Z")
It was intended for a bike path. [http://www.allbusiness.com/legal/property-law-real-property-zoning-land-use/12104640-1.html](http://www.allbusiness.com/legal/property-law-real-property-zoning-land-use/12104640-1.html) ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-bridge-to-nowhere-we-do/556355/3 "2010-10-07T15:42:11Z")
There are trails leading away from it on either side. could it be a pedestrian bridge for a hiking trail or off-roading trail of some sort? ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-bridge-to-nowhere-we-do/556355/4 "2010-10-07T15:46:37Z")
Yes, we do. Thanks to this. [noparse][http://www.francesfarmersrevenge.com/stuff/bridges/skyway.htm[/noparse]](http://www.francesfarmersrevenge.com/stuff/bridges/skyway.htm%5B/noparse%5D) They did make the old bridge into fishing piers so they don’t really go anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-bridge-to-nowhere-we-do/556355/5 "2010-10-07T15:47:16Z")
There’s [this one](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Richmondville,+NY&sll=43.212953,-89.605554&sspn=0.003046,0.004823&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Richmondville,+Schoharie,+New+York&t=k&ll=42.637153,-74.564013&spn=0.001537,0.002411&z=19) in Richmondville, NY. It looks like it was an actual bridge at one point, but I-88 cut it off awhile back. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-bridge-to-nowhere-we-do/556355/6 "2010-10-07T15:59:48Z")
Oh yeah. We’ve got [this](http://tinytowntimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=406:the-bridge-to-nowhere-came-from-somewhere&catid=60:general-assignment&Itemid=80) monstrosity. Not only does it not go anywhere, it’s ugly. If you look really closely at the first pic, you can make out “Ithaca” in purple on the lovely teal structure. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-bridge-to-nowhere-we-do/556355/7 "2010-10-07T17:34:24Z")
A lot of times they build bridges and roads in hopes of attracting housing & business. About 20 years ago, my city built elaborate 4 lane roads into what was mostly old ranch style homes on huge quarter acre lots. There was a lot of wooded undeveloped land to. At the time it seemed nutty. Today some of the most expensive homes in this city are out there. It’s packed with a Best Buy, Sams, Walmart, all kinds of restaurants etc… I still kick myself for not buying some land out there before it sky rocketed in price. ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-bridge-to-nowhere-we-do/556355/8 "2010-10-07T17:43:33Z")
We have one here in NJ, it was built to run telephone poles across the Barnegat Wildlife Refuge. After the poles were put up, they left the bridge for the crabbers and fishermen. [Link from Weird NJ](http://www.weirdnj.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=63&Itemid=28) ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-bridge-to-nowhere-we-do/556355/9 "2010-10-07T17:44:43Z")
The Royal Gorge Bridge in Canon City, Colorado, the highest bridge in North America, goes nowhere. You can drive across it, but there’s just a parking lot on the other side. It is purely a tourist attraction. ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-bridge-to-nowhere-we-do/556355/10 "2010-10-07T18:24:41Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > Yes, we do. Thanks to this. [url/][Redirecting...](http://www.francesfarmersrevenge.com/stuff/bridges/skyway.htm) > > They did make the old bridge into fishing piers so they don’t really go anywhere. FYI: I got a pornographic banner ad on that page and it also froze my browser (IE8). ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-bridge-to-nowhere-we-do/556355/11 "2010-10-07T18:40:15Z")
> [@Foggy](#): > > > [@Wile\_E](#): > > > > Yes, we do. Thanks to this. [url/][Redirecting...](http://www.francesfarmersrevenge.com/stuff/bridges/skyway.htm) > > > > They did make the old bridge into fishing piers so they don’t really go anywhere. > > FYI: I got a pornographic banner ad on that page and it also froze my browser > (IE8). Sorry, I was on my iphone so nothing happened to me. I grabbed the first link that looked good and it looked like a familiar site I had been seen before. Anyway, it was to the Sunshine Skyway bridge disaster in 1980. I’ll ask a mod to remove the link. Here’s a [link to the wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_Skyway_Bridge), scroll down to The Original Skyway Bridge. ---
**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-bridge-to-nowhere-we-do/556355/12 "2010-10-07T18:59:20Z")
We’ve got [some good ones.](http://www.andrewboraine.com/2010/08/were-on-the-road-to-nowhere/) (Scroll down for photos.) ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-bridge-to-nowhere-we-do/556355/13 "2010-10-08T18:14:52Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > The Royal Gorge Bridge in Canon City, Colorado, the highest bridge in North America, goes nowhere. You can drive across it, but there’s just a parking lot on the other side. It is purely a tourist attraction. Not true at all. You can continue on Co Road 3a and eventually connect to Copper Gulch Road. Then back North to 50, or South and on to 69 with will take you to the lovely town of Westcliffe Silver Hill. From there the world’s your oyster! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-bridge-to-nowhere-we-do/556355/14 "2010-10-08T18:20:50Z")
We have a [staircase to nowhere](http://www.politifact.com/florida/article/2010/aug/31/stairway-heaven-meets-bridge-nowhere/). ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-bridge-to-nowhere-we-do/556355/15 "2010-10-08T19:31:06Z")
Across the Gulf in Iran there was a bridge to nowhere across Lake Urmia in the north west of the country. 15km of the bridge were built in the 1970s and the last 1.5 km was finished less than 2 years ago. It is extremely salty tho and the steel is decaying fast. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-bridge-to-nowhere-we-do/556355/16 "2010-10-08T19:47:37Z")
Milwaukee’s [Hoan Bridge](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoan_Bridge) was pretty much useless for the twenty years I lived there. Three lanes each way attaching downtown Milwaukee with neighborhood streets of Bay View. Opened way back in 76’ they finally built and attached the Lake Freeway in 98’. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-bridge-to-nowhere-we-do/556355/17 "2010-10-08T19:56:15Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Milwaukee’s [Hoan Bridge](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoan_Bridge) was pretty much useless for the twenty years I lived there. Three lanes each way attaching downtown Milwaukee with neighborhood streets of Bay View. > Opened way back in 76’ they finally built and attached the Lake Freeway in 98’. The South SF Bay Area/San Jose saw a similar thing with the [101/680/280 interchange](http://www.flickr.com/photos/catlikestealth/415898810/) that went unfinished for years. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-bridge-to-nowhere-we-do/556355/18 "2010-10-08T21:03:03Z")
We could definently use one, and almost got one. Then it became a political football and we got screwed. Now we will never get one because it is so identified with pork. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-bridge-to-nowhere-we-do/556355/19 "2010-10-09T01:04:42Z")
Now your’e reminding me of the time I was sick in the emergency room and told the doctor I was going into the DT’s because I heard a voice saying “Bridge to nowhere.” It turned out I’d been confused by a TV broadcast on Sarah Palin. We don’t do bridges to nowhere out here, although we’ve got a few rail tracks that lead nowhere. ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-bridge-to-nowhere-we-do/556355/20 "2010-10-09T01:47:01Z")
[We’ve got one in CT](http://www.kurumi.com/roads/ct/xc-stack.html). Not only does this bridge lead to nowhere, it’s completely inaccessible, AND it has two bridges to somewhere stacked on top of it, making it even more silly looking! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-bridge-to-nowhere-we-do/556355.md?page=2)