I was tempted to ask, “What famous bridges have you driven across,” but “been across” seems much more open to folks to contribute.
Me, I’ve driven across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Confederation Bridge between PEI and New Brunswick in Canada, the Ivy Lea Bridge between Ontario and New York, and the Second Narrows and Lions’ Gate, both in Vancouver. I’ll add the Sunshine Skyway in Tampa, Florida.
As a passenger, I’ve been across the George Washington Bridge, Verrazano Narrows Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge, all in in NYC; the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia; and Tower Bridge in London. Well, I walked Tower Bridge too, so there’s that.
As a pedestrian, there are almost too many to count (do the Rialto Bridge in Venice, Westminster Bridge and London Bridge, both in London, and the Pont Neuf in Paris count?), but I will include Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, and Rainbow Bridge across Niagara Falls. Brooklyn Bridge was particularly fascinating close up; a civil engineer friend described how it had so many fail-safes that it would never fall down as long as it had proper maintenance. On my walk across, it seemed to fit all his parameters.
How about you? What famous bridges have you crossed?
Easy answer for me. The Burlington Skyway, formally called the Burlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway. That thing terrifies me. I always imagine myself in an accident and plunging into the water below. It’s often closed when winds are especially high.
There is no way to turn around and go back without paying another toll but it’s worth it.
The Mackinac Bridge Mackinac Bridge - Lake Superior Circle Tour!
So high and windy they finally realized that a small car had been picked up by the winds and went over the railing…on a small smudge of paint solved the mystery of the missing girl and car.
Have been over it on motorcycle a number of times.
The story of building this bridge is impressive and it is gorgeous. Lovely ride on a motorcycle and the info centre at the end is very good.
The Skyway bridges in Ontario are impressive and get chilly in spring riding south to get warm.
and the Golden Gate…story of building it very interesting.
Walked out to the remaining span of the Kinzua Bridge in PA
Learned my lesson about getting sweaty in my riding gear from that.
Good case of hypothermia on the way home.
Heh. I once drove the Confederation Bridge between PEI and NB in a thunderstorm. The toll-taker on the PEI side (I was going from PEI to NB) looked at my Chevy Blazer, and said, “Well, I guess you’ll make it. Go ahead.” He guessed I’d make it. Ohh-kay. With nothing else to do, I proceeded.
I made it, but I carried the salt stains back to my home in southern Ontario.
My list includes those as well as many other bridge in Paris (e.g. Pont Alexandre III, Pont de Bir-Hakeim), the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, the Ponte della Maddalena (aka the Devil’s Bridge) in Tuscany, the Charles Bridge in Prague, the Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge) in Lucerne, the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, the Ponte Sant’Angelo in Rome, the Pont Saint-Benezet in Avignon, the Dom Luís I Bridge in Porto, the Bonifacius Bridge in Bruges, the Triple Bridge and the Dragon Bridge in Ljubljana, and the Galata Bridge in Istanbul, off the top of my head.
In a week, I leave for a holiday in Albania, where we’ll cross the Bridge of Gorica, an Ottoman-era bridge in Berat, and the Tanner’s Bridge in Tirana. Then, in six weeks, I’ll be back in Rome, and will check off the Pons Fabricius — the oldest surviving bridge in the city, built in 62 BC.
The one that I have crossed in the greatest variety of ways is the Sydney Harbour Bridge. I have driven and been driven across it many times. I have been across as a passenger in a bus, taxi and train. Actually I have driven a small bus across a few times. I have walked across it several times - only on the walkway, not the paid bridge climb. And I have been across it a couple of times on a motorbike. Mind you it is many years since I last crossed it.
The Golden Gate Bridge and - this is going to strain the definition of “famous” - the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge which, at the time it was built (1967), was the largest suspension bridge in the Americas.
London Bridge is pretty mundane (and leaks like hell through the roadway into the voids underneath it, in which are the remains of the 19th c. London Bridge).
The medieval London Bridge was slightly further downstream than the present one.
The Chain Bridge (Széchenyi Lánchíd) in Budapest. Stari Most in Mostar, Bosnia. Lake Pontchatrain Causeway, New Orleans. Pont Neuf in Paris. Mackinac Bridge in Michigan.
Another addition (sorry, I’m scrolling my holiday snaps and keep getting reminded of stuff): When I was in Izmir, Türkiye, I made a point of walking over to the Caravan Bridge so I could say I’ve crossed the bridge that’s the oldest still-used structure in the world (built in 850 BC and in continuous use since then). It’s old enough that the poet Homer (thought to probably have been born in the area) could have used it.
Astoria in Oregon/WA. Brooklyn. Golden Gate. Charles (Prague). Pont Neuf. Ponte Vecchio in Florence. Chain Bridge (Budapest). Mackinac (MI). Chesapeake Bay Bridge. London. Kornhausbruke (Bern). Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe). The Florida Keys. Perrine Memorial (Twin Falls, ID).
I’ve walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, with seemingly every other tourist. Ditto the Golden Gate Bridge, where I rented a bike but walked it on the bridge itself because the foot traffic was so heavy.
I’ve crossed the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge on a bus and in a car, the Manhattan Bridge and Queensboro Bridge on subway trains, the Eads Bridge on a light-rail train, and the Hell Gate Bridge on a train.
I crossed the Mackinac Straits bridge by car, with my wife driving and my own eyes closed because it was so windy they’d closed it to trucks and were warning they could close outright.
I walked across a couple of bridges in downtown Pittsburgh, but I don’t know if any particular one is famous or the bridges of Pittsburgh are famous collectively.
And in the same vein, I’ve crossed the famous bascule bridges of downtown Chicago more times than I can count because I live here. Walking, biking, in cars, on buses, and on L trains. I suppose if any particular ones are famous, they’d be the Lake Shore Drive Bridge and Michigan Avenue Bridge.