Posted on 07/16/2005 5:42:49 PM PDT by SmithL
Charleston, S.C. -- Hundreds of people filled an eight-lane highway in place of cars and trucks Saturday to dedicate the $632 million Ravenel Bridge over the Cooper River, the longest cable-stayed span in North America.
"We have created not only a bridge, but a thing of beauty," said Arthur Ravenel Jr., the former state senator and U.S. congressman for whom the span is named.
The bridge's 1,546-foot main span is supported by cables stretching down from the tops of a pair of diamond-shaped, 570-foot-tall towers. Unlike suspension spans such as San Francisco's Golden Gate, where the deck is suspended beneath two hefty main cables that connect the towers in a lengthy curve, the Ravenel cables extend directly from the towers to the deck.
"It's a wonderful, beautiful structure," Ravenel told the crowd of at least 1,500 people.
The eight-lane bridge, which took four years to build, carries U.S. 17 between Charleston and Mount Pleasant, along with pedestrian and bicycle lanes. The main span is about 200 feet above the water and will allow larger cargo ships to enter the port. Construction began four years ago, and the bridge was finished about a year ahead of schedule.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Kinda freaky the first time you cross. It's center lanes are steel grates and when you drive on them you can look down and see the water underneath.....way underneath.
Which is why one only drives in the center lanes if the outer lanes are closed! The view's a little smaller, but ever since that Yugo went over the side....
The cable bridge (below) where I live in Tri-Cities, Washington, was built around 1979. They are very intriguing structures because they appear so different looking depending on where you are viewing them from. Sometimes those cables appear to be circular as if you were looking at a TeePee.
Who knows how many other subcompacts have disappeared into the drink.
Is that the bridge you only see a piece remaining in the move, I Robot?
I don't know did the movie take place in Michigan? I haven't seen it yet.
I think it was near a great lake but of course the lake was dry due to global warming, no politics there.
Total Length of Bridge (5 Miles) 26,372 Ft.
Total Length of Steel Superstructure 19,243 Ft.
Length of Suspension Bridge (including Anchorages) 8,614 Ft.
Total Length of North Approach 7,129 Ft.
Length of Main Span (between Main Towers) 3,800 Ft.
Am I not reading this correctly? According to these figures, Mighty Mac is bigger. Somebody correct or confirm...this will drive me crazy as I pack up the schoolroom!
Yes, for scenery you can't beat the UP.
Our famouse bridge had the mistake of being built PERIOD but it got lots of recognition.:-)
Eldridge’s plan called for a 5,000 foot, two-lane suspension bridge. When completed, the structure would be the third longest suspension bridge in the world.
Narrows Suspension Bridge AKA "Galloping Gertie."
San Francisco is the future of Charleston--and Savannah. I hate to see it happen, but impermanence is the only constant.
Ive seen some pretty awesome footage of that one.
Where is this bridge in relation to the 'Blue Bridge'? I've never seen the cable stayed bridge but then I live in Texas...:-)
That's the one...
The Cable Bridge is about 2 miles east of the Blue Bridge. Where the OLD GREEN BRIDGE used to be on the Columbia River.
Evidently you have been here before in order to know of the Blue Bridge. Is that correct?
Interesting stats on the Big Mac. Nearly 850 feet from the tops of the towers to the bottom of the lake.
http://www.mackinacbridge.org/
Glad I didn't know about the disappearing Yugo the other times we crossed the Big Mac. The first time hubby took me across was pretty bad. It was sort of windy. As in very. The maximum speed was posted at like 15mph. There had been a tornado early in the morning, and the power was knocked out of a good portion of Michigan, from Lansing up to Mackinaw City. We were oblivious to all the bad weather because our hotel was on the right side of the power grid. Or something. Anywho, we drove across it. Slowly. And in the center lane.
The last time we went across was much better.
On the contrary. It provided a valuable lesson in
aerodynamics for all the bridges that came after it.
And retrofits to existing bridges.
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