Not a Disaster (yet?...) , but interesting 3

[DanEE]

I've posted the two links below from the NC DOT traffic cams with the thought that many of you might enjoy watching this bridge being built.

http://tims.ncdot.gov/tims/cameras/viewimage.ashx?id=BonnerBridgeSouth.jpg

https://tims.ncdot.gov/tims/cameras/viewimage.ashx?id=BonnerBridgeHighRise.jpg

Above URLs from

http://tims.ncdot.gov/tims/RegionSummary.aspx?re=9

Not a disaster (yet), but in the long debates, geology studys, lawsuits about where the new bridge under construction to replace the Herbert C Bonner bridge on the outer banks of North Carolina was to go, the possibility of becoming a bridge at sea that connects to no land was brought up given anticipated sea level rise. A major factor in the deterioration of the existing bridge and need to replace is movement of the channel to the South threating the sound end of the old bridge and also erosion around the in channel bridge support foundations.

The geological history of the Outer Banks is quite interesting in that it is a thin ribbon of sand on an approximately 50 - 75 mile wide sloping base from inland extending out to the continental shelf. The banks move inland with sea level rise and moved outward as sea level fell during the periods of colder earth temperatures.

https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1177b/report.pdf

One proposed plan was the build a much longer bridge inland and parallel to this section of more unstable outer banks as that is likely where the outer banks will end up somewhere down the road. Needless to say local real estate interests didn't care for that plan. Bridge to NoWhere

Early resident fisherman built their small houses where they could be rolled on logs to move them as the barrier islands moved and had trap doors in the floor that could be opened to help them stay in place during flooding. Visible in satellite photos and research in the area has found reminants of the outer banks on what is dry land well in land in North Carolina.

Enjoy the photos. While still images, they update frequently.

 

[bimr]

Thanks for the post. One opinion may be that the cost for a bridge to no where is a disaster to the government budget.

 

[JohnRBaker]

Not all "Bridges-to-nowhere" get built. The most infamous one, which was funded multiple times by Congress but was never stared, was the 'Gravina Island Bridge' in Ketchikan, Alaska. The proposal was to build a $400 Million bridge nearly as long as the Golden Gate Bridge and higher than the Brooklyn Bridge, to connect an island with a population of 50 to the mainland, replacing a $6 ferry ride, which ran every 15-30 minutes:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravina_Island_Bridge

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[dgallup]

Pittsburgh had a bridge to nowhere for about 6 years because they started construction on one side before they had acquired the land on the other side. It was already a running joke when on Dec. 12, 1964, University of Pittsburgh student Frederick Williams and his station wagon flew 170 feet in the air off the unfinished ramp and landed near the river bank upside down. He emerged shaken but unhurt. Other drivers had to wait five more years to make the trip. Within a few weeks of this near tragedy, an iconic Pittsburgh radio personality, Rege Cordic, distributed commemorative bumper stickers which read “Official Entry, Cordic & Company Bridge Leap Contest.” With thousands of vehicles bearing these stickers on Pittsburgh’s streets, the city responded by blocking off the end of the bridge with concrete barriers.

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