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World's Scariest Bridges
Yahoo! ^ | September 2010 | Lyndsey Matthews

Posted on 09/29/2010 4:29:35 PM PDT by Pyro7480

Royal Gorge Bridge
Colorado

America's highest suspension bridge may be breathtaking for some, but those scared of heights may be left gasping for air as they stare straight down nearly 90 stories at the Arkansas River below. Completed in 1929, the bridge didn't have stabilizing wind cables until 1982.

Where: Royal Gorge, Colorado, over the Arkansas River.

Stats: 969 feet above the gorge; 1,260 feet long....

Mackinac Bridge
Michigan

Some drivers get so nervous about crossing this five-mile-long bridge that they don't even go. And this happens so often that the Mackinac Bridge Authority will drive your car or motorcycle for you (and for free). The biggest fear is the wind, which often exceeds 30 miles per hour on the bridge.

Where: Between Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas.

Stats: 5 miles long; 199 feet above the water....

Chesapeake Bay Bridge
Maryland

Drivers are notoriously afraid of this bridge, as it's subjected to frequent—and often violent—storms. And when the bad weather hits, forget about visibility: get to the middle of this five-mile-long bridge and you can barely see land.

Where: Spanning the Chesapeake Bay to connect Maryland's eastern and western shores.

Stats: Nearly 5 miles long; 186 feet high at its highest point.

(Excerpt) Read more at travel.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Society; Travel
KEYWORDS: bridge; bridges
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To: therightliveswithus

I’ve never been particularly afraid of heights... The Royal Gorge bridge did unnerve me... looking straight down over the edge, or between planks, or through knotholes in the planks - it made me queasy.


21 posted on 09/29/2010 5:03:52 PM PDT by Keith in Iowa (FR Class of 1998 | TV News is an oxymoron. | MSNBC = Moonbats Spouting Nothing But Crap.)
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To: Pyro7480

22 posted on 09/29/2010 5:06:35 PM PDT by Charles Henrickson (The Bridge of Death.)
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To: Charles Henrickson

What’s your favorite color?


23 posted on 09/29/2010 5:08:10 PM PDT by Holen1
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To: who knows what evil?

I remember the original Cooper River bridge quite well. Built in 1928 and declared obsolete from its inception.

The second span opened in 1966. I was a Citadel cadet and recall when the new span was closed from time to time and the old narrow span became two-way again. Even in my little 1956 Volkswagen the old span was hair raising epecially with my girlfriend clutching my gearshifting arm like a scared cat.

However, IMO nothing can beat for sheer fright the shortlived Tacoma Narrows brdge aka “Galloping Gertie”. Google the original color footage of its writhing death in a high wind.


24 posted on 09/29/2010 5:08:27 PM PDT by elcid1970 ("O Muslim! My bullets are dipped in pig grease!")
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To: knarf
From a pure aesthetic sense, the Cut River Bridge in the Upper Peninsula is a favorite of mine.

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us
25 posted on 09/29/2010 5:11:18 PM PDT by cripplecreek (Remember the River Raisin! (look it up))
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To: knarf

I’ve admired this bridge for a long time...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hawk_Bridge


26 posted on 09/29/2010 5:16:45 PM PDT by Keith in Iowa (FR Class of 1998 | TV News is an oxymoron. | MSNBC = Moonbats Spouting Nothing But Crap.)
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To: Pyro7480
Maybe not long enough to make the list, but at 650' above the Rio Grande, the Gorge Bridge outside of Taos, NM has plenty of pucker power:


27 posted on 09/29/2010 5:19:52 PM PDT by Ready4Freddy (Am working on plans for a Knights Templar Community Center next to the Kaaba in Mecca.)
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To: Pyro7480

The I35W bridge in Minneapolis was kinda scary for a few seconds. I heard that riding that thing down to the ground was quite the experience.


28 posted on 09/29/2010 5:19:56 PM PDT by Wissa (Gone Galt)
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To: Ready4Freddy

Whoa...


29 posted on 09/29/2010 5:21:44 PM PDT by Pyro7480 ("If you know how not to pray, take Joseph as your master, and you will not go astray." - St. Teresa)
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To: elcid1970

30 posted on 09/29/2010 5:21:51 PM PDT by fieldmarshaldj (~"This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Amber Lamps !"~~)
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To: Pyro7480

Too bad they didn’t include the Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys in the middle of a tropical storm :-)


31 posted on 09/29/2010 5:22:33 PM PDT by Fast Moving Angel (We'll remember in November!)
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To: Ready4Freddy

Yeah, been over that one a few times. I walked out to the middle to take pics of the gorge.


32 posted on 09/29/2010 5:25:43 PM PDT by fieldmarshaldj (~"This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Amber Lamps !"~~)
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To: Pyro7480
Chimney Rock, North Carolina, 315'. I was unable to cross this bridge as a small male child in 1962. Or maybe my Dad forced me to, and I've blocked it from my mind. All I know is that I'm now scared sh!tless of heights:


33 posted on 09/29/2010 5:26:51 PM PDT by Ready4Freddy (Am working on plans for a Knights Templar Community Center next to the Kaaba in Mecca.)
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To: Pyro7480

Too bad they didn’t include the Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys in the middle of a tropical storm :-)


34 posted on 09/29/2010 5:27:10 PM PDT by Fast Moving Angel (We'll remember in November!)
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To: Fast Moving Angel

Sorry for the double post - computer hiccup.


35 posted on 09/29/2010 5:28:22 PM PDT by Fast Moving Angel (We'll remember in November!)
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To: Pyro7480
and then of course .. Gallopin' Gertie .. what ain't no more
36 posted on 09/29/2010 5:41:42 PM PDT by knarf (I say things that are true ... I have no proof ... but they're true)
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To: Pyro7480
Glenn Canyon Dam in Arizona is kinda scary.
37 posted on 09/29/2010 5:42:54 PM PDT by Beowulf9
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To: Pyro7480

I’ve seen Royal Gorge but wasn’t wiling to pay $10 to cross a bridge. The railroad pass 45 mile long gravel road I took to get there was fun enough. No guardrails, gravel, huge drops, multiple switchbacks, one lane wide for two way traffic. Someone’s backing up. That was great.

I cross Big Mac often driving a bus taking kids to a Christian Camp in northern Michigan. Just moved to Maryland and have only crossed the Bay Bridge once.


38 posted on 09/29/2010 5:52:24 PM PDT by cyclotic (Boy Scouts-Developing Leaders in a World of Followers.)
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To: Pyro7480

Been across the New River Gorge Bridge on US 19 in West Virginia - it has sides so you can’t see the gorge very well though. Always thought it was the highest in the U.S., guess not.


39 posted on 09/29/2010 6:10:11 PM PDT by Some Fat Guy in L.A. (Wanna learn humility? Become a Pittsburgh Pirates fan!)
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To: fieldmarshaldj

I’ve tried to walk out to the first observation section 3 times. Just can’t make it.


40 posted on 09/29/2010 6:19:03 PM PDT by Ready4Freddy (Am working on plans for a Knights Templar Community Center next to the Kaaba in Mecca.)
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