@@RebelTvShka It should have a narrow and height warning well before you get to it and a place to turn around. Metropolis should have replaced this long ago.
@@louisianagator95 that bridge is about two and a half hours from me. One of these days when I have a medical appointment in the area I so, so very much want to just go park by that bridge with some food.
CORRECTION: Thank you for all your kind comments regarding my family’s ties to this bridge. My grandfather and his brothers were ironworkers on many jobs in the area and my Grandfather was an ironworker for the Army Corps of Engineers during WWII. The correction is this: My Grandfather fell from this bridge (NOT his brother) and Grandpa broke his back. My Great-Uncle (Grandpa’s brother) fell while working on the Atomic plant in Paducah, Ky in 1951. I’m not a ‘spring chicken anymore myself and sometimes the oral stories get confused. But as stated previously, I grew up in this area and have crossed this bridge more times than I can count…and it sounds just like the video and is exactly as others have commented. Rest in peace, Gr-Uncle Joe and my dear sweet Grandpa.
Tacoma narrows Bridge can be scary specially when the wind picks up. But it's newer than most bridges in America. Drove shuttle across it would hit so hard you have to slow down & ride middle lane.
Me too. I grew up on the Paducah, KY side. I remember when they put in the steel deck. Long time ago, but I remember. It was due to icing issues we had on the bridge. It is an intimidating sound, but it was more dangerous before they did. People would frequently crash on it or just get stuck on the steep approach during the winter months. Thanks for the post!
Sometime between 1987 - 1990, I was travelling from Memphis to Galesburg Illinois. I had only enough money to get to Paducah, so I started walking north from there. I was approaching this brifge by foot, when an RV pulled to the curb. The driver, an old Marine vet, was tired, & figured I could help him drive while he rested, & I would get further along. Thanks to him, I was spared having to cross this on foot, or trying to, anyway. I don't remember how much further he took me past Fort Massac, but he was a decent fellow, & we had goid conversation while he got me closer to my destination.
I grew up right next to a steel deck bridge, but it was much shorter than this one. Most people were scared to cross it on foot, but I was used to it. It only got weird when a section of the grate broke loose and fell in the creek below. It left a hole big enough to drop a tire through. We had to call the local fire department out to do an emergency welding job to put it back in place. Eventually the bridge was replaced with a concrete deck bridge. I still have a piece of the grate as a souvenir.
Did you ever do anything with the grate? Like, hang it up, make it into art, etc? Just curious. i LOVE bridges and now i'm imagining what i would do with such a piece! :)
I'd imagine the narrowness and the noise from the steel grating actually cause drivers to slow down. Often the perception of danger actually makes something safer as it reduces complacency and makes drivers take more care. The final turn at the end though, I can see that causing scrapes (albeit low speed ones).
This is true, but growing up my father always told me that the most dangerous thing on the road is other drivers. I have always found this to be true. People do scary and unpredictable things when they are scared. Speaking from experience with very hastily paved roads in my area, they can end up with ridges in them that will grab your tires and make you travel back and forth unpredictably. That in itself without the narrowness is very nerve racking - it's like you're driving a boat instead of a car.
I live nearby. When I first moved to the area, I was a sales trainer for a local food distribution company. I rented a 13-passenger van and took a group of sales people north into central Illinois to tour a Kraft manufacturing plant. A local sales person said it would be quicker if we crossed the Brookport Bridge. I'd never seen the bridge, so agreed to the plan. I am afraid of heights and a bit afraid of bridges. This bridge, with that large unfamiliar van, terrified me. When we got to the end and came to the sharp curve, I couldn't budge my foot off the accelerator and onto the brakes! A couple of folks on one side of the van swore they could count the rivets in the side of the railing because we got so close to the side! I've been across the bridge several times since then, but not as a driver. You definitely get a side-to-side motion of your tires due to the grooves in the steel road bed. No way to prevent that via steering, you just have to go with it. You could not pay me to ride a motorcycle across it!
I've ridden my motorcycle over temporary, short bridges with such a bridge deck. Definitely gotta take it slow, grip levels are very low. Not sure if it would be doable at all if it rains. But in my case, it's bridges of 20m long at best, so even hopping off and walking isn't a big deal.
We have a road with an overpass bridge that has those same grooves on it and the 4 wheel positraction in my car makes it feel like I’m going to start to fishtail.
-You are so right.....NO way i would ride my motorcycle across this bridge due to that steel grate that will pull ya bike side to side & even worse when its wet. 100% NNOOO WWAAAYYYY.
We had a few of these steel deck bridges in Minneapolis when I was a kid. Advantages: The snow would often filter through which eliminated a lot of plowing. Invented in "horse & buggy days" it allowed the manure to fall through to the river below so easy cleanup. Early narrow-tired vehicles such as the Model T could cross with little trouble (I own one and have tried it) but as tires became wider vehicles tended to "dance" side-to-side and you had to correct for this while steering.
Just casually driving a model t across this 😂😂. I had a few of these in Pennsylvania, right by the jersey border and they always freaked my mom out but I guess since I grew up driving it it never bothered me. But I've been living in Florida for a while and I've done most of my driving down here and let me tell you how beautiful and smooth roads can be when it doesn't snow or get icy 😂
I've driven this bridge more than once and hate it intensely. It is so terrifying. Once, I got to that corner only to find a semi, going too fast, and taking up both lanes, coming right at me. He took up the entire roadway because he was going too fast for the corner. To this day, I have no idea how we got safely past it. It's all a big blur. But somehow, we made it past the semi and off the bridge. Had to have been angels
This was filmed on a bright clear day. I can't imagine driving over this bridge at night with oncoming headlights. Nor could I imagine driving over this bridge during rain and snow storms.
This video is 100% genuine to the authenticity of how I felt the one-time I drove across this bridge. It is definitely one of the top 10 scariest I've ever been on. Aside from nostalgia and convenience, the bridge offers nothing in the way of safety or feeling secure when passing through.
I cycled across this bridge in May 2017. There were a few holes in it that were small enough that a car would have been ok hitting them but it would have absolutely wrecked my bike. I was definitely a man of prayer going over that bridge that day. Never been so glad to get back to a regular road.
@Gretchen K. Don't plan on it. I didn't know it was going to be steel grate all the way across until I was already on the deck. I'm not from that area, or really even anywhere close to that area.
@@shieldgenerator7 because I was on a 4-state multi day bicycle trip and didn’t realize it was a steel grate bridge for the whole way across until I was already up on it
There was a similar bridge in Charleston, South Carolina-the old Grace Memorial Bridge over the Cooper River. Completed in 1929, its span was 250 feet high. It was pretty scary to drive on at first, especially at night, but not bad once you got used to it. The bridge initially had traffic in both directions, but in the ‘60s a new bridge was built alongside it, and traffic was changed so that both lanes were in the same direction.
@@SamtheMan0508 Yeah, the Grace Bridge was very narrow and bumpy, on top of everything else! My mom used to drive her huge ‘59 Buick over it regularly-when traffic was in both directions! That must have felt like being a tightrope walker!
I can only imagine all the tailgating that goes on on this bridge every single day. 25 mph means 35 or 40 miles an hour to a lot of people out there. That would only make this experience more scary.
I live in paducah and have gone over this bridge many times. Everyone usually does 25 or thirty. That bridge sucks, the floor of it puls your vehicle to the left and right constantly.
@@robertcole7874 yeah. That's what I meant when I talked about the bridge in NYC . The grates are in sections and they don't line up exactly. They catch the treads and move the vehicle like you said. Wouldn't be so freaky if the lanes weren't so narrow.
i grew up visiting my family in nashville TN and we had to drive from St. louis to get there. one time, my mom got lost in the dead of night and this bridge was on the route the GPS gave us to get back on track. my mom is terrified of bridges and it was dark outside but we had to keep driving so she went over this bridge thinking it was a normal bridge and she instantly regretted it. she had to grip the steering wheel as hard as she could to keep control of the car. the creaking and groaning of the steel is even more terrifying at night when you can’t see if the bridge is falling apart or not.
Not condemned but replaced. The problem is what to replace it with? I would opt for a concrete bridge with four lanes and convert this bridge to a Pedestrian/Bicycle path. This bridge appears to be solid and well maintained, thus it is still usable but it is clearly functionally obsolete and needs to be replaced for automotive traffic.
It's amazing this big steel bridge that is nearly 100 years old is still being use with that large traffic volume of cars and trucks. Current vehicles traffic produces much more energy on the road/bridge structure than 1920s vehicles. Amazing well designed steel bridge for its time!
Older bridges like this are very well built and will last forever if they get the proper preventive maintenance and repair. Look at the historic suspension bridge in Cincinnati, look at the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, look at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, all very well designed and very well built and all will be there after we are all long gone.
@@JS-qi1ou Actually old bridges need lots of maintenance and preservation I have to look at dozens and dozens of old bridges each year maintenance nightmare
This video is a masterpiece -- sound, visuals, editing -- and words w/o voice over...it's a brilliantly produced short movie about this historic, scary bridge. Many thanks to the creator of it!
Great video - almost captures the real experience - but unless you can feel your tires being pulled to the left and to the right by the steel grate surface - it can't do the real thing justice. I drove my business Box Truck (think Ryder Truck) across this bridge when the 1-24 bridge was backed up 2 hours deep. Oh... my.... It would have been fine without any oncoming traffic - but since 24 was shut down - it was FULL of oncoming traffic. Tightest butt clench I'd ever had while driving a vehicle. Avoid this bridge if you can. It's a loud, vibrating, breath-holding experience to say the least.
It actually sounds like the faint noise at the Indy 500 when you live central Indianapolis. You’re not close to the Raceway but you’re not too far to not hear the cars zoom around the track.
I didn't live near the track, I grew up on the southeast side of Indy, but there was a small dirt track in my neighborhood that ran the figure 8 and smash up derby in the summers, and I would go to sleep with my window open so I could hear the cars and the cheers. One of the few things about Indy that I missed after leaving.
Crossing that bridge at night listening to the moening that comes from the steel under your tires. Sounds like the highway to hell crossing the River Styx. 🥺😬
This video has a spooky tone to it, congrats to the editor, i really enjoyed the way it builds the tension up, the inicial info with the sound effects, all very good.
The view out the window as you approach the bridge as you see it in the distance is super scary. Imagine crossing this thing at night or in a snow storm?.
I lived in Paducah for a short time. One night when I was new in town I was bored driving around and accidentally ended up driving over this bridge. The surface of the bridge, in addition to being noisy when driving over, grips onto your tires in a strange way and makes your car veer strongly left and right at random. Since it was night, I couldn't see how long the bridge was and it felt like I was on it in hell forever. Then I ended up in that small little Illinois town and had to turn around and drive right back over! It was less scary the second time, but I never drove that way again. Lol at the guy 3:19 just walking up the narrow shoulder inches from cars with no shirt on. Makes me miss my kentucky days.
I crossed a bridge with steel decking like this in South Florida on my motorcycle in the pouring rain. I am now a 75 y\o lady. That was 40 years ago. I put 10k miles on my bike that year. That remains one of the scariest experiences of my life.
That bridge may be scary, but I love rivers; they are so calming to me. Anyway, Here are some other bridges for your consideration; The Eugene Talmadge Bridge over the Savannah River in Georgia, The Walt Whitman Bridge over the Delaware River in Philadelphia, The commodore Barry Bridge over the Delaware River, the Royal Gorge Bridge over the Arkansas River in Canon City, Colorado..and The Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay in Florida. Check them out !!! They always creeped me out. 😮
The Sunshine Skyway in Tampa; the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge in Charleston, South Carolina; the Rainbow Bridge here in Port Arthur ,Texas; and the Fred Hartman Bridge in Baytown, Texas are all terrifying
I do believe you have a loose rivet. 🤪 I love watching these old rivers roll and the traffic on them. However, there is no joy in crossing them on these old dilapidated bridges. It's not a matter of if but when they will fall, and I pray I'm not on them or anywhere near them when it happens.
🤣🤣🤣I was feeling down about something I'm going through and this video popped up and I decided to check the comments while waiting for the video to get going and came across your comment.So I want to thank you so much for posting I actually lol.You cheered me up even if only for awhile.I needed to laugh. Thanks
I live in southern IL and I have crossed this bridge many times over the years. I never knew there was a suicide hotline, so ironic that that is posted near one of the most dangerous bridges in the US. Just a few years ago a NEARLY IDENTICAL BRIDGE that was about the same size and age as this bridge collapsed maybe 50 miles away in Southeast Missouri .
@@sweet-lullabies How many bridges with such a steel deck are there in the US then? I have never seen such a bridge in my life, in any of the countries in Europe where I have been (I live in the Netherlands)
@@danielvandommele1204 According to Wikipedia, there are thousands of steel deck bridges throughout the world, but only 60 in the US as of late 2005 (couldn’t be bothered to find more recent information).
The Ohio river with it’s currents make a rescue nearly impossible. They know people down on life who would try and jump are at the mercy of that river, not the jump itself. It rarely turns out positive when trying to rescue, or looking for anyone in the river. The main thing is, that perhaps, someone struggling may think twice and seek help. 🙏 bridge or no bridge.
It's like being alone with no chance of anyone saving or even comforting you. This began my life's bridge mantra: Terra firma, Terra firma, Terra firma.
I'm from a metropolis illinois. A small town right past brookport. We used to take this bridge on a regular basis because metropolis doesn't have a Walmart. Most Of the stores we shopped at was in Paducah Kentucky. But if you were coming from the brookport side going over to the Paducah Kentucky side. The curve at the bottom of the bridge is called Dead Man's curve. A lot of people have died speeding around that curve.
Add about four and a half miles to the length, an additional lane on each side and 20 miles an hour to the speed limit and you've got the Mackinac bridge. Same creepy steel grating.
Of course you know why the steel grating is in a lot of bridges like this. If you look up Galloping Gertie you'll see why the Mighty Mac was altered in design as it is. The airflow through the grates prevent swaying in strong winds. That would make the Bridge scarier....except the Mac does sway. :)
Been across the Mac on a windy day as a passenger. Looking through the grate, seeing the water way, WAY down below, feeling the car sway on the grate and seeing the movement of the bridge. Intense. And totally not for the scared of heights.
That bridge is as solid as a rock; cross it every winter, usually pulling a trailer and one time escorted across while in a 53’ semi truck toy hauler in high winds.
@@kaykay8100 not really. You just drive slowly as you would on any other icy roads. Edit: it has the potential to ice up because of the fact it is over water, which is typical of all bridges. I am personally more concerned with slush and whatever precipitation night be falling as I'm crossing it. Otherwise I have never experienced it being extremely iced over. They're very good about keeping a close eye on the Bridge's conditions and will close it if need be. The only time I've ever known it to close is when it's is extremely windy, usually in excess of 50 MPH they'll close it or when the sun comes out and thaws the ice off the steel parts.
I saw a guy walking over the 7 mile bridge to Key West and thought the same thing, where is he going??? Its not just 7 miles there is nothing before or after it really. I remember thinking I hope he is not a jumper...
I grew up near Brookport and drove this bridge several times a week. The steel grates will shift your car left to right but the key is to hold firm and trust not easy to do for sure. I even rode my bike over it a couple times. Now that really is scary. There are many many cars in the area with some blue "stripes" from that bridge. But my grandmother drove across it her whole life until about 85. And she was driving a '71 Chevy caprice. Now that is scary.
I live in Grand Rivers Ky and I’ve been across many times as well. Several years ago I used to mow yards on the side and I had a couple yards in Brookport. I used to pull my dual axel 16ft trailer behind my truck over this thing. Talk about threading the needle. The shifting left to right is what always got me. It you stayed at 25mph it wasn’t so bad, but very noticeable at 30 and above.
I can totally vouch for @Blue Collar Intellect regarding this…It’s true your car does literally shift side to side. I chickened out every time I got to the bridge with my bike - way to go! Funny, my grandparents drove big sedans and yet they preferred the Brookport Bridge over the new I-24 Bridge - I know first hand the kind of scary you reference with your grandma in her ‘71 Caprice:) My grandparents told me they didn’t like the high speeds and high number of cars on the I-24 bridge. Memories…of the way we were🥺
We had a bridge in my area like this, I remember being pushed around by the grates, and every segment having a slightly different whirring sound. Much, much shorter bridge though!
Being able to see through a bridge's deck to the water below is the cause of extreme psychological discomfort. That used to be the state of affairs on the bike lane of the Queensboro Bridge (also called the 59th Street Bridge) in New York City. Fortunately, that roadbed is now paved. But, for the period of time during which it consisted of see-through grating, the ride over that bridge was terrifying.
It's always amazed me that us as humans built cars that could go 80mph and still have only a yellow line and 2 feet dividing oncoming lanes. What a world we live in
Even worse when there's plenty of usuable land on either side too. Especially when it's one of the major highways in the state (Tasmania, Australia). I understand you don't want the whole area to be road, but you could easily make it a metre wider on each side in most places.
You could just go three miles west and use the modern I-24 bridge. That bridge has four lanes and has a divider. This bridge probably exists simply because it's probably cheaper to just leave it be rather than demolish it.
@@callummclachlan4771 It's not so much that there isn't room, it's that you can't really widen this type of bridge. It wasn't designed to be widened, and widening it would be extremely expensive and would more or less cost the same, if not more, than just building a new bridge. In fact, that's exactly why three miles west of this one there is a 4 lane modern bridge that more or less replaces this one, and this one is just an artifact that is cheaper to leave standing than to demolish.
I’ve driven over this bridge several times, and it freaks me out every time. I’m not from the area, so I didn’t know it was a such a legendary bridge. It makes you feel like you are losing control of your vehicle, even while driving slow and steady. It’s quite unnerving.
That's mainly because there's no pavement which makes tires have no traction because tired and a steel road aren't a great combination the steel gratlings on the road also makes roads be safer but it also some people drive like loonie tones lol
I’d be driving slow as a turtle going across this tight bridge…holding the steering wheel with both hands,radio off,complete silence and praying the entire time. The sound alone gives me chills. Ohh hell naw!
It's an unnerving experience just watching this video. I applaud everyone who traverses this bridge daily. I think that I would suffer heart failure driving over there. In fact, even the thought of it gives me goosebumps!
Lol! I love driving across historical Bridges. I can't believe so many people are scared to death of them! Maybe they just aren't good drivers. 😆 They would really have fun walking on the open deck walkways.
@@ligmajobs4686 When you are strong enough to reply with a YT video of you crossing this exact same bridge, your comment will appear slightly less foolish.
I've never been so glad to see the end of a bridge in my life, and I was only on it virtually through your video. I'd never be able to cross that thing. Nope.
From the start, I was impressed that you'd found the perfect industrial-noisecore soundtrack with tones that seemed to evoke the slippery metallic droning of an unsettling white-knuckle terror-drive across an endless steel-decked bridge...but HELL, that's just the sound of the frickin' bridge itself!
Around 2009 I had the pleasure of crossing this bridge twice (both directions). We were traveling from SC to pick up a dog from a breeder in the Ozarks. A truly memorable crossing. Saw this and just had to add a post.
Now i understand why! I was driving out of the Kentucky Hills very late at night and came to this bridge not aware it was even there. I felt terrified. It was pitch black out and did not feel right at all. I had taken over the wheel when the driver got tired about 2 hours prior and had not had a chance to look at the map first so was "driving blind." The passenger with me did not help the matter when my anxiety went from 0-100 in an instant. They told me to "pull over and just let them drive"... i saw that there was no "pull over lane" and completely stopping on a bridge like that could have been very dangerous. I mean look at the guard rail😳! I Got us over it and calmed myself to do it but came to youtube afterward to see what the fuse was all about. Now i see. Yikes.
I seen that too when we passed over this bridge on our road trip! Super wild. Gives me chills thinking about it lol. Watching this and then reminiscing the trek across this thing is crazy and mind blowing to me
Illinois had many steel deck bridges when I was young. I got conditioned to expect them. So 42 years ago when I first drove the Brookport bridge, it was fun due to length. Last journey on it was 20 years ago. Don't remember wheels wandering on steel decks until the car we had in 2011. Before then, the wheel base or tire materials probably did not interact as much with the deck. Peoria use to have a short, treacherous steel deck draw bridge with an extremely nasty, tight dog leg. It was important to try to look around the large operator's tower to see if a school bus or longer truck was oncoming. If so, then give way. It was impossible pass through the dog leg at the same time. This Franklin Street bridge had many accidents every month. It also had a fascinating corruption history during its building. The river traffic and vehicle traffic abhored it. Gone. Not missed. Not forgotten as a terrible bridge. But, it was fun to take a sandwich and watch river or road traffic or both struggle while eating lunch.
Looks like any typical bridge in the northeast. I don’t get the hype of its scariness. Like my sister literally lived next to a bridge with the same metal grate and narrowness 30 mins outside Boston, and CT, NY, PA and NJ are full of these types of bridges. This is just what we Yankees perceive as normal.
When I saw the title of this video, I knew what bridge it was. Hell, I couldn’t have recalled where, exactly, I’d encountered this bridge (I knew it was somewhere in Illinois), but I sure as hell recalled what it was like. Many years ago, I was doing a cross-country driving vacation, coast to coast, with some friends, and came across this bridge. I was driving a (then new) high-performance, E39 BMW M5. This was a car that, on nearly all road surfaces and conditions, was extremely stable (running on very wide, low-profile, Michelin Z-rated rubber). I say nearly all, because on that steel-grate deck surface, what had been, seconds earlier, a straight tracking, completely stable automobile (with a somewhat stiff ride), was now a wandering, darting mess of vibrations and secondary resonance. Now, this wasn’t the first time I driven over such a surface, as steel deck bridges dot the northeast on secondary roads, but usually this type of surface is restricted to a short span of 50, or 100 feet. This was something entirely different, a narrow two lanes with no shoulder, extremely loud, long span with really weird noises from the bridge itself, my car buzzing and vibrating, the wandering and hunting of the steering made for seriously white-knuckle time. I’ve been to performance driving school (Bondurant, now called Radford), I’ve driven the Nordschleife, I’ve done track days for years, driven in NYC traffic most of my life, and I have never been as surprised and unnerved as I was on that bridge, two decades ago. And I remember wishing the thing would end, but also remember that speeding up made everything worse, and the oncoming traffic, undoubtedly struggling with similar directional stability issues, seemed awfully close. I remember thinking “this doesn’t seem safe, how is this bridge considered okay?”. I also remember remarking, once across, “how the hell do motorcyclists cross that damn thing?”. And I crossed the bridge during a late summer afternoon, in daylight. At night, in bad weather, with limited visibility? Forget about it. If you make the thing a bit wider, or shorter, remove some of the rattling of the span, it’s not as scary. But as built, it’s pretty much the most unpleasant bridge I’ve ever encountered (including some pretty sketchy spans that I’ve crossed in developing nations).
Yeah, I drive a low profile tire now. I can see how it would suck on that bridge. For my local metal span, I used to insist on slightly over-inflated tires---and that was before low-profile was a thing.
The original Sunshine Skyway in St Pete Florida was built exactly like this bridge. It collapsed after a ship hit the main support pillar during a very bad storm. The Greyhound bus went off the bridge and killed many. So I can relate to how this bridge "feels" and "sounds". God rest the souls that have been lost due to these bridge designs.
@@hoythunter4853 a water traffic bridge should always be designed to withstand the majority of ship accidents. The main support pillar in particular should have the most safeguards designed into it.
@Donna Zappala that old Sunshine Skycrest looked like it was straight up when you first got on! It was a very steep incline, but I still miss that ole bridge! I remember vividly the rainy morning it went down, hard to believe!!!
Back in the 60s & 70s we would travel across several of these bridges going to and returning from high school sporting events. Once lost our rear view mirrors from an oncoming tractor trailer rig!
3:21 I’ve watched this video a few times because I’ve been trying to figure out where this person is walking to. I do not see a path for pedestrians to walk across the bridge once you get to the section where the actual bridge (blue bridge) is. This is my first time seeing this bridge, nor have I driven across it before. I’m sure I could manage it if I drove the speed limit or less until I got used to it, but a pedestrian would definitely throw everything off for me… that’d be the main reason I’d crash because id be surprised that someone is actually walking across the bridge knowing they’d have to walk in the street getting in the path of drivers as if the bridge wasn’t narrow enough already
Maybe The pedestrian was the bridge operator. He has to park at one end and walk along the bridge and go up into the control room, if it is a type of drawbridge. They do exactly that close to where I live.
It is frightening! For some reason, watching this brought back my memories of driving across the Tacoma Narrows bridge, 30+ years ago. Thanks for sharing.
The old Narrows Bridge in Tacoma was scary when there was traffic going both directions! Thank goodness they built a second bridge, it’s not nearly as scary now.
When I was a kid, my dad and mom sometimes crossed the K & I bridge between New Albany Indiana and Louisville Kentucky. It was a railroad bridge with steel grate automobile decks attached on each side. We called it the singing bridge.
This is the bridge that 30 years ago started my anxiety about bridges. I was traveling very late at night, with very very few other cars on the road, and I saw this bridge off to my left thinking wow that's an old bridge I bet it's not in use anymore. And before I knew it I was actually on that bridge. It is the maximum scariest bridge I've ever experienced.
In Montréal, we also have a steel deck bridge : The Victoria bridge. The differences : Both directions are two lanes, are separated by a railway, is completely straight AND is at a constant elevation. Also, all the lanes are wider. Almost 50% wider. It was MADE to allow trucks to cross the St. Lawrence River.
Was it updated? I did a search but I honestly don’t know if it pulled up the same bridge. The Victoria Bridge (that I found while searching) was opened in 1860, so they 100% had to have updated it if it was built for allowance of semis.
@@jillian.x Originally, it was strictly a rail way bridge. Then, during WWI if I remember correctly, two road vehicles lanes where added, on of each sides of the rails, to help support the war effort. War effort meant mostly truck, as personal vehicles where seen as a waste of resources.
@@muzluv33 Across the St.Laurence river. On the Montréal side, just south of the Old Port. It passes just south the Southern tip of Ile Notre-Damme on the Longueuil side.
We have metal bridges in PA. When my kids were small, we told them it was a singing bridge. My son sang “itsy bitsy spider” every time. It was so cute.
Almost all bridges still have metal structure. This is a truss bridge built in the 30s and is designed in such a way that the whole bridge collapses if one part of the truss fails. Old, facture-critical bridges are terrifying.
If you want scary, try crossing the Ambassador Bridge between Detroid MI and Windsor ON. During busy times, you will be sitting in a slow moving line atop the bridge. Which is full of heavy trucks. When you are still you can feel the bridge moving from all of the truck traffic, and there are holes in the concrete with the massive drop to the water you can see through. Did it in a truck almost every week for a few years.
I only drove once in MI. To bring back my late father's car to my son. But I did not go to OH. I can never drive in MI again. Only the Lord got me through.
I was 21 in 1975 and moving from Fort Leonard Wood to Fort Bragg with my wife, son and personal belongings loaded in a 6x12 trailer when we encountered this monster at 2am in the fog! Needless to say we didn't get sleepy for quite some time after getting of it.
My Dad retired from the Army in 1972 and got a job in White Lake N.C. Which is 1 hour from Fort Bragg.We move the White Lake.There was a Bridge that look just like this one,but a shorter version that went across the Cape Fear River just outside of Elizabethtown N.C. on 701 which routed to White Lake.It was built in the 1920s.It was torn down in 1983
I was surprised someone was walking on the side of the road. Anyway, I love these types of bridges with my motorcycle. Here's how you do it: Don't look at the 2 yellow center lines, or the guard rails, or oncoming traffic, look out at the center of your lane. You will drive where you are looking. You are driving your car, your car isn't driving you. Keep a firm, but not too tight of a grip on the wheel, and relax a bit. And for the love of God, if it says go 25...then you go 25. I think the Blackhawk Bridge at Lansing, IA, is the last all steel bridge on the Mississippi, and the old Keokuk, IA, bridge was similar to this one. It also had a kink in it, and was narrow enough that trucks would sometimes lose their mirrors if they met another truck in the opposite direction. Drive safe.
In the mid sixties I crossed it in a fifty Chevy pickup loaded with scaffolding and boards , front end pointed skyward . Got across and was very thankful, will never forget that ride
We have a small one lane steel grate bridge in town. It was changed into a bike path, and another bridge was built to bypass the old route. The sensation of steel grate bridges is very unnerving if you've never experienced it; especially if it is raining.
I'll have to discuss this with my physics major classmates, they'll be so excited that engineers have already created a subplanck length item with this bridge's width and almost a century ago! Wow!
I’m from southern Indiana, literally 30 minutes north of Louisville, Kentucky. While I am not familiar with The Brookport Bridge, I am extremely familiar with the Ohio River. Used to cross it everyday for work. I’m generally not a superstitious person, but there are quite a few bridges that cross the Ohio River in different states that are downright scary & dangerous. The Ohio River itself, is said to be extremely haunted & with a bridge like this that itself has history, I wouldn’t doubt this bridge to be scary as heck. It even looks freaky during the day, I can’t imagine what it’s like crossing this at night.
I'm from southwest Indiana and the bridges on the Kentucky border are the only ones that have ever bothered me. Recently went over one at night and Jesus Christ it was pitch black, you couldn't see it until we were right up on it. Noisy, bumpy, dark, and old. All great things to look for in a bridge. The Sunshine Skyway is fun. These bridges make me expect an appearance from mothman.
I live in louisville, I also cross the ohio river through the second street bridge. The main toll bridge is super wide and newer but lately the shermon minton has been closing down a lot
Grew up in north suburbs of St. Louis. US 67 had a similar bridge across the Missouri River, but it had a sharp curve in the middle of the bridge! Local high schools Drivers Education classes had students drive on that bridge!
I’m born and raised in southern WV, bordering eastern KY and southern OH.. We used to have quite a few of these steel road bridges in the area. When I was a kid, we called them “singing bridges” because of the sound they make. I also remember when I first got my drivers license how tough it was to navigate those steel roads, especially if it was raining. I never understood why anyone would think using steel grates would be ideal for vehicle use on a bridge.. 🙄
We call em singing bridges here in PA too. Most have been replaced but surprisingly There's still some around with no plans to replace em as far as I know
@@heisey-b7x Pacific Northwest bridges are notorious for their steel road structure. Hawthorne Bridge in Portland and the infamous Narrows Bridge in Tacoma are some of them.
The 'Mighty Mac(kinaw) Bridge joining the upper & lower penisulaes of Michigan have several grates that were used so as to allow for the wind to pass thru, adding to the aerodynamics of the structure. Simply put, it allows the bridge to withstand the wind forces. That in turn prevents the bridge from being too rigid and not being able to flex. I HEARTILY agree that it is unsettling to drive upon it. I can't imagine doing it for 760' on an extremely narrow bridge to boot!
@@heisey-b7x Yeah I know of at least one around Orangeville/Benton area. We cross it every time we have a picnic or go to one of the festivals up at Twin Bridges Park.
I went over that bridge last year.. I’ve gone over tons of bridges. That one terrifies me. When you drive over it the metal grate feels like it wants to pull your wheels towards the side.
I've driven across the Brookport Bridge hundreds of times over the years. It's always an adrenalin rush. I moved from the area over 30 years ago, but every time I reminisce about Paducah, I think of this bridge.
BRO, AS YOU WERE APPROACHING THE BRIDGE IT'S TRANSPORTED ME BACK TO WHEN I WAS WATCHING A SCARY MOVIE IN THE THEATER BACK IN THE DAYS, VERY INTENSE. GREAT JOB.
Most of us old folks grew up crossing bridges like this. In the town I lived in we had 3 of them, of various types. Eventually all 3 were torn down and replaced. Thanks for the memory.
Anybody that has traveled on the old 7 nile bridge in the Keys in Florida would say that brifge, until its closing, was the scariest. It was a 7 mile long bridge that carried cars SUSPENDED OVER a train track. Over open water. If you get a chance to look at a picture of it you can see how insane it was. Part of the bridge are still sticking out of the water just next to the new 7 mile bridge.
Fished for sharks and " Jewfish " in the 60's & 70's at night from the 7 mile bridge ( overseas highway ) - two narrow lanes with old steel train track guardrails from Marathon to Bahia Honda with flashing amber lights on semi trucks hauling mobile homes rushing by . You could turn around at Pigeon key . Bridge tender over Moser Channel got incinerated one day when a too high vehicle struck the propane tank under his house .
I've driven over this bridge many times, including times when it was being worked on. I didn't think much of it until now. I'm sure it'll be a little more nerve wracking next time thanks to this video lol.
I grew up in southern Illinois and as a kid drove over this bridge until the interstate 24 bridge was built. I never liked it and was always terrified. For as many years I can remember this was the only way to get to Paducah, KY.
At least there's movement on this bridge. My bridge anxiety comes in being suspended on the George Washington Bridge from NYC to NJ for 30 mins. in bumper to bumper traffic. 😳
But at least the GWB has more than 2 lanes......we have a bridge like this one in Trenton NJ called the Calhoun St Bridge crossing the Delaware River. The only difference is that it's not as long as this bridge......
This reminds me of how the old Chesapeake Bay Bridge was before before it was replaced. It too had an open deck but it's 380' height above the water and 5 mile length made it very scary and very susceptible to winds coming up the bay. It was still better than the ferry boats that were there before the bridge in the 1950s. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesapeake_Bay_Bridge
@@mosriteminioncause7741 I know that bridge well. My parents motor home caught fire suddenly and burned to the ground on the top of it years ago. The propane tank blew and was a spectacular sight from many miles away. Also it was on a Sunday afternoon and they closed the bridge. Traffic backed up for miles had a ringside seat.
@@LBM5283 I blew a head gasket going home from college back in the 80s just before getting on that bridge, smoking so badly I looked like a comet, praying the whole way I'd at least make it to the other side, which I did, and then some.
Man, those two lane road's seem awfully narrow. That was tough just watching that. And we imagine the locals are so use to it that they travel it like it was a regular city street while you're barely able to keep off the rails (lol)
I hate that bridge, I live in southeast Missouri and it's the quickest way to Paducah. There's always an 18 wheeler coming towards me and over the center line.
Reminds me of the old St. Charles, MO bridge across the Missouri river or the old Chain of Rocks bridge ...use to terrify my wife.....she would look down and see pieces of the concrete missing....I loved it.
Once upon a time, we had bridges just like this in my area. One by one, they got replaced with modern paved-roadway bridges with W I D E lanes. The irony of the suicide sign at the entrance to the bridge was not lost on me.
This must have been made for Model Ts back in the day!!! Very narrow and nerv wracking!!! When crossing the Mississippi to Illinois we crossed bridges like this one as well as from Iowa into Nebraska or South Dakota. Got somewhat used to it but not fond of having to cross any of these dangerous bridges!
There was a bridge like this in my home town of Alexandria, LA. It was everything you described, narrow, metal grid as surface and loud. It was demolished 40 years ago.
@@prosperitydwellings1208 The Huey P. Long is pretty scary too. That's from New Orleans to West Wego. But the scariest one I've been on was the Chesapeake Bay bridge because it was so high up from the water.
David!!! I live in Alexandria too!!! You are talking about the "O.K. Allen" Bridge 🙂 I had gotten used to going over that bridge. I used to work at Central State Hospital and that bridge dumped me off at the back gate of the hospital. I still remember hearing that metal sound as you drove over it 🙂
woah, that intro, those first 2 minutes... that's the most atmosphere i've ever seen a video create with just text, sound and pictures. great job. you can be proud.
Check out the Huey P. Long bridge in New Orleans. When we were there for Katrina we had to stop in the middle and all bridges bounce. My fiend was freaking out lol. I love that bridge
This reminds me of those drawbridge spans I've crossed in Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA. Can't imagine a whole bridge with that kind of texture. Just looks incredibly incredibly dangerous.
Speaking of Charleston it reminds me of the old Cooper River Bridges which connected Mt. Pleasant and the East Cooper with Downtown Charleston, they were long truss bridges, they were in a pair with the older of the two being a two lanes and extremely narrow with a metal deck like this bridge, but they have been gone for close to 20 years, replaced by the Ravenal Bridge which is a cable suspension bridge. In regards to all the metal deck drawbridges around Charleston, they are all gone now with the exception of the old drawbridge onto James Island but there is an alternate modern bridge onto the island that opened in the late 80's, so you really don't have to drive on any drawbridges in Charleston if you don't want to and the one that is left has a very short drawbridge deck and is quite wide, it's not bad to drive over at all, it only takes about 20 seconds or so to clear the metal deck, just be careful in the rain.
When I was a kid and we went to my grandparents' house in SE Missouri, we had to pass over two bridges similar to this - the Cairo-Ohio Bridge and the Cairo-Mississippi Bridge, about 37-38 miles west of this bridge. They were similar construction and color and scared me every time we were on them. I have only driven on them myself a couple of times and it's even scarier than I remember.
All those bridges across the Mississippi and Ohio rivers in that section of Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Illinois are horrific experiences. Back in the 70's my family would make several trips each year across those bridges. Years later, I would experience the other side of those bridges horrific nature... sailing under them and fighting the current on a towboat pushing 15 to 30 barges.
I ended up on the Cairo Ohio River Bridge once by accident. That Bridge combined with the anxiety of knowing I was driving the wrong way and there was nothing I could do about it, uhg. When I finally got turned around, and had to go back and do it again, I got across just in time for it to be closed for an oversize load. I never thought I'd be so happy to be in Cairo as I was when that was done.
I drove over those recently at night😳for the first time😱. Scared to death at the first one, my heart sank when I realized the next one was coming, then it began raining……I’m sure the Lord was tired of hearing me whine.
Lol! I love driving on Bridges like these. There's three of these on one route I love to take! And one of them has a hairpin curve on one end and semis drive across these all the time! 😁 As a very young child I also had a nightmare of going across a bridge and the water kept rising and suddenly covered the bridge and I couldn't see where I was going anymore. But that was a totally different situation. I love old bridges!
We used to have a bridge similar to this in Huntsville Alabama, only not nearly as long. My father would scare us and tell us the noise was a Troll screaming, “get off my bridge, get off my bridge”. Even as an adult that’s all that I imagined every time driving over the bridge…
I didn’t know and hit it at 45 in a Dodge Ram that was a rental 🤣 talk about clenching your ass 🤣 definitely felt like an idiot. Had no clue it was as narrow as it is and the fact that it is grated either
In Montreal (Quebec, Canada), the Victoria bridge linking the south shore to the island has similar features. Same tire grabbing and anxiety-inducing metal grill as road, same disturbing and menacingly monotonous railing noise and same claustrophobic line dimensions. The only difference being that it’s a railroad bridge and the car lanes are on each side of the steel structure, so you don't have to worry about incoming traffic. Though, you now have to worry about your right side only having a small barrier preventing you from plunging into the Saint-Laurent's turbulent water. Mix that with a very very confusing and tight access/exit roads and you get a bridge that even highly experienced drivers don't want to take.
Ah, fond memories of being 18 and ripping through the access underpass going south onto the bridge in a big old Desoto with fins, blasting rock music out the open windows, lol. The deck never bothered me, drove it every day to work.
I'm having flashbacks to the old Grace bridge in Charleston, SC. It was exactly like this, (but the Grace bridge was 165 feet over the Cooper River). I hated it.
Well, it was definitely built in a time when cars were narrower, but it isn’t too unusual. Been over lots of bridges with metal decks. They’re pretty different to drive on, but not more so than loose gravel.
The bridge across the Columbia river from Hood River, OR to WA is like that tho much shorter. Still nerve-wracking, even though it's wider and can accommodate some trucks. The metal deck sound IS unnerving.
@@marnaehrech1223 Yeah, the Mackinac Bridge is another metal deck bridge- except it’s very long and crosses the Straight of Mackinaw where Lake Michigan meets Lake Huron. The sound is pretty unnerving, but given how many people commute using the bridge (enough that the bridge sells a commuter pass), I decided it was really pretty safe. The real issue with the Brookport Bridge is that sharp turn at the end. Sharp turns are always dangerous, but especially so at the other side of a narrow bridge.
The tires going over the steel deck sounded like a lost soul moaning.
😳
Nailed it!
that's what the BART in San Francisco sounded like to me
Now we know that ghosts have mates too.
Exactly 🤯 creepy as hell! 😱
Never thought I would be watching a POV of someone driving across a bridge I've never heard of.
And here we are.
Welcome to the future
As well as deciding after one trip that I would pass on any future trips across said unheard of bridge😂
😂😂I am from South Africa chances of me ever seeing this bridge are slim but here I am
For me this is the first one with someone driving a car. Normally I only watch bikes going over a bridge.
The fact that the height limit sign has a noticeable dent in it is just the icing on the cake 👌
Have you seen the signs for the 11'8" bridge? Aka The Can Opener
This is the result of tall vehicles using Google maps and not watching the signs. Tsk tsk
@@RebelTvShka It should have a narrow and height warning well before you get to it and a place to turn around. Metropolis should have replaced this long ago.
@@louisianagator95 that one was fed again a fee days ago lol
@@louisianagator95 that bridge is about two and a half hours from me. One of these days when I have a medical appointment in the area I so, so very much want to just go park by that bridge with some food.
CORRECTION: Thank you for all your kind comments regarding my family’s ties to this bridge. My grandfather and his brothers were ironworkers on many jobs in the area and my Grandfather was an ironworker for the Army Corps of Engineers during WWII. The correction is this: My Grandfather fell from this bridge (NOT his brother) and Grandpa broke his back. My Great-Uncle (Grandpa’s brother) fell while working on the Atomic plant in Paducah, Ky in 1951. I’m not a ‘spring chicken anymore myself and sometimes the oral stories get confused. But as stated previously, I grew up in this area and have crossed this bridge more times than I can count…and it sounds just like the video and is exactly as others have commented. Rest in peace, Gr-Uncle Joe and my dear sweet Grandpa.
Can’t imagine driving over it at night.
Tacoma narrows Bridge can be scary specially when the wind picks up. But it's newer than most bridges in America. Drove shuttle across it would hit so hard you have to slow down & ride middle lane.
Me too. I grew up on the Paducah, KY side. I remember when they put in the steel deck. Long time ago, but I remember. It was due to icing issues we had on the bridge. It is an intimidating sound, but it was more dangerous before they did. People would frequently crash on it or just get stuck on the steep approach during the winter months. Thanks for the post!
@@sgvincent100 that makes sense 👍🏾
@@sgvincent100 , truly needs to be rebuilded. Sorry to hear your uncle passed away building the bridge. My condulances.
Sometime between 1987 - 1990, I was travelling from Memphis to Galesburg Illinois. I had only enough money to get to Paducah, so I started walking north from there. I was approaching this brifge by foot, when an RV pulled to the curb. The driver, an old Marine vet, was tired, & figured I could help him drive while he rested, & I would get further along. Thanks to him, I was spared having to cross this on foot, or trying to, anyway. I don't remember how much further he took me past Fort Massac, but he was a decent fellow, & we had goid conversation while he got me closer to my destination.
The " you are not alone" suicide prevention hotline sign is definitely a good shout at the end of that bridge...
Yeah, But I didn't see one at the beginning of the crossing. I had to watch the Video again to see if there was another Sign LOLOLOLHAHA
2:58 I had to pause the screen to read it.
They need two more signs that you read only after you have crossed the bridge.
@@SadisticSenpai61 me too
Must get a lot of suicides
I went across this bridge in thick fog! Heart sat in my throat the entire time! I was SO glad when I got off!
Omg!!!! That would leave me with nightmares
Like a silent hill scene
I would have called it quits, at least until the fog let up. There ain't much thats important enough to risk this bridge from hell.
By mistake? ;)
“Oh my goodness!!”😮😮😮
Thank God, He guided you straight through the fog 🌫️
I grew up right next to a steel deck bridge, but it was much shorter than this one. Most people were scared to cross it on foot, but I was used to it. It only got weird when a section of the grate broke loose and fell in the creek below. It left a hole big enough to drop a tire through. We had to call the local fire department out to do an emergency welding job to put it back in place. Eventually the bridge was replaced with a concrete deck bridge. I still have a piece of the grate as a souvenir.
_Walking_ the bridge sounds scarier than _driving_ it
😂
The grate as the souvenir that is
Did you ever do anything with the grate? Like, hang it up, make it into art, etc? Just curious. i LOVE bridges and now i'm imagining what i would do with such a piece! :)
I'd imagine the narrowness and the noise from the steel grating actually cause drivers to slow down. Often the perception of danger actually makes something safer as it reduces complacency and makes drivers take more care. The final turn at the end though, I can see that causing scrapes (albeit low speed ones).
Tru I was thinking the same thing cause this bridge doesn’t seem scary to me but maybe because I live in Florida and it’s over 73727 bridges here
This is true, but growing up my father always told me that the most dangerous thing on the road is other drivers. I have always found this to be true. People do scary and unpredictable things when they are scared. Speaking from experience with very hastily paved roads in my area, they can end up with ridges in them that will grab your tires and make you travel back and forth unpredictably. That in itself without the narrowness is very nerve racking - it's like you're driving a boat instead of a car.
The faster you drive across it, the less your vehicle sways. That’s why people go like 45 over it
Your vehicle randomly swerves uncontrollably on the metal grate! Thats what scares people!
That kinda road... the steel grating that causes the noise... it literally pulls control of the vehicle from you a bit. Not safe.
I live nearby. When I first moved to the area, I was a sales trainer for a local food distribution company. I rented a 13-passenger van and took a group of sales people north into central Illinois to tour a Kraft manufacturing plant. A local sales person said it would be quicker if we crossed the Brookport Bridge. I'd never seen the bridge, so agreed to the plan. I am afraid of heights and a bit afraid of bridges. This bridge, with that large unfamiliar van, terrified me. When we got to the end and came to the sharp curve, I couldn't budge my foot off the accelerator and onto the brakes! A couple of folks on one side of the van swore they could count the rivets in the side of the railing because we got so close to the side! I've been across the bridge several times since then, but not as a driver. You definitely get a side-to-side motion of your tires due to the grooves in the steel road bed. No way to prevent that via steering, you just have to go with it. You could not pay me to ride a motorcycle across it!
I've ridden my motorcycle over temporary, short bridges with such a bridge deck. Definitely gotta take it slow, grip levels are very low. Not sure if it would be doable at all if it rains.
But in my case, it's bridges of 20m long at best, so even hopping off and walking isn't a big deal.
We have a road with an overpass bridge that has those same grooves on it and the 4 wheel positraction in my car makes it feel like I’m going to start to fishtail.
The curve isn’t the cause of accidents,people who drive above the limit are the cause of accidents!
-You are so right.....NO way i would ride my motorcycle across this bridge due to that steel grate that will pull ya bike side to side & even worse when its wet. 100% NNOOO WWAAAYYYY.
@@auggie803 ME NEITHER.....LOL
We had a few of these steel deck bridges in Minneapolis when I was a kid. Advantages: The snow would often filter through which eliminated a lot of plowing. Invented in "horse & buggy days" it allowed the manure to fall through to the river below so easy cleanup. Early narrow-tired vehicles such as the Model T could cross with little trouble (I own one and have tried it) but as tires became wider vehicles tended to "dance" side-to-side and you had to correct for this while steering.
I miss the old Lowry Avenue Bridge
Thanks for the explanation of why these types of bridges were built in the first place.
Just casually driving a model t across this 😂😂. I had a few of these in Pennsylvania, right by the jersey border and they always freaked my mom out but I guess since I grew up driving it it never bothered me. But I've been living in Florida for a while and I've done most of my driving down here and let me tell you how beautiful and smooth roads can be when it doesn't snow or get icy 😂
Lowry Ave bridge 1958-2008.
@@angiepangie989 pTV7th
I've driven this bridge more than once and hate it intensely. It is so terrifying.
Once, I got to that corner only to find a semi, going too fast, and taking up both lanes, coming right at me. He took up the entire roadway because he was going too fast for the corner. To this day, I have no idea how we got safely past it. It's all a big blur. But somehow, we made it past the semi and off the bridge. Had to have been angels
Maybe you were going to fast also
@@135john135maybe she wasn’t, and it was what she said. scram!
The fact that semis are even allowed on this bridge makes my brain hurt.
@@FML_85 100%!
That was God😭 thank God you made it out safely!
This was filmed on a bright clear day. I can't imagine driving over this bridge at night with oncoming headlights. Nor could I imagine driving over this bridge during rain and snow storms.
WITH OR WITHOUT WEARING DEPENDS....
And in intense fog.
I bet i wouldn't for no one at night or day I just won't get there
😰😰😰
Been there done that!
This video is 100% genuine to the authenticity of how I felt the one-time I drove across this bridge. It is definitely one of the top 10 scariest I've ever been on. Aside from nostalgia and convenience, the bridge offers nothing in the way of safety or feeling secure when passing through.
thanks for the comment but I would have a very difficult time driving across a bridge like that
Yes a can see why people hate driving across it. The fact that's it's painted a sky blue colour doesn't help either. Shout out from Australia.
Drove across it was different 👍
If you are scared, they have Bridge Authority to drive for you..... 👍👍..
If you want scary bridges, come here to New Orleans and other Arras in Louisiana.
I cycled across this bridge in May 2017. There were a few holes in it that were small enough that a car would have been ok hitting them but it would have absolutely wrecked my bike. I was definitely a man of prayer going over that bridge that day. Never been so glad to get back to a regular road.
I wouldn't take a chance
@Gretchen K. Don't plan on it. I didn't know it was going to be steel grate all the way across until I was already on the deck. I'm not from that area, or really even anywhere close to that area.
@@bettyhannon5753 I didn't know it was going to be steel grated all the way across until I was already up on the deck.
why
@@shieldgenerator7 because I was on a 4-state multi day bicycle trip and didn’t realize it was a steel grate bridge for the whole way across until I was already up on it
There was a similar bridge in Charleston, South Carolina-the old Grace Memorial Bridge over the Cooper River. Completed in 1929, its span was 250 feet high. It was pretty scary to drive on at first, especially at night, but not bad once you got used to it. The bridge initially had traffic in both directions, but in the ‘60s a new bridge was built alongside it, and traffic was changed so that both lanes were in the same direction.
I Hate That Bridge
I lived in Mt. Pleasant and loved going to Charleston but was petrified going over that bridge. I felt much safer going over the Ravenel Bridge.
I went over it several times...horrifying!
@@2louie4979 Yes, my confidence in that bridge dropped a good bit when they forbade heavy trucks from using it!
@@SamtheMan0508 Yeah, the Grace Bridge was very narrow and bumpy, on top of everything else! My mom used to drive her huge ‘59 Buick over it regularly-when traffic was in both directions! That must have felt like being a tightrope walker!
I can only imagine all the tailgating that goes on on this bridge every single day. 25 mph means 35 or 40 miles an hour to a lot of people out there. That would only make this experience more scary.
I live in paducah and have gone over this bridge many times. Everyone usually does 25 or thirty. That bridge sucks, the floor of it puls your vehicle to the left and right constantly.
@@robertcole7874 yeah. That's what I meant when I talked about the bridge in NYC . The grates are in sections and they don't line up exactly. They catch the treads and move the vehicle like you said. Wouldn't be so freaky if the lanes weren't so narrow.
Lest we forget however, the nontrivial portion of drivers where 25 means 15-20 😕
@@BuddyLee23 on this bridge? I think that’s an appropriate speed considering the circumstances
You mean the people with jobs?
i grew up visiting my family in nashville TN and we had to drive from St. louis to get there. one time, my mom got lost in the dead of night and this bridge was on the route the GPS gave us to get back on track. my mom is terrified of bridges and it was dark outside but we had to keep driving so she went over this bridge thinking it was a normal bridge and she instantly regretted it. she had to grip the steering wheel as hard as she could to keep control of the car. the creaking and groaning of the steel is even more terrifying at night when you can’t see if the bridge is falling apart or not.
Had a very similar experience
Bridge needs to be condemned
I would rather cut across on i-64 at Mt. Vernon and go to Indiana and come back down than encounter that.
Not condemned but replaced. The problem is what to replace it with? I would opt for a concrete bridge with four lanes and convert this bridge to a Pedestrian/Bicycle path. This bridge appears to be solid and well maintained, thus it is still usable but it is clearly functionally obsolete and needs to be replaced for automotive traffic.
Yikes! Your poor mom.
It's amazing this big steel bridge that is nearly 100 years old is still being use with that large traffic volume of cars and trucks. Current vehicles traffic produces much more energy on the road/bridge structure than 1920s vehicles. Amazing well designed steel bridge for its time!
Bridges in those days were highly over engineered.
They were built with idea of very little need for maintenance or replacement
Older bridges like this are very well built and will last forever if they get the proper preventive maintenance and repair. Look at the historic suspension bridge in Cincinnati, look at the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, look at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, all very well designed and very well built and all will be there after we are all long gone.
Weren’t cars still about the same weight back then because they had metal frames which is heavier than Carbon
@@JS-qi1ou Actually old bridges need lots of maintenance and preservation I have to look at dozens and dozens of old bridges each year maintenance nightmare
This video is a masterpiece -- sound, visuals, editing -- and words w/o voice over...it's a brilliantly produced short movie about this historic, scary bridge. Many thanks to the creator of it!
Great video - almost captures the real experience - but unless you can feel your tires being pulled to the left and to the right by the steel grate surface - it can't do the real thing justice. I drove my business Box Truck (think Ryder Truck) across this bridge when the 1-24 bridge was backed up 2 hours deep. Oh... my.... It would have been fine without any oncoming traffic - but since 24 was shut down - it was FULL of oncoming traffic. Tightest butt clench I'd ever had while driving a vehicle. Avoid this bridge if you can. It's a loud, vibrating, breath-holding experience to say the least.
That sounds terrifying. Time to update our infrastructure!
This bridge is a classic. At almost 100 years old it is still a construction marvel. Terrifing or not it should be respected.
It actually sounds like the faint noise at the Indy 500 when you live central Indianapolis. You’re not close to the Raceway but you’re not too far to not hear the cars zoom around the track.
I didn't live near the track, I grew up on the southeast side of Indy, but there was a small dirt track in my neighborhood that ran the figure 8 and smash up derby in the summers, and I would go to sleep with my window open so I could hear the cars and the cheers. One of the few things about Indy that I missed after leaving.
It sure does. Live between off w 33rd
Yup! I live near there & it’s true
That’s why the sound sounded familiar. 🏁
I take a week and go to Indy, during time trials. Been doing that for 25 yrs and to hear those engines, there is no sweeter sound!
Crossing that bridge at night listening to the moening that comes from the steel under your tires. Sounds like the highway to hell crossing the River Styx. 🥺😬
You driving to Southern Illinois or Western Kentucky it’s ALL HELL lmao
Oh no . Scary
No lighting on the bridge
I was gonna say the first time I crossed it was going a bit faster than the speed limit at 11pm
I guess the noise it makes will keep homeless people from sleeping under there. But who knows, theres probably a few people that live under there.
Well thanks for the ride, now ill make sure to go another way
.
This video has a spooky tone to it, congrats to the editor, i really enjoyed the way it builds the tension up, the inicial info with the sound effects, all very good.
The view out the window as you approach the bridge as you see it in the distance is super scary. Imagine crossing this thing at night or in a snow storm?.
Initial*
Sound is a big reason why scary movies are scary ...😳
That sound. Its like the start of the terminator in the future
@@johnbockelie3899
Especially after watching this video with broken and bend steel elements of bridge
I lived in Paducah for a short time. One night when I was new in town I was bored driving around and accidentally ended up driving over this bridge. The surface of the bridge, in addition to being noisy when driving over, grips onto your tires in a strange way and makes your car veer strongly left and right at random. Since it was night, I couldn't see how long the bridge was and it felt like I was on it in hell forever. Then I ended up in that small little Illinois town and had to turn around and drive right back over! It was less scary the second time, but I never drove that way again. Lol at the guy 3:19 just walking up the narrow shoulder inches from cars with no shirt on. Makes me miss my kentucky days.
I saw that guy as well i wondered how he would get across the bridge there seemed no room to walk across it.
@@carlharris2808 There’s absolutely no way unless he is planning to jump
and that's why they placed a suicide sign at the start of the bridge....looks like the bridge just welcomed its newest customer...
until i read your comment, i didnt realize Kentucky even touched Illinois. My geography is all jacked up
Had to rewind for the catch, ty. Don't see much of a walkway/walk lane. Suicidal indeed to run away fr home on foot across this bridge.
I crossed a bridge with steel decking like this in South Florida on my motorcycle in the pouring rain. I am now a 75 y\o lady. That was 40 years ago. I put 10k miles on my bike that year. That remains one of the scariest experiences of my life.
Was it really squirmy and all over the place? I drove on in FL years back in the rain & it's slippery as hell!
I bet you you had to do at least 50 mph or better on that bridge
It's a weird feeling on a motorcycle, you just have to relax and let it squirm around, sit back and put more weight on the back tire.
@@tomchrisfield7348 its a long ride to do that and its the front wheel that bounces side to side
@@norms3913 if you learn to ride on off road dirt bikes it's not as bad as you're making it out to be.
That bridge may be scary, but I love rivers; they are so calming to me. Anyway, Here are some other bridges for your consideration; The Eugene Talmadge Bridge over the Savannah River in Georgia, The Walt Whitman Bridge over the Delaware River in Philadelphia, The commodore Barry Bridge over the Delaware River, the Royal Gorge Bridge over the Arkansas River in Canon City, Colorado..and The Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay in Florida. Check them out !!! They always creeped me out. 😮
The Sunshine Skyway in Tampa; the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge in Charleston, South Carolina; the Rainbow Bridge here in Port Arthur ,Texas; and the Fred Hartman Bridge in Baytown, Texas are all terrifying
I do believe you have a loose rivet. 🤪 I love watching these old rivers roll and the traffic on them. However, there is no joy in crossing them on these old dilapidated bridges. It's not a matter of if but when they will fall, and I pray I'm not on them or anywhere near them when it happens.
Skyway is scary but the one that goes literally like through a hydroelectric plant somewhere in PA is the scariest I've been on 😣
Imagine being afraid of bridges, and not knowing that this was part of the "shortcut" to your brother's house.
🤣🤣🤣I was feeling down about something I'm going through and this video popped up and I decided to check the comments while waiting for the video to get going and came across your comment.So I want to thank you so much for posting I actually lol.You cheered me up even if only for awhile.I needed to laugh. Thanks
This was me as a child
Oh boy - THAT would be the twilight zone from hell !
I feel like this was a personal experience
I am afraid of bridges! I never ever want to cross this thing! I feel so bad for you!
I live in southern IL and I have crossed this bridge many times over the years. I never knew there was a suicide hotline, so ironic that that is posted near one of the most dangerous bridges in the US. Just a few years ago a NEARLY IDENTICAL BRIDGE that was about the same size and age as this bridge collapsed maybe 50 miles away in Southeast Missouri .
Is this the bridge on the other side of the metropolis casino?
The suicide hotline sign is posted for people who are going to go jump off the bridge.
@@sweet-lullabies How many bridges with such a steel deck are there in the US then? I have never seen such a bridge in my life, in any of the countries in Europe where I have been (I live in the Netherlands)
@@danielvandommele1204 According to Wikipedia, there are thousands of steel deck bridges throughout the world, but only 60 in the US as of late 2005 (couldn’t be bothered to find more recent information).
The Ohio river with it’s currents make a rescue nearly impossible. They know people down on life who would try and jump are at the mercy of that river, not the jump itself. It rarely turns out positive when trying to rescue, or looking for anyone in the river. The main thing is, that perhaps, someone struggling may think twice and seek help. 🙏 bridge or no bridge.
Can't imagine what it must be like driving on it at night.
The same as duering the day time, but then you will have your lights on because its dark.
It's like being alone with no chance of anyone saving or even comforting you. This began my life's bridge mantra: Terra firma, Terra firma, Terra firma.
Get a nice thick fog them go over it.
Light blinds you
Shoot I been on it enough times during the day & it's pretty scary lol.
I'm from a metropolis illinois. A small town right past brookport. We used to take this bridge on a regular basis because metropolis doesn't have a Walmart. Most Of the stores we shopped at was in Paducah Kentucky. But if you were coming from the brookport side going over to the Paducah Kentucky side. The curve at the bottom of the bridge is called Dead Man's curve. A lot of people have died speeding around that curve.
Add about four and a half miles to the length, an additional lane on each side and 20 miles an hour to the speed limit and you've got the Mackinac bridge. Same creepy steel grating.
Of course you know why the steel grating is in a lot of bridges like this. If you look up Galloping Gertie you'll see why the Mighty Mac was altered in design as it is. The airflow through the grates prevent swaying in strong winds. That would make the Bridge scarier....except the Mac does sway. :)
Been across the Mac on a windy day as a passenger. Looking through the grate, seeing the water way, WAY down below, feeling the car sway on the grate and seeing the movement of the bridge. Intense. And totally not for the scared of heights.
That bridge is as solid as a rock; cross it every winter, usually pulling a trailer and one time escorted across while in a 53’ semi truck toy hauler in high winds.
@@Icutmetal is ice a big concern on that bridge?
@@kaykay8100 not really. You just drive slowly as you would on any other icy roads.
Edit: it has the potential to ice up because of the fact it is over water, which is typical of all bridges. I am personally more concerned with slush and whatever precipitation night be falling as I'm crossing it. Otherwise I have never experienced it being extremely iced over. They're very good about keeping a close eye on the Bridge's conditions and will close it if need be. The only time I've ever known it to close is when it's is extremely windy, usually in excess of 50 MPH they'll close it or when the sun comes out and thaws the ice off the steel parts.
So we gonna act like we didn't see that man walking !?!
He was topless too. He would have regretted it had he got hit by a car and knocked to the floor while on the actual bridge.
@@edwardmiessner6502 .. He wasn't quite on the bridge yet, and I did Not see how there was any space On the bridge for pedestrians, going either way !
@@suze816 right , where was he going???
I saw a guy walking over the 7 mile bridge to Key West and thought the same thing, where is he going???
Its not just 7 miles there is nothing before or after it really. I remember thinking I hope he is not a jumper...
@@NoNORADon911 mind your own business lmao
I grew up near Brookport and drove this bridge several times a week. The steel grates will shift your car left to right but the key is to hold firm and trust not easy to do for sure. I even rode my bike over it a couple times. Now that really is scary. There are many many cars in the area with some blue "stripes" from that bridge. But my grandmother drove across it her whole life until about 85. And she was driving a '71 Chevy caprice. Now that is scary.
Lol
I live in Grand Rivers Ky and I’ve been across many times as well. Several years ago I used to mow yards on the side and I had a couple yards in Brookport. I used to pull my dual axel 16ft trailer behind my truck over this thing. Talk about threading the needle. The shifting left to right is what always got me. It you stayed at 25mph it wasn’t so bad, but very noticeable at 30 and above.
i wasn't scared
I can totally vouch for @Blue Collar Intellect regarding this…It’s true your car does literally shift side to side. I chickened out every time I got to the bridge with my bike - way to go! Funny, my grandparents drove big sedans and yet they preferred the Brookport Bridge over the new I-24 Bridge - I know first hand the kind of scary you reference with your grandma in her ‘71 Caprice:) My grandparents told me they didn’t like the high speeds and high number of cars on the I-24 bridge. Memories…of the way we were🥺
We had a bridge in my area like this, I remember being pushed around by the grates, and every segment having a slightly different whirring sound. Much, much shorter bridge though!
Being able to see through a bridge's deck to the water below is the cause of extreme psychological discomfort. That used to be the state of affairs on the bike lane of the Queensboro Bridge (also called the 59th Street Bridge) in New York City. Fortunately, that roadbed is now paved. But, for the period of time during which it consisted of see-through grating, the ride over that bridge was terrifying.
My sisters and I always stuck our heads out the windows and looked down! Loved it!
I thought the 59th street bridge left people "Feelin Groovy"
@@UseByDate-Expired - Well played.
It's always amazed me that us as humans built cars that could go 80mph and still have only a yellow line and 2 feet dividing oncoming lanes. What a world we live in
Even worse when there's plenty of usuable land on either side too. Especially when it's one of the major highways in the state (Tasmania, Australia).
I understand you don't want the whole area to be road, but you could easily make it a metre wider on each side in most places.
Iv'e thought of that for years...all that weight traveling towards each other wayyyy too close ! !
You could just go three miles west and use the modern I-24 bridge. That bridge has four lanes and has a divider. This bridge probably exists simply because it's probably cheaper to just leave it be rather than demolish it.
@@callummclachlan4771 It's not so much that there isn't room, it's that you can't really widen this type of bridge. It wasn't designed to be widened, and widening it would be extremely expensive and would more or less cost the same, if not more, than just building a new bridge. In fact, that's exactly why three miles west of this one there is a 4 lane modern bridge that more or less replaces this one, and this one is just an artifact that is cheaper to leave standing than to demolish.
@@drosera88 Yup .... add in that vehicles are a lot bigger and faster than when the bridge was built in 1929. It's not the designer's fault.
I’ve driven over this bridge several times, and it freaks me out every time. I’m not from the area, so I didn’t know it was a such a legendary bridge. It makes you feel like you are losing control of your vehicle, even while driving slow and steady. It’s quite unnerving.
That's mainly because there's no pavement which makes tires have no traction because tired and a steel road aren't a great combination the steel gratlings on the road also makes roads be safer but it also some people drive like loonie tones lol
If you've driven over this bridge several times and did not realize it's legendary, that's your first sign that it's not.
I’d be driving slow as a turtle going across this tight bridge…holding the steering wheel with both hands,radio off,complete silence and praying the entire time. The sound alone gives me chills. Ohh hell naw!
You are the kind of drivers i hate. If you cant drive then dont
just making yourself a burden to everyone else
@@Mggggssss If you suck at driving and need to project your insecurities onto someone else just say that. Jeez
@@Mggggssss Maybe so but if I had to get across that bridge,no way in hell I’d be in a hurry to get across. My life is just that important. Sorry🤷🏽♀️
Narrow roads en the USA,..... People come to Europe, there you will find narrow winding roads
I'm just amazed at how wide the Ohio is there. Especially on the Kentucky side. Wow.
yeah the closer it gets to where it meets the Mississippi river it gets wider.
It's an unnerving experience just watching this video. I applaud everyone who traverses this bridge daily. I think that I would suffer heart failure driving over there. In fact, even the thought of it gives me goosebumps!
What part is bad? Maybe you are weak
Lol!
I love driving across historical Bridges. I can't believe so many people are scared to death of them! Maybe they just aren't good drivers. 😆
They would really have fun walking on the open deck walkways.
@@ligmajobs4686 When you are strong enough to reply with a YT video of you crossing this exact same bridge, your comment will appear slightly less foolish.
Whew stop this ride and let me off!
I've never been so glad to see the end of a bridge in my life, and I was only on it virtually through your video. I'd never be able to cross that thing. Nope.
Snowflake. Why can't you appreciate history? Ashamed
Yep..we spent 7 trillion in the middle east.. 🤔
I don't like long bridges over water. This?
This is my personal hell
@@ghostslayer1981 omg there one in my state not like this much wider but omg its terrifying
Me either. I live in Ky and I wont cross it. I don't like bridges.....
From the start, I was impressed that you'd found the perfect industrial-noisecore soundtrack with tones that seemed to evoke the slippery metallic droning of an unsettling white-knuckle terror-drive across an endless steel-decked bridge...but HELL, that's just the sound of the frickin' bridge itself!
Lol.
Interesting take I love it
Same! I thought that was just music but thats just the bridge itself singing its curse!
Around 2009 I had the pleasure of crossing this bridge twice (both directions). We were traveling from SC to pick up a dog from a breeder in the Ozarks. A truly memorable crossing. Saw this and just had to add a post.
Now i understand why! I was driving out of the Kentucky Hills very late at night and came to this bridge not aware it was even there. I felt terrified. It was pitch black out and did not feel right at all. I had taken over the wheel when the driver got tired about 2 hours prior and had not had a chance to look at the map first so was "driving blind." The passenger with me did not help the matter when my anxiety went from 0-100 in an instant. They told me to "pull over and just let them drive"... i saw that there was no "pull over lane" and completely stopping on a bridge like that could have been very dangerous. I mean look at the guard rail😳!
I Got us over it and calmed myself to do it but came to youtube afterward to see what the fuse was all about. Now i see. Yikes.
That sounds horrifying .
It's good you made it.
This gives the question "Are we there yet?" a completely different meaning.
Agreed!
I was thinking "what a long bridge!" I'd have to pray a lot on this journey.
It must feel like it never ends on there
The Interstate bridge between OR and WA State is about as long as this bridge but more lanes than this one.
Visitor from another state: "OK, I wasn't scared until I saw the suicide warning sign."
"You are not alone"
**With the droning sound of the cars going over the steel decking.**
"You are not alone". Call......um, never mind...not walking on that bridge..let alone 🚗. #GodIs
I seen that too when we passed over this bridge on our road trip! Super wild. Gives me chills thinking about it lol. Watching this and then reminiscing the trek across this thing is crazy and mind blowing to me
They have that same sign on the Interstate 24 bridge over the Ohio
@@adammcdonald3632 Is suicide an epidemic in Ohio? I've never seen that in Pennsylvania.
Illinois had many steel deck bridges when I was young. I got conditioned to expect them. So 42 years ago when I first drove the Brookport bridge, it was fun due to length. Last journey on it was 20 years ago.
Don't remember wheels wandering on steel decks until the car we had in 2011. Before then, the wheel base or tire materials probably did not interact as much with the deck.
Peoria use to have a short, treacherous steel deck draw bridge with an extremely nasty, tight dog leg. It was important to try to look around the large operator's tower to see if a school bus or longer truck was oncoming. If so, then give way. It was impossible pass through the dog leg at the same time. This Franklin Street bridge had many accidents every month. It also had a fascinating corruption history during its building. The river traffic and vehicle traffic abhored it. Gone. Not missed. Not forgotten as a terrible bridge. But, it was fun to take a sandwich and watch river or road traffic or both struggle while eating lunch.
I live in Illinois and if I have a bad dream, there is usually a bridge in it.
Looking at the title, I'm thinking "how bad can it really be?" Then I focused on the double yellow lines and the hood of your vehicle. Now I get it.
Yeah wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t so damn narrow
@@HoomerbirdG2 and the steel deck acts like ruts.
Looks like any typical bridge in the northeast. I don’t get the hype of its scariness. Like my sister literally lived next to a bridge with the same metal grate and narrowness 30 mins outside Boston, and CT, NY, PA and NJ are full of these types of bridges. This is just what we Yankees perceive as normal.
When I saw the title of this video, I knew what bridge it was. Hell, I couldn’t have recalled where, exactly, I’d encountered this bridge (I knew it was somewhere in Illinois), but I sure as hell recalled what it was like.
Many years ago, I was doing a cross-country driving vacation, coast to coast, with some friends, and came across this bridge. I was driving a (then new) high-performance, E39 BMW M5. This was a car that, on nearly all road surfaces and conditions, was extremely stable (running on very wide, low-profile, Michelin Z-rated rubber). I say nearly all, because on that steel-grate deck surface, what had been, seconds earlier, a straight tracking, completely stable automobile (with a somewhat stiff ride), was now a wandering, darting mess of vibrations and secondary resonance.
Now, this wasn’t the first time I driven over such a surface, as steel deck bridges dot the northeast on secondary roads, but usually this type of surface is restricted to a short span of 50, or 100 feet. This was something entirely different, a narrow two lanes with no shoulder, extremely loud, long span with really weird noises from the bridge itself, my car buzzing and vibrating, the wandering and hunting of the steering made for seriously white-knuckle time. I’ve been to performance driving school (Bondurant, now called Radford), I’ve driven the Nordschleife, I’ve done track days for years, driven in NYC traffic most of my life, and I have never been as surprised and unnerved as I was on that bridge, two decades ago.
And I remember wishing the thing would end, but also remember that speeding up made everything worse, and the oncoming traffic, undoubtedly struggling with similar directional stability issues, seemed awfully close. I remember thinking “this doesn’t seem safe, how is this bridge considered okay?”. I also remember remarking, once across, “how the hell do motorcyclists cross that damn thing?”. And I crossed the bridge during a late summer afternoon, in daylight. At night, in bad weather, with limited visibility? Forget about it.
If you make the thing a bit wider, or shorter, remove some of the rattling of the span, it’s not as scary. But as built, it’s pretty much the most unpleasant bridge I’ve ever encountered (including some pretty sketchy spans that I’ve crossed in developing nations).
Ever been on the Dingman's Ferry Bridge?
Bob bondurant just passed away a week ago Nov 12th 2021
Yeah, I drive a low profile tire now. I can see how it would suck on that bridge. For my local metal span, I used to insist on slightly over-inflated tires---and that was before low-profile was a thing.
The original Sunshine Skyway in St Pete Florida was built exactly like this bridge. It collapsed after a ship hit the main support pillar during a very bad storm. The Greyhound bus went off the bridge and killed many. So I can relate to how this bridge "feels" and "sounds". God rest the souls that have been lost due to these bridge designs.
That's sad but if a ship hit the main column, people haven't died "due to the bridge's design "
I remember because I lived in Tampa as a child.
@@hoythunter4853 a water traffic bridge should always be designed to withstand the majority of ship accidents. The main support pillar in particular should have the most safeguards designed into it.
My Husband & I Drive Over It on The Motorcycle.Its Beautiful ❤️❤️😇😇
@Donna Zappala that old Sunshine Skycrest looked like it was straight up when you first got on! It was a very steep incline, but I still miss that ole bridge! I remember vividly the rainy morning it went down, hard to believe!!!
Back in the 60s & 70s we would travel across several of these bridges going to and returning from high school sporting events. Once lost our rear view mirrors from an oncoming tractor trailer rig!
3:21 I’ve watched this video a few times because I’ve been trying to figure out where this person is walking to. I do not see a path for pedestrians to walk across the bridge once you get to the section where the actual bridge (blue bridge) is. This is my first time seeing this bridge, nor have I driven across it before. I’m sure I could manage it if I drove the speed limit or less until I got used to it, but a pedestrian would definitely throw everything off for me… that’d be the main reason I’d crash because id be surprised that someone is actually walking across the bridge knowing they’d have to walk in the street getting in the path of drivers as if the bridge wasn’t narrow enough already
Massive brain
Maybe The pedestrian was the bridge operator. He has to park at one end and walk along the bridge and go up into the control room, if it is a type of drawbridge.
They do exactly that close to where I live.
Just a hundred or so feet further on , there appears to be someone else on the other side of the guard rail (fishin?)
i was thinking the same thing, also the suicide prevention signs are interesting
@mianki100 Dude walked out onto the bridge to jump and kill himself, but got hit and killed by a car first instead. Of mice and men...
It is frightening! For some reason, watching this brought back my memories of driving across the Tacoma Narrows bridge, 30+ years ago. Thanks for sharing.
The old Narrows Bridge in Tacoma was scary when there was traffic going both directions! Thank goodness they built a second bridge, it’s not nearly as scary now.
The old Tacoma bridge no fun
You drove across the Tacoma Narrows??? From all I heard it sounds like the roller coaster ride no one asked for.
What is scary about the Tacoma Narrows Bridge?
Tacoma narrows is a sturdy bridge. Possibly one of the most stable suspension bridges ever constructed. They had three tries
When I was a kid, my dad and mom sometimes crossed the K & I bridge between New Albany Indiana and Louisville Kentucky. It was a railroad bridge with steel grate automobile decks attached on each side. We called it the singing bridge.
Imagine driving on it during a thunderstorm at night
Me: yeahnofuckthatimout
Just nice and slow
I would rather not imagine that thanks. Lol
@@radanju3 😂😂
How about snow and ice?
This is the bridge that 30 years ago started my anxiety about bridges. I was traveling very late at night, with very very few other cars on the road, and I saw this bridge off to my left thinking wow that's an old bridge I bet it's not in use anymore. And before I knew it I was actually on that bridge. It is the maximum scariest bridge I've ever experienced.
In Montréal, we also have a steel deck bridge : The Victoria bridge. The differences : Both directions are two lanes, are separated by a railway, is completely straight AND is at a constant elevation. Also, all the lanes are wider. Almost 50% wider. It was MADE to allow trucks to cross the St. Lawrence River.
Was it updated? I did a search but I honestly don’t know if it pulled up the same bridge.
The Victoria Bridge (that I found while searching) was opened in 1860, so they 100% had to have updated it if it was built for allowance of semis.
@@jillian.x Originally, it was strictly a rail way bridge. Then, during WWI if I remember correctly, two road vehicles lanes where added, on of each sides of the rails, to help support the war effort. War effort meant mostly truck, as personal vehicles where seen as a waste of resources.
@@Kualinar Oh, cool! Thanks for the info!
@@muzluv33 Across the St.Laurence river. On the Montréal side, just south of the Old Port. It passes just south the Southern tip of Ile Notre-Damme on the Longueuil side.
The south end of the bridge has quite confusing curves and forks to pass over trains and across ship locks.
Just dont let a boat hit it
LMAO yea
We have metal bridges in PA. When my kids were small, we told them it was a singing bridge. My son sang “itsy bitsy spider” every time. It was so cute.
This is like an Extra long version of the Hulton bridge between Harmarville and Oakmont before they built the new bridge.
Almost all bridges still have metal structure. This is a truss bridge built in the 30s and is designed in such a way that the whole bridge collapses if one part of the truss fails. Old, facture-critical bridges are terrifying.
I both walked and rode a bike over one near Oil City, PA. It is more disconcerting than driving over one. The sound is definitely different.
That’s fucking terrifying
@@jdhjimbo
Which one, State Street via Veterans Memorial or Petroleum Street?
I see OC, PA and had to say hello. I have deep roots there.
If you want scary, try crossing the Ambassador Bridge between Detroid MI and Windsor ON. During busy times, you will be sitting in a slow moving line atop the bridge. Which is full of heavy trucks. When you are still you can feel the bridge moving from all of the truck traffic, and there are holes in the concrete with the massive drop to the water you can see through. Did it in a truck almost every week for a few years.
Been there. Done that. 😭 I didn't feel any safer going thru the tunnel.
@@tammystevenson4710 there's a new bridge a coming to Detroit... looking forward to crossing it.
I was terrified of the Mi-Ont bridges as a kid. Can't remember now if we crossed at Detroit or Port Huron though.
I cross the Ambassador once on a windy day, needless to say I fishtailed all the way across. On the way back, I took the tunnel 😳
I only drove once in MI. To bring back my late father's car to my son. But I did not go to OH. I can never drive in MI again. Only the Lord got me through.
I was 21 in 1975 and moving from Fort Leonard Wood to Fort Bragg with my wife, son and personal belongings loaded in a 6x12 trailer when we encountered this monster at 2am in the fog! Needless to say we didn't get sleepy for quite some time after getting of it.
My Dad retired from the Army in 1972 and got a job in White Lake N.C. Which is 1 hour from Fort Bragg.We move the White Lake.There was a Bridge that look just like this one,but a shorter version that went across the Cape Fear River just outside of Elizabethtown N.C. on 701 which routed to White Lake.It was built in the 1920s.It was torn down in 1983
That was shortly before it closed to have the steel deck installed. It was asphalt then.
At that time I-24 wasn't finished. You came from Illinois to Kentucky and that approach has a sharp bend that is very dangerous.
@Carl Ferrigno I spent 60 days in the stockade there in 72'. Didn't get to see much.
I was surprised someone was walking on the side of the road. Anyway, I love these types of bridges with my motorcycle. Here's how you do it: Don't look at the 2 yellow center lines, or the guard rails, or oncoming traffic, look out at the center of your lane. You will drive where you are looking. You are driving your car, your car isn't driving you. Keep a firm, but not too tight of a grip on the wheel, and relax a bit. And for the love of God, if it says go 25...then you go 25. I think the Blackhawk Bridge at Lansing, IA, is the last all steel bridge on the Mississippi, and the old Keokuk, IA, bridge was similar to this one. It also had a kink in it, and was narrow enough that trucks would sometimes lose their mirrors if they met another truck in the opposite direction. Drive safe.
I always loved the sound of steel grate bridges. We used to have several of them where I grew up. I don’t think ours was as narrow as this one.
It must be a nightmare in winter. Thank you for the nerve racking ride!
According to some people it gets shut down in the winter (sometimes) due to ice
In the mid sixties I crossed it in a fifty Chevy pickup loaded with scaffolding and boards , front end pointed skyward . Got across and was very thankful, will never forget that ride
Nope, it wasn’t steel in the mid 60’s. It was worse, rutted and pot-holed. The stuff of nightmares.
@@heatherprichard6223 and I bet there were frequent deck failures, potholes where you could see the water through
We have a small one lane steel grate bridge in town. It was changed into a bike path, and another bridge was built to bypass the old route. The sensation of steel grate bridges is very unnerving if you've never experienced it; especially if it is raining.
I'll have to discuss this with my physics major classmates, they'll be so excited that engineers have already created a subplanck length item with this bridge's width and almost a century ago! Wow!
Lmfao this feels like a joke me and my crew would make. Cheers.
I’m from southern Indiana, literally 30 minutes north of Louisville, Kentucky.
While I am not familiar with The Brookport Bridge, I am extremely familiar with the Ohio River. Used to cross it everyday for work. I’m generally not a superstitious person, but there are quite a few bridges that cross the Ohio River in different states that are downright scary & dangerous. The Ohio River itself, is said to be extremely haunted & with a bridge like this that itself has history, I wouldn’t doubt this bridge to be scary as heck. It even looks freaky during the day, I can’t imagine what it’s like crossing this at night.
I'm from southwest Indiana and the bridges on the Kentucky border are the only ones that have ever bothered me. Recently went over one at night and Jesus Christ it was pitch black, you couldn't see it until we were right up on it. Noisy, bumpy, dark, and old. All great things to look for in a bridge.
The Sunshine Skyway is fun. These bridges make me expect an appearance from mothman.
I live in Louisville it’s nice to be represented
The one Crossing into Indiana from Brandenburg Ky is terrifying. I crossed it a few years back on a trip up to indy.
I live in louisville, I also cross the ohio river through the second street bridge. The main toll bridge is super wide and newer but lately the shermon minton has been closing down a lot
Haunted... that's for children
That's alot of traffic going over that bucket of bolts.
Grew up in north suburbs of St. Louis. US 67 had a similar bridge across the Missouri River, but it had a sharp curve in the middle of the bridge! Local high schools Drivers Education classes had students drive on that bridge!
I’m born and raised in southern WV, bordering eastern KY and southern OH.. We used to have quite a few of these steel road bridges in the area. When I was a kid, we called them “singing bridges” because of the sound they make. I also remember when I first got my drivers license how tough it was to navigate those steel roads, especially if it was raining. I never understood why anyone would think using steel grates would be ideal for vehicle use on a bridge.. 🙄
Weight. It's as simple as that.
We call em singing bridges here in PA too. Most have been replaced but surprisingly There's still some around with no plans to replace em as far as I know
@@heisey-b7x Pacific Northwest bridges are notorious for their steel road structure. Hawthorne Bridge in Portland and the infamous Narrows Bridge in Tacoma are some of them.
The 'Mighty Mac(kinaw) Bridge joining the upper & lower penisulaes of Michigan have several grates that were used so as to allow for the wind to pass thru, adding to the aerodynamics of the structure. Simply put, it allows the bridge to withstand the wind forces. That in turn prevents the bridge from being too rigid and not being able to flex. I HEARTILY agree that it is unsettling to drive upon it. I can't imagine doing it for 760' on an extremely narrow bridge to boot!
@@heisey-b7x Yeah I know of at least one around Orangeville/Benton area. We cross it every time we have a picnic or go to one of the festivals up at Twin Bridges Park.
I went over that bridge last year.. I’ve gone over tons of bridges. That one terrifies me. When you drive over it the metal grate feels like it wants to pull your wheels towards the side.
I've driven across the Brookport Bridge hundreds of times over the years.
It's always an adrenalin rush.
I moved from the area over 30 years ago, but every time I reminisce about Paducah, I think of this bridge.
BRO, AS YOU WERE APPROACHING THE BRIDGE IT'S TRANSPORTED ME BACK TO WHEN I WAS WATCHING A SCARY MOVIE IN THE THEATER BACK IN THE DAYS, VERY INTENSE. GREAT JOB.
Most of us old folks grew up crossing bridges like this. In the town I lived in we had 3 of them, of various types. Eventually all 3 were torn down and replaced. Thanks for the memory.
Anybody that has traveled on the old 7 nile bridge in the Keys in Florida would say that brifge, until its closing, was the scariest. It was a 7 mile long bridge that carried cars SUSPENDED OVER a train track. Over open water. If you get a chance to look at a picture of it you can see how insane it was. Part of the bridge are still sticking out of the water just next to the new 7 mile bridge.
Drove in a similar rode in Louisiana there was a large swamp that the bridge was sustained ended ove, and it was about a 4 mile long bridge
I hate the 7 mile bridge, but this looks worse.
I drove the a couple of times..
It's incredible but nice at the same time
I actually did it on a harley with a bunch of other bikes for the bike event. Never noticed it might have been whacky.
Fished for sharks and " Jewfish " in the 60's & 70's at night from the 7 mile bridge ( overseas highway ) - two narrow lanes with old steel train track guardrails from Marathon to Bahia Honda with flashing amber lights on semi trucks hauling mobile homes rushing by . You could turn around at Pigeon key . Bridge tender over Moser Channel got incinerated one day when a too high vehicle struck the propane tank under his house .
I've driven over this bridge many times, including times when it was being worked on. I didn't think much of it until now. I'm sure it'll be a little more nerve wracking next time thanks to this video lol.
Bruh, your name is Jethro. I don't think you're scared of anything. 🤣🤣🤣
I grew up in southern Illinois and as a kid drove over this bridge until the interstate 24 bridge was built. I never liked it and was always terrified. For as many years I can remember this was the only way to get to Paducah, KY.
At least there's movement on this bridge. My bridge anxiety comes in being suspended on the George Washington Bridge from NYC to NJ for 30 mins. in bumper to bumper traffic. 😳
These people ain’t know bout our roads 🤣🤣 on god they don’t know what bad driving is until you come to New York/New Jersey
MY GIRLFRIEND TOLD ME TO KISS HER WHERE IT STINKS......SO I TOOK HER TO JERSEY
But at least the GWB has more than 2 lanes......we have a bridge like this one in Trenton NJ called the Calhoun St Bridge crossing the Delaware River. The only difference is that it's not as long as this bridge......
At least someone can't drive like a maniac when it's a traffic jam.
Omgggg yes!!!!
This reminds me of how the old Chesapeake Bay Bridge was before before it was replaced. It too had an open deck but it's 380' height above the water and 5 mile length made it very scary and very susceptible to winds coming up the bay. It was still better than the ferry boats that were there before the bridge in the 1950s.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesapeake_Bay_Bridge
Replaced? You linked the Wikipedia article and you still sounded ignorant 🤡
I drove over the Chesapeake Bay. That was scary. I believe it was a five mile stretch of water. This bridge is nothing compared to the CB bridge.
@@mosriteminioncause7741 I know that bridge well. My parents motor home caught fire suddenly and burned to the ground on the top of it years ago. The propane tank blew and was a spectacular sight from many miles away. Also it was on a Sunday afternoon and they closed the bridge. Traffic backed up for miles had a ringside seat.
Been over the Bay Bridge many times, and that Delaware Memorial is a bit high too. Both unerving on a windy day.
@@LBM5283 I blew a head gasket going home from college back in the 80s just before getting on that bridge, smoking so badly I looked like a comet, praying the whole way I'd at least make it to the other side, which I did, and then some.
Man, those two lane road's seem awfully narrow. That was tough just watching that. And we imagine the locals are so use to it that they travel it like it was a regular city street while you're barely able to keep off the rails (lol)
God forbid you needed to turn around 🤦🏾♀️
REMINDS ME of several rickety bridges on the Oregon coast (US 101)
.
I hate that bridge, I live in southeast Missouri and it's the quickest way to Paducah. There's always an 18 wheeler coming towards me and over the center line.
Reminds me of the old St. Charles, MO bridge across the Missouri river or the old Chain of Rocks bridge ...use to terrify my wife.....she would look down and see pieces of the concrete missing....I loved it.
Once upon a time, we had bridges just like this in my area. One by one, they got replaced with modern paved-roadway bridges with W I D E lanes. The irony of the suicide sign at the entrance to the bridge was not lost on me.
@@vp5429 Very risky with no leeway from traffic.
Doesn't look high enough to even die from jumping.
REMINDS ME of several rickety bridges on the Oregon coast (US 101)
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Lots of people have jumped from this particular bridge.
@electrictroy2010 ...the Hood River Bridge over the Columbia is just like this one, steel grate and all.
Amazing structure! Shows how creative builders were back in the day. I love old bridges because they do make sounds. Almost likes its humming.
What they don't tell you is that Illinois has never looked at their portion of the bridge, neglecting it for nearly 100 years. The more you know!
This must have been made for Model Ts back in the day!!! Very narrow and nerv wracking!!! When crossing the Mississippi to Illinois we crossed bridges like this one as well as from Iowa into Nebraska or South Dakota. Got somewhat used to it but not fond of having to cross any of these dangerous bridges!
There was a bridge like this in my home town of Alexandria, LA. It was everything you described, narrow, metal grid as surface and loud. It was demolished 40 years ago.
What’s it called
@@prosperitydwellings1208 The Huey P. Long is pretty scary too. That's from New Orleans to West Wego.
But the scariest one I've been on was the Chesapeake Bay bridge because it was so high up from the water.
Hey I know that bridge. Hated going across it with an 18 wheeler driving opposite. Felt like you were gonna get sandwiched and fall off
@@jenniehughes6927 I'm from the Ms. Coast. The Huey P Long bridge is downright scary.
David!!! I live in Alexandria too!!! You are talking about the "O.K. Allen" Bridge 🙂 I had gotten used to going over that bridge. I used to work at Central State Hospital and that bridge dumped me off at the back gate of the hospital. I still remember hearing that metal sound as you drove over it 🙂
woah, that intro, those first 2 minutes... that's the most atmosphere i've ever seen a video create with just text, sound and pictures.
great job. you can be proud.
REMINDS ME of several rickety bridges on the Oregon coast (US 101)
.
I skipped it after a minute because I wanted to see the bridge.
Neat bridge! It's longer than I expected 😃👍
That’s what she said
Check out the Huey P. Long bridge in New Orleans. When we were there for Katrina we had to stop in the middle and all bridges bounce. My fiend was freaking out lol. I love that bridge
@@aaronrocca6276 I was just about to type that lol
@@Evl_1 they have since replaced the vehicle deck for that bridge - no longer scary lol
@@O-sa-car it still has the steel decking
Like a roller coaster 😮 the rattling 😮
This reminds me of those drawbridge spans I've crossed in Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA. Can't imagine a whole bridge with that kind of texture. Just looks incredibly incredibly dangerous.
i was saying tha same thing about Charleston SC when i drive across.. nerve reckoning for me so i would probably pass out on this bridge.
Speaking of Charleston it reminds me of the old Cooper River Bridges which connected Mt. Pleasant and the East Cooper with Downtown Charleston, they were long truss bridges, they were in a pair with the older of the two being a two lanes and extremely narrow with a metal deck like this bridge, but they have been gone for close to 20 years, replaced by the Ravenal Bridge which is a cable suspension bridge. In regards to all the metal deck drawbridges around Charleston, they are all gone now with the exception of the old drawbridge onto James Island but there is an alternate modern bridge onto the island that opened in the late 80's, so you really don't have to drive on any drawbridges in Charleston if you don't want to and the one that is left has a very short drawbridge deck and is quite wide, it's not bad to drive over at all, it only takes about 20 seconds or so to clear the metal deck, just be careful in the rain.
I drove over the bridge in Savannah when a cargo ship was passing under it and I have never felt so small
I instantly thought of a meccano set, for some reason.
i was about to say it looks like the old ravenel bridge!!!
When I was a kid and we went to my grandparents' house in SE Missouri, we had to pass over two bridges similar to this - the Cairo-Ohio Bridge and the Cairo-Mississippi Bridge, about 37-38 miles west of this bridge. They were similar construction and color and scared me every time we were on them. I have only driven on them myself a couple of times and it's even scarier than I remember.
I do not like driving over the Cairo bridge. Just seeing pictures of it makes me ill.
link pls
All those bridges across the Mississippi and Ohio rivers in that section of Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Illinois are horrific experiences. Back in the 70's my family would make several trips each year across those bridges. Years later, I would experience the other side of those bridges horrific nature... sailing under them and fighting the current on a towboat pushing 15 to 30 barges.
I ended up on the Cairo Ohio River Bridge once by accident. That Bridge combined with the anxiety of knowing I was driving the wrong way and there was nothing I could do about it, uhg. When I finally got turned around, and had to go back and do it again, I got across just in time for it to be closed for an oversize load. I never thought I'd be so happy to be in Cairo as I was when that was done.
I drove over those recently at night😳for the first time😱. Scared to death at the first one, my heart sank when I realized the next one was coming, then it began raining……I’m sure the Lord was tired of hearing me whine.
I've had many reoccurring nightmares of a bridge just almost exactly like this. It's so surreal to come across this video.
Me too! 😦
Same!
Lol!
I love driving on Bridges like these.
There's three of these on one route I love to take!
And one of them has a hairpin curve on one end and semis drive across these all the time! 😁
As a very young child I also had a nightmare of going across a bridge and the water kept rising and suddenly covered the bridge and I couldn't see where I was going anymore.
But that was a totally different situation.
I love old bridges!
Me too
We used to have a bridge similar to this in Huntsville Alabama, only not nearly as long. My father would scare us and tell us the noise was a Troll screaming, “get off my bridge, get off my bridge”. Even as an adult that’s all that I imagined every time driving over the bridge…
I’ve been over bridges like that, but not as narrow or long. Thank you for making this video, so I never have to experience it first-hand.
It's pretty narrow but its the size of the vehicle as well
That looks neat. People just need to drive the speed limit and mind the curve.
Kind of hard to feel sorry for those hitting the side rails because they are going too fast! There is a reason for the slower speeds on that bridge.
I didn’t know and hit it at 45 in a Dodge Ram that was a rental 🤣 talk about clenching your ass 🤣 definitely felt like an idiot. Had no clue it was as narrow as it is and the fact that it is grated either
@@Billy-hx3zi 🙄
@@donaldstanfield8862 I should reword my comment. I hit the entrance at 45 not the curve lmao. I’m not THAT stupid.
Right? I’m like…it’s a bridge people. Just a bridge 🙄
In Montreal (Quebec, Canada), the Victoria bridge linking the south shore to the island has similar features. Same tire grabbing and anxiety-inducing metal grill as road, same disturbing and menacingly monotonous railing noise and same claustrophobic line dimensions. The only difference being that it’s a railroad bridge and the car lanes are on each side of the steel structure, so you don't have to worry about incoming traffic. Though, you now have to worry about your right side only having a small barrier preventing you from plunging into the Saint-Laurent's turbulent water. Mix that with a very very confusing and tight access/exit roads and you get a bridge that even highly experienced drivers don't want to take.
In Gatineau Quebec there is also one like this, but a bit worse than the Victoria one in my opinion. Its noisier too
Ah, fond memories of being 18 and ripping through the access underpass going south onto the bridge in a big old Desoto with fins, blasting rock music out the open windows, lol. The deck never bothered me, drove it every day to work.
I'm having flashbacks to the old Grace bridge in Charleston, SC. It was exactly like this, (but the Grace bridge was 165 feet over the Cooper River). I hated it.
Well, it was definitely built in a time when cars were narrower, but it isn’t too unusual. Been over lots of bridges with metal decks. They’re pretty different to drive on, but not more so than loose gravel.
The bridge across the Columbia river from Hood River, OR to WA is like that tho much shorter. Still nerve-wracking, even though it's wider and can accommodate some trucks. The metal deck sound IS unnerving.
@@marnaehrech1223 Yeah, the Mackinac Bridge is another metal deck bridge- except it’s very long and crosses the Straight of Mackinaw where Lake Michigan meets Lake Huron. The sound is pretty unnerving, but given how many people commute using the bridge (enough that the bridge sells a commuter pass), I decided it was really pretty safe.
The real issue with the Brookport Bridge is that sharp turn at the end. Sharp turns are always dangerous, but especially so at the other side of a narrow bridge.