Gribblenation

Bridges can define a community.  In the Western Kentucky town of Island, an over 150-year-old wooden bridge is the centerpiece of their community. The bridge was constructed when the Owensboro & Nashville Railroad came through McLean County.  It carried Main Street over the now-removed O&N tracks until 1997.  After 125 years of operation, a modern concrete structure replaced the bridge.  The wooden bridge was dismantled and kept in storage.  Preservation efforts were led by the Island Heritage Council Association. In 2001, the bridge was rebuilt, with rotted pieces replaced, one block to the south.  The bridge became the centerpiece of Island Wooden Bridge Park.  The park is a public square, and visitors can walk on or below the bridge. Sources & Links: Wooden Bridge in Island, Kentucky ---Hillbilly Ramblin' Roadside Tri-State: The Historic Wooden Bridge of Island ---WEHT-TV How To Get There:

  Welcome to the gateway page for Gribblenation’s series on the bridges of the Ohio River in Louisville, KY! Here you will find links to information about the two bridges that span the river within the city limit of Louisville between southern Indiana and northern Kentucky. The present-day bridges of Louisville were constructed during the periods including the peak railroading era of the late 1800s and the height of the modern interstate highway era of the 1960s through the present day. Each has a unique story to tell and they play a vital part in the transportation system of this corner of the Ohio Valley region. Cover Photo:  From left to right, the John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge (1963) and the Abraham Lincoln Bridge (2015) combine to carry Interstate 65 traffic across the Ohio River near downtown Louisville, creating  one of the most impressive bridge-related visuals in the Ohio Valley. Lewis & Clark Bridge Known on planning maps for decades prior as the "East End...

One of the most beautiful bridges along the West Coast in North America , and also one of the most storied bridges in Canada is the Lions Gate Bridge, which crosses the Burrard Inlet between Vancouver and West Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions Gate Bridge gets its name from the  Lions , which are a pair of mountains to the north of Vancouver that are visible around the city. The  BC Lions  of the Canadian Football League also get their name from the Lions, so the name carries a lot of cachet around Vancouver. Built as a suspension bridge and opened to the public in 1938, the Lions Gate Bridge is 1,517 meters (4,977 feet) long with a main span of 472 meters (1,550 feet) in length. The idea of building a bridge across the First Narrows of the Burrard Inlet was not new when it came time to build the Lions Gate Bridge. There were proposals and discussions for a bridge crossing the Burrard Inlet in Vancouver as early as the 1890s, but it was not until the ...

The nearly 100-year-old truss bridge that carries US 17 over the St. Marys River connecting Georgia and Florida is most commonly known for its vibrant blue paint.  However, this through-truss bridge is also a swing bridge with a unique twist. The St. Marys River Bridge. (Joe Babyak - August 2011) The swing portion of the bridge - a standard design for many low-level bridges of the time - allows passing boats to continue their journey on the St. Marys River unobstructed.  However, unlike most swing bridges - opening the bridge is done manually and not electronically. From the Georgia Side - the St Marys River Bridge on the left and a railroad bridge on the right. (Adam Prince - August 2011) The opening of the central span typically takes six to eight workers.  They manually turn a 15-foot-long turnkey.  Turning the span to allow vessels through can take up to 30 minutes.  The Florida Department of Transportation operates the bridge - and shuts down the bridge twi...

One of the more interesting bridges found in Washington State is the Lyons Ferry Bridge. On the surface, the bridge may seem rather average. The Lyons Ferry Bridge is a steel cantilever bridge, spanning 530 feet across the Snake River near the confluence with the Palouse River, at the foot of Lyons Ferry State Park, and just a few miles south of the famous Palouse Falls. Washington State Route 261 (WA 261) is the highway that uses the Lyons Ferry Bridge to cross between Columbia County, Washington, and Franklin County, Washington. But what makes the bridge interesting is how the Lyons Ferry Bridge came to be. The story of the Lyons Ferry Bridge has a few different origin stories. The oldest human remains discovered in Washington State, just a few hundred yards from the current bridge site, dating back more than 11,000 years. For centuries, Native Americans crossed the Snake River here, followed by the explorations of Lewis & Clark. Later, early settlers following the ...

The Francis Scott Key Bridge (1977-2024) was a steel continuous truss bridge that spanned the Patapsco River in Baltimore, MD. Situated at the entrance to Baltimore’s Outer Harbor, the bridge carried Interstate 695 (part of the Baltimore Beltway) and was a visible symbol of the city and the state of Maryland. This bridge no longer exists due to its collapse as the result of a collision with a large container ship on March 26, 2024. The following piece will discuss the history and life of the Key Bridge, the important details surrounding the incident that caused its collapse, and the in-progress recovery efforts at the site. This piece will also discuss the economic impacts to the city and region as a result of the collapse and will look ahead at what to expect from a potential replacement crossing in the future. Part 1 - History of the Francis Scott Key Bridge (1977-2024) Planning for what was originally known as the “Baltimore Outer Harbor Crossing” began in the 1950s at the dawn of...