The Brookport Bridge: One of the Scariest Bridges in America
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- Опубликовано: 6 апр 2021
- Skip to 3:35 to see and hear the bridge.
The Brookport bridge is one of the most fascinating bridges in the country. It crosses the Ohio River via US Highway 45 between Paducah, Kentucky and Brookport, Illinois.
It's over 90 years old and carries over 5,000 vehicles over the river every day - its become a local legend due to the nerve-racking driving experience it offers.
(The bridge is entirely safe to travel and undergoes regular inspections by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. If you plan to visit, PLEASE follow all vehicular size and weight restrictions.)
Sources and more information can be found here:
historicbridges.org/bridges/b...
Metropolis planet picture: www.metropolisplanet.com/news...
bridgehunter.com/il/massac/br...
KYTC images are from the KYTC District 1 Public Facebook Page.
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.
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 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.
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
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.
_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’ve driven over the Brookport bridge many times. I have lived near it my whole life, 61+ years. It is very unnerving to drive across it. You feel like your car is on ice skates. When it turns cold enough for ice to start building up on the steel grating I would suggest taking the I24 bridge. It’s scary enough when it’s dry. They will usually close the bridge if ice starts building up on it.
Wait till you ride a motorcycle across one of these. Gotta be sooooo gentle and smooth.
@@0xsergy You aren't kidding. We have a shorter one here in Portland, the Hawthorne, and that deck is nerve-wracking on a bike, for sure. I have a scooter too, with even smaller tires. You basically have to let that thing go wherever it wants, within reason.
Road/bridge by Teflon... 🙄😂
@@0xsergy I'll pass...
Looked like a never ending tunnel
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'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.
@@ellen1948 100%!
That was God😭 thank God you made it out safely!
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 😳
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.
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’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
@@user-rx9lq9mn3y 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!
@@user-rx9lq9mn3y 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 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.
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
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.
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!
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
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.
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!
Scary! Reminds me of the Mackinac Bridge, between the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan. It’s 5 miles of clacking racket but at least it’s 4 lanes, two lanes on each side.
That was my first thoughts too. It is also higher.
Higher, one lane steel decking, plus the wind speed signs at the start of both sides remind you of cars being tossed over in the past.
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!
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!
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!
About 15 years ago I was riding my road bike with narrow tires on Inter-provincial (Alexandra ) bridge that had steel decking. There was a tailwind and I was doing 50 km/h or about 30 mph. I could see the river way below, it was pretty freaky but fun.
I always like the sound when you drive over these type of bridges.
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
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.
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.
I'd take that bridge in a skinny minute! Reminds me of the Market Street bridge between Steubenville, OH, and WV. I loved going on that suspension bridge. It was loud and swayed and the Ohio River could be seen below the grid! There was a traffic signal on the WV side, so if you hit the red, you sat on the bridge until it turned green. The bridge bounced with every car entering and passing yours. It was great! But, I knew people who refused to go on it for those reasons!
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.
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?
Just dont let a boat hit it
LMAO yea
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 😣
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!
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!
Like a roller coaster 😮 the rattling 😮
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.
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
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 grew up on the delaware river, north of philadelphia. with the exception of I-95 and the Route 1 bridge, every single bridge is like this. i'm talking a dozen of them. everyone had stories of close calls, but no one i knew had the anxiety talked about in this video. at least the video kept me until 4 minutes in, when it finally showed me the bridge. well done. i hope you get your ad money.
I was down in Metropolis back in66. Traveled over a bridge at night to Paducha for a wedding reception. This must have been it. Later I24 came thru my friends farm and they built the I24 bridge . If someone is afraid to drive the Brookport bridge just us the I24 bridge....Also, .40 miles up the Mississippi is the Chester IL bridge, featured in the movie , In the Heat of the Night filmed in Sparta IL..
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!
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.
Crossed this bridge many times while a student at Murray State University back in the early 80's. It is a bit creepy to see the Ohio River through the steel deck but I usually had little trouble getting across it.
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.
Id like to see a live commentary motorcycle crossing of that thing.
Not live but this is it in a nutshell... 'FFF FFF!'
The engineer who designed that bridge must have been drunk!
I was just on this bridge on July 10th 2021 and I did pass a motorcycle or 2. Being a rider myself I was thinking “man this would be scary on the bike” and then we passed them and it was just funny and ironic lol. This bridge definitely caught my girlfriend and I off guard. This was the most stomach dropping experience on our whole road trip from Northern Illinois to Newport Tennessee. We didn’t know this was a famous bridge either but it definitely makes it that much cooler 😎😂
I've crossed it several times on my duelsport bike. Just do the speed limit and it's really not bad. Might be scary on a chopper though.
I'm from Paducah, KY where the bridge sits. My father's best friend wrecked his motorcycle on that bridge in the 70's. All he was wearing were cutoff jeans and flip flops. Dad said he was scraped up from head to foot, like he had been hit with a potato peeler. Buster lived and was fine later, but he still talks about that wreck.
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!
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.
I live in Paducah and been across this thing many many times. Yes it pulls your vehicle into oncoming traffic, it's very sketchy.
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.
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 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.
Yeah, I’ve driven over this bridge several times in the last 2 years or so. It’s nerve racking and there is a feeling of relief existing it on the other side.
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.
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.....
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.
Well thanks for the ride, now ill make sure to go another way
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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.
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.
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…
That dude who stated that he was a motorcycle though.
Can you imagine wheels wobbling, the hum sounding like thousands of bees chasing you, the see-through steel rack underneath you which offers a haunting view of the Ohio River- deep-muddy-careless, the gut tightening bump that makes you call on God, drivers coming towards you that may or may not have your best interest at heart, but either way will stop to witness you vanish beneath the Ohio River as the splash you created quickly fades back into the river.....now, multiply that with that final descend.
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
That one person’s advice: “TAKE THE I-24 BRIDGE UNLESS YOU ARE BRAVE” has got me dead 😂😂
Im positive I've crossed that bridge at least several times when i was a kid. I enjoyed your ride, thanks. Memories.
Fantastic video! I love it. I'm a NHI/NBIS Certified Bridge Inspection Team Leader. Almost 40 years and still going. Inspected bridges like this but not quite a long. Problem with this kind of structure is that there is NOWHERE to stand and so your inspection work due to the narrow geometry. Gotta climb the trusses to do the work! Very Cool!!!
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.
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
I remember a bridge similar to that in Oregon. My cousin and I would take the pedestrian crossing under the bridge. You could see under and above you. I thought it was cool. I have never seen nor heard of this bridge. Thanks for the tour fellow RUclipsr. Cheers.
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!
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.
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.
Only in AmErica !
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.
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 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.
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
Thanks for showing this bridge off so I can add it to the list of bridges that I’m absolutely terrified of
Lol. Rookie! 😆
I seek out old bridges like this cuz I love to drive on them.
Same. I live in Northern Michigan and drive the 5 mile Mackinac Bridge weekly. I would avoid this one at all costs.
Thanks for your sharing
Somethings soothing about the hum when driving over a steel deck bridge. My Grandmother would call these "singing" bridges. Cheers.
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.
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!!!
Beautiful bridge beautiful view 😍
That bridges humming surface sure brings
back memories for sure Burlington ,IA.
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.
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?
Very well put together video. The lack of dub overs was the creepiest icing on this cake.
An interesting drive love the blue, better than the dark finishes on many bridges
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.
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
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.
Great visuals!!
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
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.
Wow. Great video.
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.
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.
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.
cool looking bridge.
Its infrastructure looks just like the 1-10 bridge in Lake Charles, La that is one of the most terrifying bridges in the world and it’s where I live. Our bridge is only a quarter of that in size but it is 135 feet off the ground over the river. It wobbles, it’s always being worked on, and it’s visibly falling apart. But it’s a part of my daily routine like you said, but for someone passing through I bet they absolutely crap their pants. Thanks for sharing this!