The Scariest Bridges in the US & What Happens If You Can’t Cross Them

a bridge over water with cars on it

I had no idea that driving the Chesapeake Bay Bridge struck fear in the hearts of many (h/t: Kyle) or that gephyrophobia, a fear of bridges, is a thing.

I’ve driven the 4.3 miles of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge a couple of times and certainly didn’t enjoy it, so I guess I can see how it might be too much for people. What I didn’t know is that there are services out there to help people get across some of the scariest bridges in the US.

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge has three different companies that will drive you across the bridge in your own car. And for other bridges the police of bridge authorities are also there to help. Per this USA Today article:

  • The Mackinac Bridge, the 5th longest suspension bridge in the world, in Michigan provides free drivers.
  • Maintenance staff will take you across the Tappan Zee Bridge in New York for free, if you give them a day’s notice.
  • You can get a police escort to make it over the twin-suspension Delaware Memorial Bridge between Delaware and New Jersey.

And apparently this problem is not limited to US bridges, the UK is also deciding what to do about bridge crossing assistance.

 

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7 Comments

  1. I drove over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge this summer, and it was frightening. It is very high, and those guard rails certainly seem thin and low.

  2. Bridges are not scary. You know what people should be scared of? Driving! 30,000+ people die in the US every year. A negligible to zero amount of those are from bridges collapsing.

    1. Strange that you think you can tell people what they “should” be scared of! I don’t believe that is how fear works.

  3. For some reason the Verrazano–Narrows bridge in NYC scares me to death.

    The old Cooper River bridge in Charleston was scary, with good reason!

  4. Bridges are scary for me and I live in the summer time by the Mackinac Bridge. This summer two trailers flipped over due to high winds and in the 80’s a Yugo was blown off the bridge. Monday, Labor Day, I will be walking across the bridge as long as there isn’t strong winds.

  5. In the past, it was common to build a road bridge not straight; but with a bend roughly half way. The bridge in “Escape From New York” is actually the non-functioning Chain of Rocks Bridge. It has a 22 degree bend. Similar bridges, all gone and replaced by dual span marvels, typically had a speed limit of 50 MPH. The problem was that most drivers did >60 MPH, even going pass the bend.

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

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