Submitted by [deleted] t3_ym77vs in Pennsylvania
Comments
avo_cado t1_iv3nylb wrote
It stopped you in their tracks too
beanboy89 t1_iv3o2n2 wrote
Same, remember visiting as a kid and was wild just walking across it.
PirinTablets13 t1_iv3reum wrote
Yep, walked across it so many times as a kid. It’s still wild to me, seeing it in its current state.
electricpollution t1_iv51xsv wrote
Same here
ThicccScrotum t1_iv5ts9u wrote
I can’t imagine stepping across rail road ties without looking down while on the ground, let alone on a bridge.
UncomfortablyNumb43 t1_iv6nois wrote
Well, if you look down at about a 45 degree angle, you don’t see through, but still have a good idea of foot placement.
mtnsubieboi t1_iv2nxa3 wrote
In the process of it being restored too, it sucks but it was super old at the same time.
hvacthrowaway223 t1_iv3y27o wrote
Is 100 really old for a bridge?
Bucks_Deleware t1_iv48502 wrote
It's pretty old yeah. Most overpasses are designed with an assumption of 50-75 hears of life. A suspension bridge like the Verrazano Narrows, Ben Franklin, or Golden Gate are designed to last forever (hence why they are so large and relatively overbuilt).
100 years is typical for a bridge, but one of this size may be actually be on the lower end.
The reason this bridge fell was because of an engineering choice regarding modifications to the anchor bolts at the base of the towers. Pretty interesting to look in to.
mtnsubieboi t1_iv4l6a9 wrote
Basically what bucks said. Didn't help that before that the bridge had absolutely no maintenance done for a long time before its restoration. Was really just a whammy of unfortunate events that caused its collapse.
Independent_Soil_256 t1_iv661q0 wrote
Considering the industrial revolution was around then sure.
Max_Dombrowski t1_iv2kx2f wrote
Why crazy? It was 100 years old and hadn't been used in 40 years. At some point it would have fallen over in a stiff breeze.
hypotenoos t1_iv2jnfy wrote
Cheaped out on the bolts
CB_700_SC t1_iv39o0u wrote
More like not understanding physics.
hypotenoos t1_iv3a0wh wrote
I think there was actually a study that involved the bolts. The bridge had been rebuilt at one point and they decided to extend the bolts instead of replace them or something.
sleepypanda59 t1_iv671ec wrote
Iron vs steel if I remember correctly
OliverKlozoff1269 t1_iv29kn9 wrote
Johnny Cash wrote a song about Kinzua
Lost-Masterpiece978 t1_iv2z7k3 wrote
Johnny cash wrote a song about kinzua dam not kinzua bridge.
OliverKlozoff1269 t1_iv3abax wrote
Ok thanks for the clarification Captian Ackshully.
🙄
[deleted] OP t1_iv2jvwr wrote
[removed]
smeestisaton t1_iv42p75 wrote
Really awesome place to visit - definitely worth the trip.
Lost-Masterpiece978 t1_iv5xkf4 wrote
Its right in my back yard. And as a kid we would ride bicycles across it.
vogelsyn t1_iv2sqek wrote
throw some rocks. they put all this nice new gravel at the beginning of the walkway. it sounds so cool when ya hit the metal.
UncomfortablyNumb43 t1_iv2t2fd wrote
I walked across it when I was like…12 years old. They didn’t have a pedestrian walkway, so you had to walk on the railroad ties. It was fine when your line of sight was focused outward, but when I looked down between the ties, it would stop me in my tracks.