Constructed in Troy, New York, this iron structure was shipped down the Hudson River to the Atlantic. It then ventured around the Cape Horn of South America, arriving in the San Francisco Bay. From there, the bridge was moved up the Sacramento and Feather Rivers. The journey covered around 18,000 nautical miles, with a team of oxen hauling it the final 30 miles. When completed in 1855, it was California’s first suspension bridge.
I was amazed and impressed that anyone would could work out and afford the cost of removing, relocating and then reinstalling a suspension bridge. The process of finding, or making, a dip in the ground that is just right. Finding a suitable subbase for the strand towers and strand anchors. Hell, the costs of the anchorages and blocks alone would be astounding.
ReplyDeleteThen I saw the elevation view. I get-it and I understand the reasoning behind the decisions made to preserve a bit of history. I feel bad for that bridge though, the same way one feels for a nice Model A that gets gutted so it can be used as wall decoration or a relative that has been in a long term coma. Still with us but it's not really them any more. -sorry, guess I'm in a funk or something