A couple of weeks ago, I found myself on the Casco Bay Bridge headed towards Portland. I was travelling in 'my little world' and noticed that the cars in front of me were coming to a stop. Glancing off to the left, I discovered the reason. I sat there for about 3 minutes and nothing. No movement. People getting out of their vehicles and walking over the barrier to get a better look was not a good sign. I started wondering. What do they do when the bridge is in an upright position and mechanically frozen? With traffic snaking off in the distance behind me, a u-turn was out of the question. There was no access to the empty lanes across the stone wall. How does the Highway Department handle this dilemma? It happens at least a couple of times a year. They must have a plan, but what it is escapes me, unless the two lanes begins a long backup procedure. Well, this day my panic was soon calmed, when I saw the black stack and white nautical bridge making its way under the upright spans. You see the top of the tanker to the left just over the wall. Within 5 minutes, 'my world' was moving again.
Not all that exciting, but it happened.
Coming Down!
I'd say it is exciting. I'd love to see a bridge open like that and to watch a ship go under. Cant's say that I ever have.
ReplyDeleteYou people near water are so lucky.
A huge problem for emergency vehicles, which is becoming worse each year because of increase in automobiles and actual belligerence of motorists in some situations. Glad I wasn't in an ambulance where minutes could make a difference.
ReplyDeletei can't believe people just stop and get out for a view!
ReplyDelete'excuse me! coming through!' :)
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a good place to watch the passing ships!
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me so much of my time in Chicago. I lived right on the Chicago River and I watched this bridges going up and down all they time. They looked a lot like this.
ReplyDeleteOnly a couple of times a year Birdman, I would have thought much more often than that!
ReplyDeleteIt seems like a blast from the past before they started building tall bridges to avoid those situations.
ReplyDeleteWere you in a rush? I'd have loved to watch this... if not in a rush!
ReplyDeleteWhen I used to live near a drawbridge, a lift became a kind of community moment. Emergencies, though, always had priority.
ReplyDeleteI know just how your felt, been there too many times. .Good photo of a scene that sparks a bit of panic in me too.
ReplyDeleteThere is a lift bridge here that once or twice a year freezes up like that. Most people here know the alternate routes, but it's a nuisance nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteWhen we lived in the Annapolis, Maryland, area this happened on a regular basis. Always interesting.
ReplyDeleteHave faith, Big Guy. The bridge operators in Maine know what they are doing.
ReplyDeleteNice shot. That would be something to see.
ReplyDeleteWe've got one of these things that connects our part of the world to "over there." The alternate route is backtracking a good half hour and then a l-o-n-g drive around the Hood Canal. The price of living out in the hinterlands.
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