Alton Mo.-New Clark Bridge

[Mr70]

I just got done Watching this 2 hour special on PBS on the start to Finish building of The NEW Clark Cable Bridge Between Alton,Mo. & Illinois.
I believe The Clarys are from there?
I was Amazed at the ingenuity that all the Men put into this Bridge.
I know it's not the Golden Gate,but the enviroment of the Big Muddy and the skills it took to engineer such a Feat,were definatley a Testament to what Man can Do.
And just before they were completely done,The head engineer goes on camera and says that they had no Major problems,and they would finish on time.....
Then WHAM!..A 100 year Flood occurs,and Nearly wipes it off the face of the Earth,but they Survived it.
Hats off to the Men who built that baby! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/flag.gif

[BBIGG BLOCK 396]

I watched that also,like you I was amazed at what those guys did!Me being from Texas and people say that everything in Texas is Big,we don't have a BRIDGE like that!I was amazed at the guys working in the winter with the wind blowing so bad and they just went to the top like nothing,I would have been around a HEATER somewhere trying to keep from freezing my bunns off!Very good documentary on building something like that,those guys were AMAZING!

Bobby

[berger21]

I watched it also. My wife was bored with it and wondered why I was watching. I found it very interesting.

[Chevy454]

I watched it, but didn't get to see the end, and I'll have to say it was pretty cool. But, that was Alton, IL, not Alton, MO, where we reside! We are sitting almost dead center on the Missouri/Arkansas border, down in the Ozark mountains...pretty much the middle-of-nowhere.

Don't sweat it, not the first time we've confused someone with our location! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif

[Mr70]

Thanks for clearing that up Rob.
When they showed the Videotape of the Enormous Flood waters rushing down main street and the surrounding areas,my first thought was,"How in the Heck did the Clarys cars & the Yenko Musuem escape all that?"
Glad to hear it wasn't your town.

[moparts]

If we have a flood like that the whole world is in trouble....the drunk wizzing on the corner is as close as we will get.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

[Bill Pritchard]

[ QUOTE ]
Hats off to the Men who built that baby! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/flag.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Ditto. I saw that show, too. How about that guy fastening the support cables in place on top of the towers 250 ft. above the water when it was zero degrees and the wind blowing so hard it blew his hard hat off his head /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif I think I'd be looking for a new line of work.

In a similar vein, visit the Hoover Dam and then watch the documentary on how it was built. Absolutely phenomenal /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/worship.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/flag.gif

[68z302]

I saw both those documentaries and you could say they were both super human feats of engineering! Those Ironworkers that work on high steel get huge money but there isn't a lot of people who could do it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beers.gif There's a new Single Towered suspension bridge out for bids right now which is just a part the "San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge" replacement project. Wait till you see that one somewhere around 2008!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Mr70]

Saw that PBS Hoover Dam construction too.
That one is on My Videotape collection. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif
My Granfather helped build O'hare airport,but in my opinion,that doesnt compare at all to these two Construction projects.

[djunod]

I miss the old bridge that it replaces... had to hold your breath the whole way across it was so narrow.

I love Alton... it is a little San Francisco with it's steep city streets (downtown anyway). When you go visit STL, you should go over to downtown Alton & visit there as well.

[Chevy454]

There's a similar old bridge down around Wickliffe, KY, just out of Missouri. When going to the Southeast, we stay on hwy 60 and take the back roads down through Wyatt, MO, and cross the river at Wickliffe, not too far south of the bigger bridge just north of Cairo, IL, on I-57. The old bridge is extremely narrow 2 lane, and the east end makes a 90 degree turn! Makes for a real treat when pulling the TopKick and the 45ft gooseneck! There's a little "pucker action" going on when we meet an 18 wheeler!