Bridges connect people
OVERALL, THE CITY IS A SHOWCASE FOR THE ART OF BRIDGE BUILDING, A CRAFT THAT REQUIRES THE ENGINEER TO BE CONSCIOUS OF THE HISTORY OF THE AREA, THE MODERN TECHNOLOGIES AVAILABLE TO HER OR HIM AND THE LIKELY FUTURE NEEDS OF A MODERN EVER-GROWING CITY.
I HAVE always been interested in bridges.
I mean proper bridges that usually make it possible to get from A to B, often crossing a river or a road.
As a boy I lived not far from Hampton Court Palace Bridge, a beautiful, simple structure across the Thames and giving superb views of the Palace itself.
I used to marvel at the way the bridge ‘blends in’ with its surroundings.
It very elegantly provides cross-river access to thousands of people who use it every day.
It is just a very ordinary structure, I suppose, and one of hundreds that cross the Thames, but I have always enjoyed crossing it and taking in the views.
I am biased by my pre-Australia experience of living near a river that is made even more special by the structures that cross it.
If you have not done so already, and even if you have, persuade a rich relative to buy you a ticket to London, take an exhilarating stroll across London Bridge (brilliantly ordinary) and its near neighbour, Tower Bridge (unique and far from ordinary)! Yes!
Then take a warm coat and a river boat trip down the Thames to Hampton Court.
I’ll lay odds that you will have very special day out!
It is astounding that these bridges, and many others, survived world wars and other atrocities to remain key assets for Londoners who hardly notice them as they rush to work.
When my family and I first came to Australia, August 1971, we found ourselves in Brisbane and, after a few days getting used to being surrounded by Australians, we bought our first Aussie house, in Jindalee near the Centenary Highway Bridge.
This elegant bridge was opened in 1964 to service the needs of the then new Centenary Suburbs of Jindalee, Mount Ommaney and Westlake.
In the infamous 1974 floods the bridge was badly damaged by a barge that blocked the flow of floodwater.
Eventually the barge was deliberately holed and allowed to sink to (successfully) reduce the floodwater pressure on the bridge.
Our home in Jindalee gave us grandstand views of our first major Australian flood and the damage it can produce.
When we arrived in Brisbane our knowledge of the city, including its bridges, was limited to two facts.
We were told to expect high humidity for some months of each year and that turned out to be true!
We were also told what the ‘Gabba is, where it is and why it is a great place to watch Australia thump the Poms! That also turned out to be true... sometimes.
Since those days we have picked up many more facts about Brisbane, a city we grew to regard as a great place to live.
We learned of its many cross-river bridges and we learned the value of good air-conditioning.
Bridges such as the Story Bridge, the Gateway Bridge and the William Jolly Bridge immediately come to mind.
Overall, the city is a showcase for the art of bridge building, a craft that requires the engineer to be conscious of the history of the area, the modern technologies available to her or him and the likely future needs of a modern ever-growing city.
That’s what I like about bridges; they connect places and people while shaping the future.
I can’t think about bridges without being drawn back to my own Uni days.
Bristol is the home of the magic Clifton Suspension Bridge.
The bridge, not long by modern standards, is such an elegant addition to what is anyway a great part of the country.
It spans the Avon Gorge and the River Avon and I could sit and just look at for years!
Please go to Wikipedia ...... Clifton Suspension Bridge, and you will see what I mean.