Bikes on Bridges
12-22-23, 10:48 AM
#451
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The new arched span is structurally simpler than the old spans, at least in terms of the number of structural members and rivets. Probably will be easier to inspect and maintain??
I'm not sure that it is higher above the water, but the photo does suggest it. Pics taken from the side suggest the deck will be about the same height as the old spans (which will be appreciated by cyclists).
Not sure why the bridge is so wide. At a glance, it looks wide enough for 4 or 5 lanes. On the plus side, that should permit routing bi-directional traffic on it, in the event that the north span (the remaining old span) is closed for some reason.
The structures extending downriver are where the arched span section was constructed. It was recently floated by barge into the position shown in the photo above.
I'm not sure why it was constructed adjacent to the bridge instead of integral with the bridge... maybe it was just easier and safer?
Here's a shot from a location downstream when the arched span was almost complete....
and a shot from the same location after it was fitted to the bridge....
After the new span is completed, the old two-lane bridge is supposed to be dropped into the river. I hope to be around to watch that.
Steve in Peoria
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12-22-23, 11:03 AM
#452
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I'll bet a view from directly downriver would be cool, with the contrasting shapes/curves of the three spans lined up and centered on one another. History expressed as geometry.
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12-22-23, 02:03 PM
#453
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Late fall
Same path, a couple of months before, after a heavy rain.
This hole wasn’t there when I started my ride but on the way back home, the path looked a little different. Hopefully no bicyclist lost their bike or head in it.
Adding a photo of other users of this bridge:
Other users of bridge
Last edited by Alan K; 12-28-23 at 03:05 PM. Reason: Other users of bridge
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12-22-23, 02:17 PM
#454
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10 years ago in Michigan. Still have the Bianchi.
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12-22-23, 02:54 PM
#455
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Since we have some nostalgia ^^^^. Here's me 40 years ago with the Triborough Bridge (now named the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge) in the background. Unfortunately, the '82 Guerciotti I'm sitting on died in an accident in '87.
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12-28-23, 06:50 PM
#458
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Crossing the Monocacy River aqueduct on the C&O canal towpath
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12-29-23, 09:27 AM
#459
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The Bob Michel bridge in downtown Peoria is the only way for bikes and pedestrians to get across the Illinois bridge.
It has been getting resurfaced this year, and an isolated MUP was added on the north side of the bridge. During the work, bikes and peds have been shunted to whatever part of the bridge wasn't being worked on at the time. It was good of them to keep the bridge open to us, since the cars had to find another bridge to use.
I think the work was supposed to finish up this year, and they are near the end... but not there yet.
Today the south portion of the bridge was open to bikes and peds, so I got to enjoy the new pavement!
a mile or two upriver, a new span is being built for the McCluggage bridge. This is the very wide span shown below. It will replace the old east-bound span, which is shown as the center span in the photo below. The new span will have a bike/ped path, which I expect to use. If nothing else, it will let me avoid the downtown traffic and the erratic pedestrians on the Bob Michel bridge.
Steve in Peoria
It has been getting resurfaced this year, and an isolated MUP was added on the north side of the bridge. During the work, bikes and peds have been shunted to whatever part of the bridge wasn't being worked on at the time. It was good of them to keep the bridge open to us, since the cars had to find another bridge to use.
I think the work was supposed to finish up this year, and they are near the end... but not there yet.
Today the south portion of the bridge was open to bikes and peds, so I got to enjoy the new pavement!
a mile or two upriver, a new span is being built for the McCluggage bridge. This is the very wide span shown below. It will replace the old east-bound span, which is shown as the center span in the photo below. The new span will have a bike/ped path, which I expect to use. If nothing else, it will let me avoid the downtown traffic and the erratic pedestrians on the Bob Michel bridge.
Steve in Peoria
12-29-23, 10:21 AM
#460
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Is there any info on how the bike path on the new McCluggage span will terminate on the east side yet? Will we get dumped onto a busy 4 lane road, or will there be some reasonable way to get to the roads and streets with less traffic? I'm not expecting too much, but hoping that someone has thought this through.
Steve in Peoria
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12-30-23, 02:44 AM
#461
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I'm waiting to see how the multi-use path on the Bob Michel works out... I did appreciate the old arrangement where bikes were on the shoulder and pedestrians were on the sidewalk. Not every cyclist will have this opinion, of course. Hopefully the new MUP will have less glass than the old shoulder did!
Is there any info on how the bike path on the new McCluggage span will terminate on the east side yet? Will we get dumped onto a busy 4 lane road, or will there be some reasonable way to get to the roads and streets with less traffic? I'm not expecting too much, but hoping that someone has thought this through.
Steve in Peoria
Is there any info on how the bike path on the new McCluggage span will terminate on the east side yet? Will we get dumped onto a busy 4 lane road, or will there be some reasonable way to get to the roads and streets with less traffic? I'm not expecting too much, but hoping that someone has thought this through.
Steve in Peoria
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01-03-24, 07:49 AM
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There's a stop midway on the Manhattan Bridge, in the middle of the East River; the trains run down the middle, joggers/walkers on the right and cyclists on the left. This is from Manhattan to Brooklyn.
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01-17-24, 08:50 AM
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I rode over the new Northaven Trail Pedestrian Bridge in Dallas, TX
again recently before this cold snap hit and took a few more pictures.
again recently before this cold snap hit and took a few more pictures.
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01-17-24, 04:59 PM
#466
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Our newest bike bridge is no technological beauty but a needed link in the new pathway under construction. Check out the roaring ditch water!
Due to open this year, path is mostly rideable already but leave the 20mms at home.
Due to open this year, path is mostly rideable already but leave the 20mms at home.
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01-17-24, 09:46 PM
#467
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I have a riding buddy 70 yrs of age, who has developed a fear of riding over bridges the past 5+ years.
He goes out of his way to bypass bridges even when driving his car.
Aging is a weird process.
The guy is still a better cyclist than I, but I slyly chalk that off to his youth.
He goes out of his way to bypass bridges even when driving his car.
Aging is a weird process.
The guy is still a better cyclist than I, but I slyly chalk that off to his youth.
01-19-24, 10:20 AM
#468
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I have a riding buddy 70 yrs of age, who has developed a fear of riding over bridges the past 5+ years.
He goes out of his way to bypass bridges even when driving his car.
Aging is a weird process.
The guy is still a better cyclist than I, but I slyly chalk that off to his youth.
He goes out of his way to bypass bridges even when driving his car.
Aging is a weird process.
The guy is still a better cyclist than I, but I slyly chalk that off to his youth.
There are bridges that give cyclists second thoughts. One that comes to mind is the former bridge across the Mississippi at Savannah, Illinois. It had a metal grate deck, so you could look down and see the water below while sort of slipping around on the metal. It also had a low side rail that wouldn't keep you from flipping over it.
On a popular local club ride, more than a few folks chose to walk their bikes over that bridge...
Steve in Peoria
01-19-24, 02:19 PM
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that's a shame.
There are bridges that give cyclists second thoughts. One that comes to mind is the former bridge across the Mississippi at Savannah, Illinois. It had a metal grate deck, so you could look down and see the water below while sort of slipping around on the metal. It also had a low side rail that wouldn't keep you from flipping over it.
On a popular local club ride, more than a few folks chose to walk their bikes over that bridge...
Steve in Peoria
There are bridges that give cyclists second thoughts. One that comes to mind is the former bridge across the Mississippi at Savannah, Illinois. It had a metal grate deck, so you could look down and see the water below while sort of slipping around on the metal. It also had a low side rail that wouldn't keep you from flipping over it.
On a popular local club ride, more than a few folks chose to walk their bikes over that bridge...
Steve in Peoria
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01-19-24, 02:40 PM
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The yearly Bridge Pedal event in Portland crosses the Hawthorne Bridge, which also has a steel grate deck. The organizers cover it in sheets of corrugated cardboard that are duck-taped together. This seems like a huge undertaking for a one-day event, but I suppose it avoids slip-sliding that could become massive pileups. On normal traffic days there is a concrete bike/walking lane that has adequate capacity to keep you from having to use the car lanes.
We have open grate decks on a few Delta bridges and diamond plate on some others. There's crossing them, then there's crossing when wet, which is a whole different level of eek.
None of them is a hundred+ feet over the water. That would have me rethinking my life choices. This bridge right here? I do not know nor care if it has a ped-bike lane. I am not riding it, because it even gives me the Willies just driving a car across. My least-favorite bridge.
Just you and the sky
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01-19-24, 03:00 PM
#471
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Got another one for ya, same bridge but a different bike.
Surf City bridge on a 1984 Schwinn MTB, High Sierra. Heavy beast but great around the beach and looks cool on an old Jeep!
Surf City bridge on a 1984 Schwinn MTB, High Sierra. Heavy beast but great around the beach and looks cool on an old Jeep!
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02-01-24, 07:38 PM
#473
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size matters?
This little bridge joins a park to an elementary school. It’s pretty short, but the design and patina appeal to me.
And, is a SteamRoller a classic yet? I think Surly is ending production. Maybe a classic and not yet vintage… Feel free to report me if I’m breaking the rules…😬
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02-02-24, 08:06 AM
#474
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This little bridge joins a park to an elementary school. It’s pretty short, but the design and patina appeal to me.
And, is a SteamRoller a classic yet? I think Surly is ending production. Maybe a classic and not yet vintage… Feel free to report me if I’m breaking the rules…😬
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