True oddities
I cannot help but wonder about the next version of the Key Bridge, as that is a question that is also on the minds of many others at this time. Ever so often this query makes the local news as speculation continues. At this time the state is vetting and selecting contractors who can meet the time and required specifications of a Key Bridge 2.0. Nothing will be known for sure until later this summer, so they say. But by then, they will have only chosen the company to do the job. So what might this new monster look like? The prevailing opinion is that the Key Bridge 2.0 will be of the same kind as the infamous Sunshine Skyway 2.0. Which is also of the same type as the Savannah monster.
When I was growing up, there were only a few really large bridges in and around the area that I was familiar with. There was the Bay Bridge, the Key Bridge, the Delaware Memorial Bridge, and some smaller truss bridges. As far as I knew, a large bridge could be either a suspension bridge, like the Delaware Memorial, a truss bridge like the Key Bridge, or an amalgam of both styles like the Bay Bridge. Then there were old school arch bridges, such as those built long ago in the 19th century or earlier. But those were fairly small. The New River Gorge Bridge is also of this classic arch type. It was crafted mostly out of steel to support its epic scale and could not be made from other materials. Of course I had seen many other bridges in films and photos, and all were also of one of those “traditional” kinds.
But then there are the true oddities – those like the Savannah and Skyway bridges and many more that I never knew about until recently. At first I did not even recognize the Savannah monster as a bridge, that is, until I could see the entire structure before me. I initially had no idea if the tops of the towers and cables appearing on the horizon were part of some freaky modern art inspired building or some other structure.
These oddities among bridges are those of the cable stayed type, those often weird and freaky beasts inhabiting the world’s infrastructure jungle. Some are downright ugly, some are just “meh”, a few are creepy looking while others do have a sense of elegance and beauty. Some remind me of my grandmother’s rope hammock or perhaps someone making a cat’s cradle or other designs out of a length of twine. Or maybe a stringed musical instrument…. The towers can be certain letters of the alphabet (the Savannah monster’s towers resemble the letter H), or look like upside down sling shots or even pitch forks. But either way, these weird bridges have been proliferating here in the US at an astonishing pace in recent decades. Not unlike some rare and strange looking breed of dog that suddenly becomes super popular overnight. The dog would become popular because it is a momentary fad, but the freaky bridge style is popular simply because it supposedly is cheaper to build and maintain.