Ornithological Observatory / Manuel Fonseca GallegoNot a bridge, but certainly bridge-ish (image © Luís Prieto Sáenz de Tejada).
Will 2012 Deliver Promised New Frontiers? The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge
What will Calatrava's new bridge mean for Dallas? "Will its legacy mark a shift in civic thinking, leading to new models of development and forward-thinking urban practice? Or will it serve as yet another symbol of Dallas’ bloated ego, its propensity to invest in the loud and the most expensive as part of the perpetual pageantry of gregarious societal theatrics?"
For even greater bile and hyperbole, on the occasion of the switch-on of the bridge's lighting, see this Dallas Observer blog.
Unbuilt London: Bridges To Nowhere And Mad Masterplans
Short survey by the Londonist blog. For much more on the theme of bridges that never were, in London, see also my previous posts: Millennium Bridge, Thames Water Habitable Bridge, Leamouth, Royal Victoria Dock, Carpenters Lock, and Peabody Trust Habitable Bridge.
World's tallest bridge hailed in Mexico
The virus that the Baluarte Bridge is the "world's tallest bridge" seems to have spread widely across the web, and the good old BBC were one of many news organisations who played their part in spreading it. Even New Civil Engineer, who should know better, perpetuated the meme before correcting their story a few days later.
The Guinness Book of World Records gets it right however: it's the world's highest cable-stayed bridge (and, according to highestbridges.com, the third highest bridge overall). The Millau Viaduct is the tallest, as one minute on Google would have told lazy journos.
Why was this bridge allowed to decay?
If the author is to believed, a rare example of a surviving James Dredge suspension bridge (Victoria Bridge, in Bath) has deteriorated severely, largely due to an incorrect assumption that developer funding would save the local council from having to look after it properly. The slightly more measured account from the council suggests work is in hand to prop and eventually refurbish the bridge, to reopen it in 2013.
The Council version is correct. Before Christmas a temporary truss was launched across the river to support the deck, an excellent operation by Mabey. Tne next stage is to work up a scheme to dismantle the deck and rebuild it. The main issue has been cracking in the wrought iron members, and this raises a number of issues relevant to other early bridges.
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