Whenever we take I-195 and cross that bridge from Somerset to Fall River, I look to the south and see another, much cooler-looking bridge off to the south. Today we were exploring that area, and part of the trip involved going over this mystery bridge. Here are some shots.

This is from Fall River, Mass., a few steps north of the Rhode Island border. (Didn't know this at the time. I thought we were in Tiverton, RI.)

This one is from Aquidneck Island, which used to be all of Rhode Island, which is kinda why our state is called an island but isn't an island at all.

Also from Aquidneck Island. Now we were almost at the bridge, which connects the island to the rest of Rhode Island, aka the mainland. That's named after an island.

Okay, so we get on the bridge, which I know now is called the Mt. Hope Bridge, and holy crap. Scary as a mofo. The key to the fright-fest is that it's so thin. It's two lanes total, no divider. 28 feet wide. By comparison, the Williamsburg Bridge in NYC is the height above the water, but it over a hundred feet wide. That one's scary enough, because you drive on the outside of the train tracks, right along the railing, which isn't very high. But just imagine if that whole train tracks area was gone, leaving you with just that short railing right next to you on BOTH sides. That's the crazy Mt. Hope Bridge. Also, it feels like you're going straight uphill. The below picture only does it, like, 20% justice.


How come this bridge doesn't get more attention? Maybe I just don't hang around in bridge discussion groups often enough.

PS I'm sure a lot of you knew all about this, but I obviously didn't cuz I ain't from 'round here.

.....coming soon: thealexvanderpooleera.....