Bridges

Just thinking about bridges this morning.
Five weeks ago right about this very Sunday morning moment, the end of August, Hurricane Irene was plowing into NYC and heading north. As it passed through New England, winds may not have been so bad, but flooding was horrific. There were pictures of bridges washed out, including charming old historic wooden covered bridges, it was a shame and a loss.
Seeing the news coverage reminded me of the wooden bridges we once had in Bay County. Trying to remember them, there was the Glen Bridge crossing Watson Bayou, which brings to mind that the city has just completed a very nice rework of the east end of Fourth Street leading down to Glen Bridge, improving safety and also making it feasible and reasonable to close Bonita Avenue through the property of First United Methodist Church.
The Fourth Street Bridge across Massalina Bayou at the Bay County Courthouse was a wooden span that was very noisy crossing. At the other end of Massalina Bayou opening into St. Andrew Bay, the Tarpon Dock Bridge also was wooden, and it also was a very noisy crossing. It was a drawbridge just as now. Our house was at the east end of Massalina Bayou, and in those days of open windows before air condition, every car rumbling across either bridge could be heard and every bridge board could be counted.
Bailey Bridge crossing North Bay from Lynn Haven to Southport was a longer wooden span. To me as a young boy, it was a bit shaky and somewhat terrifying.
The first Hathaway Bridge was steel. The spans are available for apparently excellent scuba diving in the Gulf of Mexico:

TomW