Odd Bridges

Oneida Lake
43 12.33 N 076 05.36 W

We're heading east and north for Lake Champlain. Looking back on the past few weeks here are a few things we observed.

One of the oddities around here are the quaint lift bridges over the canal.   The bridge below is in Fairport.  One side is higher than the other and tilts at a different angle, and it crosses the water at an angle.  In the structure, there are no right angles and no two pieces the same size and shape.  The lifting mechanism uses a motor mounted on the bottom of the bridge and a complex series of pulleys and bicycle-type chains. That bridge is listed in Ripley's Believe it or Not 16 times.  It must have been a nightmare to design and build 100 years ago.  The engineer who designed it was no-doubt alternately praised as a genius and cursed as an idiot.  Nevertheless now 100+ years old, the bridge appears to be in excellent shape and it works smoothly.

Look closely at the other lift bridges below.  Notice the stairways that go to nowhere?   The designers of those bridges were so thoughtful that they provide ways for pedestrians to walk across with the bridge raised or lowered.  

Bridge down, stairway to nowhere.

Bridge up, stairs align.

Why so many lift bridges here but none on the eastern Erie Canal?  Because this area is flat.  On the Eastern end the countyr is hilly and there there is a lock every 5-6 miles.  On the western end it is flat.  We are on a stretch of canal 60 miles long with no locks.  It stands to reason that when the canal was built, each town needed a bridge.   Lift bridges were probably cheaper than elevated bridges.

Below is a sign telling of a bridge-related calamity in Albion, NY.  I never heard of the Albion calamity before.