Bridge to Nowhere

This post is about two bridges around the World which lead to nowhere. There are many examples and a partial list is available in Wikipedia, however presently I am covering only two road bridges which now have a very obvious and appropriate name - "Bridge to Nowhere". These are;

1. Bridge to Nowhere, North Island, New Zealand
2. Bridge to Nowhere (San Gabriel Mountains), South California, USA

Although these two bridges are half a World apart (about 10,700 km - 6630 miles), it is a quirk of coincidence that both of these were built in 1936 and have almost the same design.

Bridge to Nowhere, North Island, New Zealand

The 'Bridge to Nowhere' is a concrete arch bridge spanning the Mangapurua Stream in Whanganui National Park, North Island, New Zealand. This 130 feet (~39.62 metres) long 125 feet (~38.1 metres) high bridge was completed in 1936 to provided access to the settlers across the Mangapurua valley. The valley was first opened in 1917  when soldiers returning from World War I were settled there by the Government.

However many problems including remoteness and difficulty of access, resulted in large number of families abandoning their farms and finally the entire settlement was officially closed in 1942.

With passage of time, erosion due to flooding and non-maintenance, the approach road has gone, however the bridge, which is set in lush green forest, still remains and is now a big tourist attraction, accessible partly through boat and partly by hiking.

Image from Flickr is by rossh

Image from Flickr is by hockadilly

Image from Flickr is by Naveg

View location in Google Earth / Google Maps

Source of info and more info: Wikipedia

Bridge to Nowhere, San Gabriel Mountains, South California, USA

This 'Bridge to Nowhere' located in the San Gabriel Mountains, north of Azusa, California, spans the East Fork of the San Gabriel River. It  was built in 1936 as a part of East Fork Road project and was meant to connect the San Gabriel Valley with town of Wrightwood.

The Great 1938 Flood of Los Angles  region, led to rethinking and abandoning of the project, leaving the 37 metre (120 feet) high bridge forever stranded in the wilderness without any connecting road. It is presently accessible through hiking only.

Unlike its namesake in New Zealand which is in lush green forest, it is located in a rather desolate area bordering the Mojave Desert.

Image Source: MSN Bing Aerial View

Image from Flickr is by exquisitur

Image from Flickr is by jenlund70

View location in Google Earth / Google Maps

Source of info and more info: Wikipedia