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Unimaginable scenes as Baltimore bridge collapses

The tranquil waters of Baltimore's Patapsco River turned tumultuous in the early hours of Tuesday following a catastrophic event that shook the city to its core. The aftermath of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse has left a community reeling, with one confirmed fatality and six individuals still missing as rescue efforts persist amid harrowing conditions. The calamity unfolded when a mammoth container ship lost power, careening into the Francis Scott Key Bridge on the US East Coast. The impact tore through the bridge's supports, sending vehicles and people plummeting into the frigid river below. In the chaos that ensued, heroes emerged as authorities swiftly responded, managing to halt traffic on the bridge, averting further catastrophe. However, the toll was already significant, with one individual confirmed dead and six others, believed to be part of a construction crew, still unaccounted for. As the day wore on, Baltimore City Fire Department Chief James Wallace provided updates on the situation, indicating that one survivor had been rescued and rushed to a local trauma centre in critical condition. Meanwhile, the US Coast Guard initiated a relentless search for the missing individuals, leveraging sonar technology to scour the depths of the river. The vessel responsible for the devastation, known as the Dali, was under the management of Synergy Marine Group, navigating under the Singapore flag. Although the crew and pilots were reported safe, the repercussions of the collision have reverberated far beyond the immediate vicinity. US President Joe Biden has pledged federal support for the reconstruction efforts: "This is going to take some time," he said. "The people of Baltimore can count on us, though, to stick with them at every step of the way until the port is reopened and the bridge is rebuilt." The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge not only claimed lives but also severed a vital link in the region's infrastructure. The Port of Baltimore, a bustling gateway for maritime commerce, now faces significant disruption, with vessel traffic suspended indefinitely. The reverberations of this tragedy extend beyond Baltimore, with logistical challenges expected to ripple along the entire East Coast. As the day progressed, stories of resilience and compassion emerged. Retired Chief Donald Heinbuch, startled from his sleep by the rumbling impact, bore witness to the unimaginable destruction. "Never would you think that you would see physically see the Key Bridge tumble down like that - it looked like something out of an action movie," he said. "And you just think about, most importantly, which is what we all should be thinking about right now, nothing but those families and people that are impacted and those people who are risking their lives right now, for not just Baltimore City and Baltimore County but all over the state, to try to save lives. That should be our focus - the preservation of life. Because no one wants to see that happen, let alone someone in their family someone that they know, be injured in an incident like this." Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott echoed the sentiments of a community in shock, emphasising the paramount importance of preserving life above all else. Images: Streamlive | 9News

Caring

Michelle Bridges' candid admission on being a single mum

Michelle Bridges has spoken candidly about the challenges of being a single parent to her seven-year-old son Axel. The former Biggest Loser trainer described her son, who she shared with ex-partner and fellow celebrity trainer Steve Willis, as a "confident" little boy. While Bridges was doing radio interviews about a new project, Axel joined in on the fun. The 52-year-old told <a href="https://honey.nine.com.au/parenting/michelle-bridges-single-mum-son-axel-health-and-fitness/2ae072f9-e38c-46ff-b4ba-6e08c99bd33e" target="_blank" rel="noopener">9Honey</a>, "He's just like a little man now, we have good conversations and he's got a really good sense of humour." "He went into that radio station this morning, just jumped on the microphone, started singing and was answering the phone." Bridges said she has purposefully organised her everyday life to be present in her young son's life. "I've kind of engineered my life this way to be able to take him to school and pick him up pretty much every single day," she says. She went on to say her and Axel are "two peas in a pod", while admitting it has been difficult to raise Axel as a single parent. "We're a team and we're very close, extremely close. And yes, it can be challenging and you do need to sometimes rely on other people to help you out," she explains. "I don't have family in Sydney but I have basically my best friend who's like my brother, and they are super tight." "It does take a bit of a village if you've got one great if you haven't you sometimes need to really find it." Image credits: Instagram

Family & Pets

"So traumatic": Michelle Bridges grilled over Biggest Loser's impact

Michelle Bridges has been slammed by a body positivity activist for the negative impact The Biggest Loser's strict rules around weight loss had on viewers. Appearing on The Project for a discussion around health and body image, Bridges went head-to-head with activist April Helene-Horton, who said she was unsure if she wanted to appear in the segment, given the “traumatic” presence The Biggest Loser was in her life. The weight loss program, which aired on Channel Ten from 2006 and ran for 11 seasons, featured Bridges as one of the several tough-talking trainers, motivating overweight contestants to intensively diet and exercise in a contest to lose the most weight in the fastest time for a big cash prize. During the discussion on The Project, Bridges and The Biggest Loser were put to the test to discuss what it means to be healthy. <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CsFI_QPu7Y9/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CsFI_QPu7Y9/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by The Project (@theprojecttv)</a> </div> </blockquote> The Project host Sarah Harris asked Helene-Horton who was to blame “for the idea that larger bodies are bad”, as she listed “mainstream media, fashion, doctors who don‘t want to see fat patients, social media” among the main culprits. “Would you put the fitness industry in that same category?” Bridges asked. “Yeah I would. And I’ll be really honest and say, I was somewhat nervous coming here today to see you, because I would genuinely say that the show The Biggest Loser was one of the most traumatic things that ever happened to me,” Helene-Horton replied. “Yeah, I hear you. I absolutely hear you. Going on a show like that back in the day, I really had to dig deep and question my morals about why I’m in the health and fitness industry,” responded Bridges. Helene-Horton said that, having spoken to Bridges, she’d soon realised they had some things in common. “You, like me, are somebody who struggled against the idea that you need to be perfect. But the edit [on The Biggest Loser] still made me feel like someone who had the same values as you … would make me feel shame.” Bridges went on to admit that The Biggest Loser wouldn't "work" today, due to the liberation of the body positivity movement and the change in definition of what it means to be healthy. “When I look back on it, 17 years ago, it was a totally a different culture back then. I don’t think that show would work today. In fact, I know it wouldn’t,” she said. Image credits: The Project <div class="media image" style="caret-color: #000000; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; flex-direction: column; align-items: center; width: 705.202209px; margin-bottom: 24px; max-width: 100%;"> </div>

Body

Michelle Bridges re-lists Southern Highlands home for under $5 million

Fitness guru Michelle Bridges has put her Southern Highlands 10-acre oasis back on the market after it previously <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/property/real-estate/real-estate-s-biggest-loser-michelle-bridges-fails-to-sell-home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">failed to secure a buyer</a>. Bridges put the five-bedroom, three-bathroom home at 1840 Kandaloon Road, Kangaloon, NSW, on the market with a new agency and price guide. The property was originally listed by Ben Olofsen of The Agency Southern Highlands with an auction guide of $6.5 million. It has since been listed by Gene Fairbanks and Kathryn Pogson-Pike of Ray White Bowral, with a price guide of $4.6 million to $4.8 million. An auction date for the property is yet to be published. The property is described as a "picturesque acreage haven” on the listing. Bridges had previously shared the original listing on her Instagram page. The 10-acre oasis is set on an elevated position allowing for undisturbed views of the region’s rolling hills and has two living rooms and multiple entertaining options. The home includes a terrace, outdoor pool, tennis court and pavilion, which will suit buyers planning to entertain guests. There is also accommodation located above the garage. Expansive windows make for a stunning view of Kangaloon, a village in the Southern Highlands in the Wingecarribee Shire. Kangaloon has a population of just 162, making it ideal for those who wish to steer clear of the hustle and bustle of the city. The fitness fanatic has become a household name with her multiple appearances on TV, a clothing line and fitness program 12WBT. She is also the author of nine books. Image credit: Getty/Realestate.com.au

Real Estate

Real estate’s ‘Biggest Loser’ Michelle Bridges fails to sell home

Fitness entrepreneur Michelle Bridges has failed to sell her $6.5m Kangaloon home, amid plans to go back to Sydney. The former Biggest Loser trainer initially bought the five-bedroom home in 2017 for $2.7m for her family when she outbid chef Luke Mangan. The 4.1 hectare estate was listed last month with initial reports suggesting that the home should be sold for $7m. However, the private price guidance had offered it to buyers for $6.5m Now, The Agency real estate company has revised the price guide back down to $5m, after they failed to secure a buyer for the original price. The property, which is built on a hill offers stunning views of the surrounding countryside, with floor to ceiling windows in the main living room. The main bedroom has an ensuite bathroom and walk-in wardrobe, but the interior is not the only thing that’s worth boasting about. The luxurious estate has an in-ground pool, a tennis court and landscaped gardens which feature established trees and vegetable gardens designed by Michael Bligh. Other features include an outdoor dining area, an entertainment pavilion with a small fire pit, and a separate guest house complete with a loft bedroom and modern bathroom. Image: Realestate.com.au, Getty

Real Estate

How Ryan Gosling shut down Sydney Harbour Bridge

Footage has emerged from the set of Ryan Gosling’s new film The Fall Guy, which was filmed on the Sydney Harbour Bridge this Sunday. The iconic bridge was shut off in both directions today from 3 am to 10 am, with commuters redirected as the structure was closed off. The cycleway and footpath was also closed from 5.30 am to 10am. In a clip shared on Sunrise on Monday, Gosling's stunt double can be seen filming the high-speed stunt. The stunt double was filmed during an action-packed chase, where he was holding on to a shovel that was hanging on the back of a truck that sped across the Harbour Bridge. The actor and his stunt double were seen talking on set, wearing the same outfit, the red bomber jacket and the actor's stunning looks standing out in the picture. The Fall Guy is a movie adaptation of a 1980s TV series about a crime-fighting stuntman. Gosling, his wife Eva Mendes and their two children touched down in Sydney last September. The power couple have been spotted multiple times in Sydney, running errands, hanging out at a park in Rose bay, and trick-or-treating as a family in Bondi last Halloween. Image: Sunrise/ Bill Hearne

Movies

Why turning old city bridges into new urban parks is such a great idea

The recent opening of the <a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/castlefield-viaduct/features/a-garden-in-the-sky" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Castlefield Viaduct Sky Park</a> in Manchester, UK, has brought fresh attention to the growing number of projects that reuse urban infrastructures to create linear parks. When the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2017/jun/07/paris-promenade-plantee-free-elevated-park-walkway-bastille-bois-de-vincennes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Promenade Plantée</a> opened in 1993 on top of an abandoned railway viaduct in Paris, it was reportedly the first of its kind. It provided local residents a green escape, ten metres above the tarmac of the street below, and a beautiful, three-mile meander from the Bois de Vincennes to Bastille. The opening of New York’s fabled <a href="https://www.thehighline.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">High Line</a>, in 2009, further cemented this type of urban regeneration as something for cities to aim for. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ztZl6fYuXhQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="100%" height="400" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> Post-pandemic, finding innovative ways to eke out accessible green spaces in the urban environment is <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-cities-can-add-accessible-green-space-in-a-post-coronavirus-world-139194" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more urgent than ever</a>. Doing so provides <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10708-021-10474-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">health</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/for-green-cities-to-become-mainstream-we-need-to-learn-from-local-success-stories-and-scale-up-119933" target="_blank" rel="noopener">environmental</a> benefits alongside <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-investing-in-green-infrastructure-can-jump-start-the-post-coronavirus-economy-139376" target="_blank" rel="noopener">economic</a> ones, by <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.12876" target="_blank" rel="noopener">promoting</a> biodiversity, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969721036779" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mitigating</a> air pollution, and in some (though <a href="https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2019/09/the-solution-to-urban-heat-is-not-one-size-fits-all/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not all</a>) cases, reducing <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6458494/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the heat island effect</a>. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477844/original/file-20220805-7920-f8qtwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477844/original/file-20220805-7920-f8qtwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477844/original/file-20220805-7920-f8qtwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477844/original/file-20220805-7920-f8qtwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477844/original/file-20220805-7920-f8qtwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477844/original/file-20220805-7920-f8qtwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477844/original/file-20220805-7920-f8qtwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="Plantlife spills over the edges of an elevated railway above a busy intersection" /><figcaption>The High Line in Manhattan. <a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/new-york-usa-july-2017-entry-1371108503" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Krzysztof Stefaniak | Shutterstock</a></figcaption></figure> How a local approach to high lines is needed Since the 2000s, city planners across the world have tried to replicate what has been called <a href="https://publicjournal.online/the-high-line-effect/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“the High Line effect”</a>. Built on top of a disused stretch of elevated freight rail line in western Manhattan, the High Line garnered considerable <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/09/arts/design/09highline-RO.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x4e1dALkhc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">media</a> coverage from the outset. It has been rightly championed as a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/15/arts/design/15highline.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">success story</a>, attracting eight million visitors a year and <a href="https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nycs-high-line-park-marks-10-years-of-transformation/1646268/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fostering new economic activity</a>. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/M8H8dqMjUCo?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="100%" height="400" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> But not everywhere else is wealthy Manhattan. By reinvigorating the industrial heritage and cultural identity of a place, this approach can <a href="https://idus.us.es/bitstream/handle/11441/116705/TS2_Libro-de-Actos_-Proceedings-Book-1-655-669.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increase tourism</a> which can have mixed results. <a href="https://cityparksalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Equity_and_Parks_Funding_7.16.19.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Recent research</a> has shown that without policies in place to ensure that lower-income local communities can enjoy the benefits of newly greened spaces, including health benefits, these projects can actually exacerbate inequality by raising property values and causing the displacement of long-term residents who can’t afford to stay. Urban planning experts talk about green gentrification, as has been noted in the case of the <a href="https://www.chicagoreporter.com/green-gentrification-and-lessons-of-the-606/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">606 linear park in Chicago</a>, among others. Instead of simply trying to copy what has been done elsewhere, this type of regeneration is best done when attuned to the local heritage. As Historic England <a href="https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/wellbeing-and-the-historic-environment/wellbeing-and-historic-environment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has emphasised</a>, the best way to steward heritage sites and the historic environment is by keeping people’s wellbeing in mind. In particular, it’s about giving local people a voice, a place to be active and a sense of belonging. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477850/original/file-20220805-26-ub4qtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477850/original/file-20220805-26-ub4qtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477850/original/file-20220805-26-ub4qtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477850/original/file-20220805-26-ub4qtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477850/original/file-20220805-26-ub4qtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477850/original/file-20220805-26-ub4qtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477850/original/file-20220805-26-ub4qtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="Signposts at a junction in a pedestrianised green space." /><figcaption>The 606 elevated trail in Chicago. <a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/chicago-usa-september-20-2018-chicagos-1184490604" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Carlos Yudica | Shutterstock</a></figcaption></figure> Why reusing existing structures is best <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-have-reusable-cups-bags-and-bottles-so-why-are-our-buildings-still-single-use-171345" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adapting</a> existing infrastructure is an integral part of <a href="https://theconversation.com/future-cities-new-challenges-mean-we-need-to-reimagine-the-look-of-urban-landscapes-151709" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rethinking the city</a> in an era of <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/150152/a-july-of-extremes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate emergency</a>. The era of <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1587078" target="_blank" rel="noopener">grand visions for public parks</a> is largely over, as most cities are already full. Both spatially and economically, forming large green spaces from scratch is not possible. Reworking old railway lines and bridges into parks, conversely, contributes to a wider strategy of adaptive reuse and what designers term <a href="https://www.archdaily.com/948304/urban-acupuncture-regenerating-public-space-through-hyper-local-interventions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">urban acupuncture</a>. Since the 1960s, <a href="https://theconversation.com/parks-help-cities-but-only-if-people-use-them-103474" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pocket parks</a> have been created out of small, hidden or overlooked bits of land between existing buildings. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477847/original/file-20220805-22-e4y1ly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477847/original/file-20220805-22-e4y1ly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477847/original/file-20220805-22-e4y1ly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477847/original/file-20220805-22-e4y1ly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477847/original/file-20220805-22-e4y1ly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477847/original/file-20220805-22-e4y1ly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477847/original/file-20220805-22-e4y1ly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="A pond set between planted beds in an elevated walkway." /><figcaption>The Promenade Plantée in Paris. <a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/seoul-korea-21-september-2019-top-1539297443" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joao Paulo V Tinoco | Shutterstock</a></figcaption></figure> The hyper-local nature of this type of urban greening makes it easier for residents to access and benefit from these spaces. As pressure increases on how we use resources and keep carbon in the ground wherever possible, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10708-021-10474-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">enabling everyone</a> to have access to green space for <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-parks-and-waterways-in-cities-could-prevent-premature-deaths-study-finds-170973" target="_blank" rel="noopener">health reasons</a> is critical. This can be challenging in those cities where a large proportion of residents do not have access to private gardens. Capitalising on a city’s vertical space – as elevated walkways do – is a huge advantage in high-density cities where significant pressure on ground-level space exists. What’s more, the structures being turned into parks are usually found in those parts of a city that are post-industrial and in need of regeneration. In terms of environmental impact, these parks have great potential. Each year the High Line, for example, <a href="https://www.landscapeperformance.org/case-study-briefs/high-line" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sequesters</a> over 1.3 tons of atmospheric carbon and its tree canopies collect over 24,340 gallons of stormwater. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477848/original/file-20220805-12-mu1w4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477848/original/file-20220805-12-mu1w4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477848/original/file-20220805-12-mu1w4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477848/original/file-20220805-12-mu1w4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477848/original/file-20220805-12-mu1w4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477848/original/file-20220805-12-mu1w4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477848/original/file-20220805-12-mu1w4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="An overhead shot of an elevated park in a city centre." /><figcaption>The Seoullo 7017 Skygarden. <a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/seoul-korea-21-september-2019-top-1539297443" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Keitma | Shutterstock</a></figcaption></figure> Further, by reusing existing industrial structures rather than demolishing and replacing them, embodied carbon can be <a href="https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/15481-continuing-education-embodied-carbon-adaptive-reuse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">kept where it is</a>. Research on the <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/143/1/012061" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Seoullo 7017 Skygarden</a> in Seoul, a linear park built atop a disused highway overpass which cuts across the city’s main rail station, has shown that rewilding and landscaping urban infrastructures is more cost effective and less environmentally impactful than completely replacing them. There is growing evidence of how important <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/67/9/799/4056044" target="_blank" rel="noopener">biodiversity in cities</a> is, not just during daylight hours but <a href="https://theconversation.com/cities-need-to-embrace-the-darkness-of-the-night-sky-heres-why-149129" target="_blank" rel="noopener">at night</a> too. Reused infrastructure projects can play an important role in providing ecological corridors across <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1439179121000074" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cities for nocturnal creatures</a>. Supporting both human and non-human life in this way is a valuable step towards <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/06/cities-ecosystems-biodiversity-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">improving</a> the sustainability and resilience of places. Linear parks thus <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329947799_The_Sustainable_Vertical_City_Research_Project" target="_blank" rel="noopener">weave nature</a> into the flow of a city. They support wildlife. They encourage sustainable transport and physical activity (walking, biking, jogging). They are, as landscape architect Diana Balmori puts it in her 2010 book, <a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300156584/a-landscape-manifesto/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Landscape Manifesto</a>, dynamic spaces: “not peaceful retreats but ways”.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188182/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nick-dunn-131665" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nick Dunn</a>, Professor of Urban Design, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/lancaster-university-1176" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lancaster University</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-turning-old-city-bridges-into-new-urban-parks-is-such-a-great-idea-188182" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original article</a>. Image: Getty Images

Real Estate

Man “driving like a madman” causes shocking crash on Melbourne bridge

Three men have been arrested for being in a vehicle with false plates after a horrific crash on Melbourne’s West Gate Bridge left the driver hospitalised and another fighting for his life. A silver Ford Falcon XR6 collided with a St Vincent’s charity truck on the bridge in Spotswood on Tuesday morning, with witnesses reporting the Ford was being driven “like a madman”, per <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10982161/West-Gate-Bridge-Shocking-crash-Melbourne-highway.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daily Mail Australia</a>. The truck rolled onto its side, forcing four lanes which connect the western suburbs and airport to the rest of the city to be closed. It is understood a person was thrown from the vehicle in the collision. The 21-year-old Ford driver was taken to hospital, where he is in a stable condition. The front-seat passenger was also taken to hospital with critical injuries. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/07/melbs-crash-car1.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Paramedics, firefighters and police descended on the scene, with all four outbound lanes closing. Image: 7News Three other men, all in their 20s and passengers in the vehicle, were arrested at the scene, with police suspecting the car was stolen due to the presence of false registration plates, which belonged to a blue BMW with registration that expired in 2014. The men have since been released pending further enquiries, while the two men in the van were unharmed. VicTraffic confirmed that all four lanes were operational just after 2.30pm after authorities had cleared the road, though delays were expected to continue for some time. “Thanks again for your patience as emergency services conducted investigations,' VicTraffic said. One witness told Radio 3AW that the roads were entirely blocked, with police and ambulance unable to get through. “There's a number of individuals lying there being attended to by the public, because the ambulance and the police just can't get through because the roads are entirely blocked,” they told the station. Another, who was travelling outbound on the bridge, said the Ford sped past him “like a bullet”. “He was driving like a mad man,” they said. “I thought to myself he won't make it to the other side of the bridge.” One woman who was at the scene moments after the crash told Daily Mail Australia that she saw paramedics treating one person who was on the ground. “There were about fifty cars with police, ambulance and firefighters,” she said. Police investigating the crash say the circumstances surrounding it are still to be determined, while anyone with information, dash cam footage or who witnessed the crash are being urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Image: 7News

News

Woman hit with repair bill for bridge she “could have died” on

Five years after her car crashed through the fences on a bridge and plunged into the water below, a NSW woman has been charged thousands for the damage caused - despite arguing that the fences are “totally inadequate” for stopping accidents like hers. “I could have died that night because of that bridge and now they have the hide to send me a bill for repairs!” Maroney told <a href="https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/nsw-woman-sent-repair-bill-for-bridge-following-car-accident/9efe38b1-59bb-4c48-8fda-aa7ef2e64709" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Current Affair</a>. Deb Maroney continues to be traumatised after the incident, where her Ford Falcon slid on the greasy surface of the road on Swansea Bridge in heavy rain on a winter’s night five years ago. Crashing through two fences on the bridge near Newcastle, Maroney’s car plunged into the deep water channel beneath the bridge. Maroney has received ongoing therapy since, telling the Channel 9 program that she still has trouble going over the bridge to this day. “I can’t even go through a carwash because of the water hitting the car,” she said. When the bill for $11,750 arrived recently, it brought up all sorts of feelings for Maroney, including anger. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/07/bridge-bill.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Deb Maroney was asked to pay an eye-watering $11,758 for repairs to the bridge. Image: A Current Affair “All these years on the NSW Roads and Maritime have decided to charge me for the damage caused by the accident,” she said. “The two fences protecting motorists on the north side of the bridge are totally inadequate. “One is nothing more than a school fence and the other looks like a swimming pool fence.” Maroney added that her car still went “straight into the water” after hitting not one, but two fences. “If they had been something substantial, I would have been okay,” she said. She isn’t the only one concerned about the safety of the bridge, with former Lake Macquarie councillor John Gilbert campaigning for the bridge to be upgraded for a decade. “But they just refuse,” he told A Current Affair. “Deb should be sending the RMS a bill, not them sending her one.” Since A Current Affair’s coverage of Maroney’s story, the RMS have contacted her, telling her the bill had been waived and apologising for the stress. However, there has been no word on whether the bridge fencing will be upgraded. “It’ll kill someone one day,” Maroney said. Image: A Current Affair

Caring

“This is our home”: Aussie family forced from home for new bridge

An Australian farming family is being forced to move from the farm they have owned for the past 22 years after it was decided a road would be run right through the centre - despite the property being surrounded by acres of vacant land. Marian and Peter Wilcox have been growing vegetables on their 15-acre North Richmond property for over two decades, but have been told their land will be turned into a road to provide access to a new bridge. The family have been hit with a notice from the NSW Government, Hawkesbury Council and a developer that their property would be forcibly acquired as part of the Redbank Communities project. Speaking to A Current Affair, Ms Wilcox said the family were completely blindsided by the decision. “This is our home. We had no idea this was coming,” she said. Ms Wilcox said she first found out about the plan for their home at a community meeting with other locals. “I found out at a community meeting in front of a whole lot of other people,” she recalled. “They just put a picture of our property up on the screen and said this is where the road is going to run and that is how I found out. It was very heartless.” The road is needed to connect a new bridge that is forming a major part of the Redbank North Richmond project and will cost $23.8 million to build. “It has purposely been directed to go through the house. Our property was not going to be touched at all,” Ms Wilcox claimed. “What we have here, it just doesn’t matter to them. Our family does not matter to them, our family home does not matter.” But, documents obtained by the Wilcox’s through freedom of information indicated that the original plans would have seen the road go through the neighbouring property, belonging to horse breeder and local real estate mogul John Starr. A Current Affair claimed there was evidence that the planned road had to “avoid the private land housing the horse stud”. “The road (has to be) designed to avoid the Starr property,” the documents reportedly read. Though there is no evidence to suggest Mr Starr was involved in the changes, the Wilcox family are still looking for answers. Adam, the Wilcox’s son, said the farm was “all I know” and that he had planned his future around it. “There’s vacant land there. Put(ting) it straight through someone’s house, it just doesn’t make sense,” he said. “I don’t know how much stress they have put on me and my parents. Just for what? Nothing.” Linda Perrine, the Hawkesbury City Council Director of City Planning, told the program that the road’s design was part of a joint discussion between Hawkesbury City Council, Transport for NSW and Redbank Communities. Ms Perrine explained that the original route was changed to its current path in February 2020. “The original route for the proposed bridge was through the nearby Navua Reserve,” she explained. “In February 2020, Council considered a report and confirmed its in-principle support for the current route alignment based on the facts that it: a) Does not involve any loss of public open space; b) Provides greater flood immunity, above 1:100 flood level; c) Minimises impact on heritage and biodiversity; d) Affects only three private property owners; e) Complements a suite of other roadworks upgrades also required to be delivered in the same Voluntary Planning Agreement f) Assists in addressing current traffic levels/congestion”. Images: A Current Affair

Real Estate

New details revealed in Operation London Bridge

New details have emerged about Operation London Bridge, the codename for the plans for when Queen Elizabeth dies. The Royal Household has made a request to the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers to sound bells in religious buildings using muffles - a pad of material attached to the ball of the bell clapper - to create a more solemn sound. “We have spent a lot of time talking to the Royal Household and Lambeth Palace about the day the monarch passes, which we hope will not be any time soon,” Vicki Chapman, the spokeswoman for the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers, told the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10703457/Leatherworkers-flooded-orders-church-bells-muted-Queen-dies.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daily Mail</a>. “Adding muffles makes bells sound mournful, more like a hum - so they will sound like thud, thud, thud rather than dong, dong, dong. “It is about paying due reverence to the service of the monarch and commemorating her life.” Church bells are sometimes rung half-muffled for Remembrance Day and funerals, but the full muffle is reserved for the monarch’s death. As a result, many churches have realised their supply of muffles has rotted over the years, having been left unused since the death of the Queen’s father, King George VI, 70 years ago. This has prompted a surge in demand for leather workers to make more muffles, which Philip Pratt of Big Wilf’s Bell Muffles near Bristol knows all about. “Muffles are a specialist product and only a very few leather manufacturers in the UK make them,” he said. Mr Pratt added that the company has received “a lot of enquiries” and has been “taking on more and more orders”. The details come as the Queen is expected to celebrate her 96th birthday on April 21. The monarch, who has suffered mobility issues of late and has had to withdraw from several in-person events, has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/apr/10/covid-left-me-exhausted-queen-tells-bereaved-couple" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently revealed</a> how catching COVID-19 left her “very tired and exhausted” after testing positive for the virus in February. Image: Getty Images

Legal

Daylight robbery: Men arrested for nicking a bridge

Eight men have been arrested in the Indian state of Bihar for stealing an iron bridge in broad daylight. When several men arrived in the village of Amiyavar with an excavator and gas torches, locals believed the government was finally removing an old metal bridge that had become more of a nuisance than useful. The men, including some from the state government’s irrigation department, arrived at 7am and worked until dusk for three days. They cut the iron with gas torches and loosened the ground with excavators before taking the metal away in a rented van. However, a local journalist told the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-61066473" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BBC</a> that no one knew the men were actually stealing the metal, before depositing it at the warehouse of a local scrap dealer for a profit. “No-one suspected it was a heist,” Jitendra Singh, a journalist who lives “200 metres from the bridge”, told the outlet. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Unique theft in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bihar?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bihar</a>, thieves became officers of the irrigation department and stole a 60 feet long iron bridge In Nasriganj, Rohtas, thieves posing as officers, with the help of local personnel, 1/2<a href="https://twitter.com/UtkarshSingh_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UtkarshSingh_</a> 📽️ <a href="https://t.co/jhnTbUSYDw">pic.twitter.com/jhnTbUSYDw</a> — Siraj Noorani (@sirajnoorani) <a href="https://twitter.com/sirajnoorani/status/1512521001719894017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2022</a></blockquote> The operation was reportedly supervised by Arvind Kumar, who worked part-time at the irrigation department. He allegedly told anyone who asked that “the work had an official sanction”. Ashish Bharti, the senior police official leading the investigation, said Mr Kumar was one of the men arrested. “Irrigation department official Radhe Shyam Singh, the van owner and the owner of the scrapyard are also among those arrested. We are looking for at least four more people,” Mr Bharti said. “Even three days ago, the structure of the bridge was there but suddenly it disappeared and we informed local officials,” Amiyaway local Suresh Kumar told <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/thieves-make-away-with-500-tonne-iron-bridge-in-bihar/article65305774.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Hindu</a>. Pawan Kumar, who lives in a neighbouring village, made the discovery that the operation wasn’t legitimate after he tried contacting Mr Singh and couldn’t reach him. “I tried calling irrigation department official Radhe Shyam Singh, but when he didn’t answer, I called a senior official to ask why they had not followed procedure - the authorities are expected to issue a tender and the work is given to the lowest bidder,” Mr Kumar told the BBC. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> The remnants of the 500 tonne bridge that was stolen in Rohtas, Bihar. Pic via <a href="https://twitter.com/AmarnathTewary?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AmarnathTewary</a> <a href="https://t.co/AaB3Ohc41x">pic.twitter.com/AaB3Ohc41x</a> — Nistula Hebbar (@nistula) <a href="https://twitter.com/nistula/status/1512713303797035011?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2022</a></blockquote> The official told him he was unaware that the bridge had been taken down, prompting a complaint to be lodged with police. After conducting several raids, police have recovered 24.5 tonnes of iron scrap from the bridge, as well as the pick-up van and tools used to strip the bridge, per <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/bihar-bridge-theft-case-water-resources-dept-official-seven-others-arrested/article65310750.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Hindu</a>. The bridge in question was in a serious state of disrepair and had been out of use since the early 2000s, when a concrete bridge was built nearby. Journalist Jitendra Singh said the head of the village had sent a petition to authorities to remove the bridge since it had become a health hazard. He said bodies of cattle and even people would get stuck under the bridge after floating from upstream. “Over the years, all the wood used in the bridge had disintegrated and the iron had rusted. Thieves had stolen bits and pieces of the metal to put it to other use or sell it as scrap for a few rupees,” Shailendra Singh, who lives in the village, told the BBC. “But what happened last week was daylight robbery.” Metal is stolen in many parts of India, as well as the US, UK and parts of Europe. In India, manhole covers and water pipes are common targets, while signalling and power cables, overhead line equipment, and clips to hold train tracks in place in England have caused thousands of hours of delays each year. Image: Twitter

Legal

Police charge teen over horrific Harbour Bridge smash

A 19-year-old Queensland man has been <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-09/police-identify-alleged-sydney-harbour-bridge-crash-driver/100895066" target="_blank" rel="noopener">charged</a> by detectives for allegedly stealing a car before causing a fiery three-car crash that closed the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Police were able to identify the man as Christopher Walker one day after releasing a photo of his arm and calling on the public to help. The image showed a distinctive tattoo of a large eye on Mr Walker's hand with wavy lines that extended across his fingers and wrist. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/03/tattoo.jpg" alt="" width="322" height="215" /> Police released an image to help them identify the driver. Image: NSW Police They allege he drove a Toyota Kluger SUV which swerved into oncoming traffic and careened into a van on Monday morning. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Sydney?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Sydney</a> Harbour Bridge closed due to a terrible multi-vehicle crash that brought all lanes to a standstill. Motorists have been advised to avoid the area and use Sydney Harbour Tunnel instead. Stay safe <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SydneyHarbour?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SydneyHarbour</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/dryadusingh?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dryadusingh</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DrAmitSarwal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DrAmitSarwal</a> <a href="https://t.co/umbbU6oiIg">pic.twitter.com/umbbU6oiIg</a> — The Australia Today (@TheAustoday) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAustoday/status/1500600916746989572?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2022</a></blockquote> Mr Walker remains in hospital under police guard, where he is being treated for suspected head injuries. Police have laid several charges against him, including dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm and assault with intent to take/drive motor vehicle. Police also allege Mr Walker stole the keys to the SUV from a man he assaulted in the CBD just before 7am on Monday. Emergency services were then called to the three-car crash a short time later, after the SUV flipped on its roof and burst into flames during morning peak hour. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> The Sydney Harbour Bridge is closed and three people have been injured – including one who was trapped – after a horror head-on crash during peak hour. Inquiries are continuing into the incident.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/australia?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#australia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sydney?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#sydney</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/habourbridge?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#habourbridge</a> <a href="https://t.co/1U05QgKMpV">pic.twitter.com/1U05QgKMpV</a> — 5 News Australia (@5NewsAustralia) <a href="https://twitter.com/5NewsAustralia/status/1500671979023892480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2022</a></blockquote> The two other drivers were taken to hospital to be treated for their injuries, with the van driver sustaining serious leg and pelvic injuries and a woman driving a Honda Civic sustaining minor injuries. Police have spoken to several witnesses over the past few days who were on the bridge at the time of the collision of saw the lead-up. Mr Walker <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/man-charged-over-fiery-harbour-bridge-crash-and-alleged-carjacking-20220309-p5a37w.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appeared</a> before Central Local Court via a bedside hearing on Wednesday afternoon, where he was formally refused bail. He is due to appear in court again on March 23. Image: @5NewsAustralia (Twitter)

Legal

Car explodes on Sydney Harbour Bridge

The Sydney Harbour Bridge was closed on Monday morning following a multi-car crash where one vehicle burst into flames. Emergency services were called to the iconic bridge just after 7am after three cars collided, with one flipping and catching fire. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Woken by all the sirens streaming onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Hearing exploding fuel/gas tanks, acrid smoke plumes into the sky. Prayers 🤲🏼 <a href="https://t.co/0AfkDhfCbO">pic.twitter.com/0AfkDhfCbO</a> — Laura Banks (@laurakatebanks) <a href="https://twitter.com/laurakatebanks/status/1500570546832310275?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2022</a></blockquote> Images and footage from the crash show the fireball rising up from the flipped car in the citybound lane, with witnesses saying it rose up to three metres into the air. Those on the scene who helped the drivers out of the cars have been praised as “heroes”, including a nearby Traffic Management Centre worker who helped drag a van with a trapped man inside away from the fire after he heard the crash and raced to the scene. Two of the drivers - a man and a woman - were treated by paramedics at the scene before being taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The van driver was trapped in his vehicle for some time before he was freed by emergency services. He was later taken to St Vincent’s Hospital in a serious but stable condition. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Dashcam footage of the crash on the Sydney Harbour Bridge this morning. Just horrific. No one is critically injured - what a miracle. <a href="https://twitter.com/10NewsFirstSyd?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@10NewsFirstSyd</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/breaking?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#breaking</a> <a href="https://t.co/zRgMXofUjQ">pic.twitter.com/zRgMXofUjQ</a> — Charlotte Goodlet (@cgoodlet) <a href="https://twitter.com/cgoodlet/status/1500616289882353664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2022</a></blockquote> Fire and Rescue NSW extinguished the flames, with the organisation’s superintendent, Matt Sigmund, <a href="https://7news.com.au/travel/nsw-traffic/major-traffic-delays-after-fireball-breaks-out-on-sydney-harbour-bridge--c-5957213" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confirming</a> the driver had made it out of the vehicle before the fire started. He also said the man was incredibly lucky to escape. “Crews on arrival reported thick black smoke coming from one of the vehicles and we had heard reports of persons still in the vehicle,” Mr Sigmund told Sunrise. “The driver that was trapped in the van is really lucky to have escaped at this stage. “The traffic commander from that depot actually drove up at the time of call, the van was located next to the car that was involved on fire, he hooked that van up and dragged it away from the car that was on fire.” <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/03/fire1.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="281" /> Image: 9News NSW Ambulance Inspector Giles Buchanan praised the bystanders and emergency service workers who rescued the drivers. “A number of bystanders and other emergency service workers who risked their lives to assist these patients are absolute heroes, we can’t thank them enough,” he said. “One of the vehicles was well alight when we arrived on the scene, it was an extraordinary effort to get the patient out of the vehicle safely.” Crash investigators have remained at the scene, while motorists have been <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-harbour-bridge-car-crash-car-in-flames/ff266b3b-55e1-44ba-80de-87071c78315b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">urged</a> to avoid travelling towards the city and delay trips. “Those travelling towards the city should allow plenty of extra travel time and consider using the Sydney Harbour Tunnel or Anzac Bridge as an alternative,” Live Traffic Sydney said. EDITOR'S UPDATE Police allege that the Toyota Kluger’s owner was changing a tyre on the corner of Sussex and Goulburn streets in Sydney’s CBD when a man approached and started a conversation about the car. “There was a short scuffle which ensued and then the man got into the Kluger and drove it away headed towards the Harbour Bridge,” Sydney City Police Area commander Detective Superintendent Rohan Cramsie told 2GB radio. “We’d certainly ask anybody who has witnessed the (alleged) stealing of that Kluger to come forward.” Image: 9News

Travel Trouble

Edwina Bartholomew shares heart-warming news of a toddler’s recovery

Sunrise presenter Edwina Bartholomew has shared news she says is “close to my heart” about Sydney toddler, Grace Bridges, winning her battle with cancer. The news comes as a great relief to Bartholomew, who is pregnant herself and a mother to one-year-old daughter Molly. When Bartholomew first shared Grace’s story in June, she broke down on air. But now Bartholomew has been able to share with viewers that two-year-old Grace – or ‘Amazing Grace’ as she’s now called by the doctors, has been “declared cancer-free” after undergoing multiple bouts of gruelling chemotherapy. “Here’s an update on a story that’s very close to my heart,” Bartholomew said on Wednesday. “Earlier this year I met toddler grace Bridges. This gorgeous little girl has been battling the rare cancer named metastatic hepatoblastoma.” “I’m delighted to tell you that this week her parents and Grace received the best news ever - she is cancer-free!” she said. <img style="width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="/nothing.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/c8129ab75f104d8ca0de2625c24af2c5" /><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.5198618307427px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844324/grace-kangaroo-um.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/c8129ab75f104d8ca0de2625c24af2c5" /> Treatment of 70 doses of chemotherapy Grace had undergone a staggering 70 doses of chemotherapy, five major surgeries and has spent more than 100 days in hospital. Her rare cancer was so aggressive that devastated doctors at one point warned her heartbroken parents their daughter may have just 24 hours to live. Bartholomew described the update as “beautiful” and recalled her emotional response to meeting Grace and her family earlier this year. “You might remember because I absolutely lost it!” she joked. “They call her ‘amazing Grace’ and I think that is absolutely the best name for her, she is such a cute kid,” Bartholomew added. “It’s such wonderful news for her whole family to be cancer-free after that horrific ordeal.” Image: Sunrise

Caring

"COVID kicked my ass pretty good": Jeff Bridges' major health update

Legendary actor Jeff Bridges has discussed his long battle with cancer, and with contracting COVID-19. The 71-year-old shared the first sneak peek from The Old Man, for which he is the star and executive producer, while also sharing a health update on his website. "My cancer is in remission — the 9" to 12" mass has shrunk down to the size of a marble. My COVID is in the rear view mirror," he said. "COVID kicked my ass pretty good, but I'm double vaccinated and feeling much better now," he continued, following up on a post from March where he discussed how he contracted coronavirus at the same place he was undergoing chemotherapy for his lymphoma. "I heard that the vaccine can help folks with long haulers. Maybe that's the cause of my quick improvement." Jeff said he needed oxygen assistance after contracting the virus, but he overcome obstacles in his way to achieve a major milestone. "I had a goal — walking my daughter Hayley down the aisle," he wrote. "She was getting married to a wonderful guy, Justin Shane. Thanks to Zach [Wermers, physical therapist] and my terrific medical team, I was able to, not only walk Hay down the aisle, but do the father/bride dance with her without oxygen." Jeff shared the emotional moment of him dancing with Hayley at her wedding to the Ray Charles song Ain't That Love on his personal website. Image credit: Getty Images

Caring

Harbour Bridge crash: What went wrong

Police have told reporters what happened in the serious car crash that left one woman dead, two men with head injuries and a second woman trapped inside of her car on Thursday morning. Acting Superintendent Paul Dunstan says that early investigations reveal that a Mitsubishi Mirage travelling north had crossed two lanes of traffic. The vehicle ended up on the wrong side of the road for a “short time” before slamming into a BMW travelling south. The cars collided at the Millers Point entrance to the bridge just before 7.15am. People from both the vehicles were injured in the crash and the Mitsubishi driver was killed. Traffic was so dense that firefighters had no choice but to walk to the scene carrying life savings equipment. Wreckage could be seen strewn across the road during peak-hour traffic. Supt Dunstan said CCTV footage of the incident was “confronting” to watch. “It would appear at this stage that the vehicle travelling in the northbound direction has crossed two lanes of traffic and collided with the vehicle travelling south which was in its correct lane,” he said. “I have seen footage of the incident, and that’s how it appears in the early stages.” The female driver of the Mitsubishi has not been formally identified but reports say she is in her mid 30s. Her two passengers, both men believed to be in their 30s, have suffered head injuries. Both have been taken to Royal North Shore Hospital and one remains in critical condition. The second driver is a woman in her 40s who was trapped left in her BMW. Later she was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital with “at least” a broken leg, Supt Dunstan said. A male passenger believed to be with her was taken to Royal North Shore hospital with minor injuries. “There was a red car smashed, unbelievably, in the front, and I don't know how both of them – the black car and the red car – got over two different angles. But it was a big hit,” a witness informed the Today show. Supt Dunstan said the lanes of traffic were clearly marked. However he has noted that the driver might have believed she was driving in the right direction. The bridge was closed for about three hours on Thursday morning but has since reopened. Drivers are advised to avoid the area as traffic is still “extremely heavy”. Inspector Lucky Phrachanh who is duty operations manager at NSW Ambulance, said the scene was horrific”. “Paramedics and emergency services never want to attend these types of accidents,” he said. “We say this all the time, but please look out for each other on the roads. Driving any motor vehicle can be extremely dangerous.”

News

Michelle Bridges opens up about the “toughest month of her life”

Michelle Bridges has taken to Instagram to issue an emotional statement after she was caught drink driving due to her shock split from partner Steve “Commando” Willis. Calling the past month “the toughest of her life”, the fitness guru thanked her love ones for their support, adding that “the remorse and guilt won’t go away”, presumably referencing her DUI. The heartfelt post comes a week after she pleaded guilty for driving under the influence with her young son Axel in the car on Australia Day, for which she was given a three-month driving ban and a $750 fine with a recorded conviction. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B9BBGddnRB4/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B9BBGddnRB4/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">The last month has been the toughest time of my life. What I'd like to say is thank you - to my loved ones, my friends, my team, and to all who have reached out to me. I have received so many messages of kindness from both strangers and people I know. The biggest thank you to you all. I know the remorse and guilt won't go away, but I'm determined to keep moving forward, working hard and being thankful for all the good in my life. Mish x</a> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/mishbridges/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> Michelle Bridges</a> (@mishbridges) on Feb 25, 2020 at 8:00pm PST </div> </blockquote> The photo, which shows Michelle staring out into the ocean, was captioned: “The last month has been the toughest time of my life. “What I’d like to say is thank you – to my loved ones, my friends, my team, and to all who have reached out to me. “I have received so many messages of kindness from both strangers and people I know. The biggest thank you to you all. I know the remorse and guilt won’t go away, but I’m determined to keep moving forward, working hard and being thankful for all the good in my life.” Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, the Biggest Loser star confirmed her split from The Commando after her drink-driving arrest, saying recent weeks had been “a very difficult time … dealing with the break-up of my long-term relationship”.

“Gross error in judgement”: Michelle Bridges pleads guilty to drink driving charge

An emotional Michelle Bridges has issued an apology outside of a Sydney court for her “gross error in judgement” after the personal trainer and TV personality was caught drink-driving with a child in the back seat. The 49-year-old blew 0.089 after she after she took part in a random breath test on New South Head Road in Bellevue Hill on Australia Day. Magistrate Allison Hawkins on Tuesday convicted Bridges and handed her a $750 fine, saying the incident was “humiliating” for the former reality TV star. Bridges’ licence was disqualified for three months and she’ll be forced to drive with an alcohol interlock for one year from April 26. Standing out Sydney court, Bridges apologised for her “gross error in judgement”. “I would like to apologise to my family, my friends and my community for this gross error in judgement,” she told reporters. “The consequences of these actions will haunt me forever. “I ask for your forgiveness and I thank you for your support.” It was revealed that Bridges slammed the brakes and changed lanes when approaching the random breath test around 11:30 on January 26. Bridges told police she had used mouthwash five minutes earlier and that she had drunk alcohol the previous night. “Police noted (she) appeared nervous, her hands were shaking and her voice was trembling,” said police facts. After giving a positive alcohol reading, she admitted to drinking a glass of wine and four vodka sodas from 8 pm the night before.

Travel Trouble

11 of the longest bridges in the world - not including the Harbour Bridge

Human feats of wonder While most of the longest bridges in the world exist in Asia and the United States, engineering marvels that allow travellers to pass over large bodies of water and/or kilometres of tricky terrain, on a train or in a car, exist across the globe. The Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B0k3Ik2gU9k/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B0k3Ik2gU9k/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by PlayDay Live! (@playdaylive)</a> on Jul 31, 2019 at 2:23am PDT </div> </blockquote> At 164.8km in length, China’s Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge is the world’s longest bridge. Built at a cost of approximately $8.5 billion dollars, per Britannica, this link between Shanghai and Nanjing opened as a viaduct on the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway in June 2011. As of publication, this bridge remains in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest bridge in the world. Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzc35aXoB0u/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzc35aXoB0u/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by MyExpatCommunity (@myexpatcommunity)</a> on Jul 3, 2019 at 3:24am PDT </div> </blockquote> Also in China is the longest bridge in the world made of glass where pedestrians pay high prices for what Business Insider calls a “colossal waste of time.” That’s thanks to a sea of people and their shoes which scuff the glass beneath feet, despite the fact that booties are mandatory to, in theory, protect the 99 panels of 60cm thick glass. Tourists flock to walk the 427m long glass bridge that sits 299m above China’s Grand Canyon. Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp2EgdvhGgd/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp2EgdvhGgd/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by L U (@voyconlu)</a> on Nov 6, 2018 at 8:06am PST </div> </blockquote> =What does $20 billion get you in the 21st-century bridge market? A huge 54.7km bridge connecting Hong Kong and Zhuhai/Macau. Commuting between those cities would previously have required an hour-long ferry ride, according to CNN. The newest world’s largest sea-crossing bridge, with immigration offices and border control at either end (because Hong Kong and Macau are governed under different laws), took nine years to build and opened in the autumn of 2018. Lake Pontchartrain Causeway <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BBD35ejPsLZ/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BBD35ejPsLZ/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Fisk - Centro de Ensino (@fiskoficial)</a> on Jan 27, 2016 at 3:13pm PST </div> </blockquote> Per the Telegraph, “Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in southern Louisiana is an epic structure that crosses one of the most famous bodies of water in the United States; a lake that has inspired literature, music and film.” This nearly 39km-long bridge is the longest bridge in the world that’s not in Asia. It’ll cost you $5 to go southbound on the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. The Vasco da Gama Bridge The longest bridge in Europe, found east of Lisbon, Portugal, took more than 3,000 workers 18 months to build. Heavy cloud cover on its inauguration day during the 1998 Lisbon World Exposition meant that travellers couldn’t see the other side. Spanning an impressive 17km over the Tagus River, “the Vasco da Game was named after the famous Portuguese explorer to commemorate the fifth centenary of his arrival from India in 1498. Gama was the first European to reach India by sea, from the Atlantic Ocean,” reports Civitatis’ Lisbon travel guide. Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge, Switzerland In Switzerland, you’ll find a 494m suspension bridge that is the longest bridge in the world exclusively for pedestrian use. According to the Telegraph, the Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge crosses “a valley between Grächen and Zermatt, and offers scenic views of some of Switzerland’s highest peaks, including the famed Matterhorn.” Millau Viaduct, France At 2460m, the Millau Viaduct is not even close to being one of the longest bridges in the world. Instead, this engineering marvel often seen cutting through the clouds on the A75 highway between Paris and Barcelona is the tallest bridge and, remarkably, is even higher than the Eiffel Tower. Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel Part bridge, part tunnel, this 28.3-mile marvel of engineering opened for automotive traffic way back in 1964. By the following year, it had been designated as “One of Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World,” according to Travel Trivia. The site goes on to explain that the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel “connects the Delmarva Peninsula with southeastern Virginia, spanning across open waters around the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.” Atchafalaya Basin Bridge The twin bridge that spans the largest river swamp in the country opened in 1973 and at the time “was the longest bridge in the United States,” reports the Advertiser. Drivers and passengers alike are afforded stellar views of Louisiana’s wetlands from Interstate 10 during the 30km stretch. Bang Na to Bangpakong Expressway Is a bridge still a bridge if it doesn’t cross over water? The six lanes of The Bang Na in Thailand span a whopping 53.9km, including a run through Bangkok, with only a relative drop of the Bang Pakong River flowing beneath. Structurally this bridge, which ranks as the longest road bridge in the world, was made with over a million cubic metres of concrete, according to Road Traffic Technology, and instead of a sea or lake, rises nearly 30.4 metres above another stretch of road, National Highway Route 34. Akashi Kaikyo Bridge Rising high above the Akashi Strait, and connecting the city of Kobe with Awaji Island in Japan’s Hyogo Prefecture, is the longest spanning suspension bridge in the world. At 3,911m in length, its length is only part of the story. According to PBS, the two towers of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, rising 283m, “are higher than any other bridge towers in the world.” Written by Jeff Bogle. This article first appeared in <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/travel/destinations/11-of-the-longest-bridges-in-the-world?slide=all">Reader’s Digest.</a> For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a href="http://readersdigest.innovations.com.au/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&utm_medium=articles&utm_campaign=RDSUB&keycode=WRA87V">here’s our best subscription offer.</a>

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