subject: The Bouncing Bridge [print this page] The Bouncing Bridge The Bouncing Bridge
The new bridge, built in Volgograd in Russia is causing motorists to feel a little bit seasick. The 4.5 mile bridge bounces more than three feet in strong winds, causing a deafening screeching noise and letting cars bump all over the place. It cost over two hundred and seventy five million pounds to built and opened eight months ago, but has now been closed for the safety of the public while checks are being carried out to determine its safety and structural soundness.
One driver said of the bridge, "My first feeling was that my wheels were going in different directions. I started thinking, maybe something had happened with my suspension. Then I looked ahead at the oncoming vehicles and they were all swinging up and down."
Experts are currently stating that the bridge is safe, and it was just the wrong kind of wind that caused the bridge to bounce. Deputy transport minister Oleg Belozyorov said "experts agree that it is the dynamics of the air. When wind gusts hit a certain resonance zone, they cause these kinds of consequences."
Vladamir Parshin, an independent bridge expert said to the Moscow Times, "The spans of the Volgograd Bridge are rather long, so theoretically it could be less wind resistant than other similar structures"
Volgograd is one if the cities that have been revealed as entering in the bid to win the 2018 world cup, to rival England. But their bridge building seems to rival England too, as one blogger put it, "maybe we used the same architects as that wobbling millennium bridge in London!"
In the UK it is illegal to drive without valid Car Insurance, so make sure you buy yours online to save yourself time and money that could be spent elsewhere.
