Random Thoughts

A few weeks ago, I drove from Alva to Kentucky. Back in the day when I took such a long trip, I would put my trusty road atlas on the front seat next to me.

Road atlases are just one more thing that the internet has pretty much made obsolete. Consequently, I logged onto Google Maps and printed off directions for my excursion.

One of the things that I knew I would have to do to reach my destination was cross the Mississippi River. As Google Maps would have it, I passed over that watery artery from Missouri into Illinois and immediately crossed the Ohio River into Kentucky.

On my return voyage, I negotiated these two mighty waterways in the light of day, but on the initial trip I got there around midnight. The bridges that span them, I noticed, are both long and narrow. Driving on them at night is also a little spooky.

As soon as you navigate the first bridge, you turn right and almost immediately (after 1000 feet) enter the second one. You are in the state of Illinois for about a mile – and most of that time you are on the bridges.

Having never done anything similar to this in all of my years of driving, I was intrigued and decided to do a little research. Once again, the internet offered up some interesting information.

Both bridges are named after the nearby Illinois town of Cairo. The Cairo Mississippi River Bridge was built in 1929 and is just short of a mile long (5175.5 feet). The Cairo Ohio River Bridge is a little younger – built in 1937 – and longer (5863.7 feet).

Several thousand vehicles a day use these massive structures. Semi-truck drivers often avoid them due to their advanced age, their narrowness, and weight limits that, if exceeded, can lead to steep fines.

Negotiating these ancient engineering marvels was an interesting experience for me – one that I would recommend to others who might someday find themselves traveling east through Missouri on their way to Kentucky!