Have you ever wanted to hotfoot across a bridge that ’s half a mile long and 13 story in the air , guess you ’re inTron ? Yeah , me too . honorable news program : the next clock time you ’re in Madrid , Iowa , kibosh by the High Trestle Trail Bridge and you totally can .
But before we get toTron , we have to go back a few long time . Hundreds of years ago , pioneers dreaded the treacherous trip-up across the Des Moines River Valley . They had to ford the river , Oregon Trail - expressive style ; they did n’t always make it . Even when railroad tracks were finally position in 1881 , it was still not a trip you ’d take with your foundation up and a newspaper spread out in front of you . The curve ball were sharp and the vale paries were so steep that trains had to careen down one side at heady speeds just to have enough oomph to get back up . There were enough crashes that in 1912 , the railroad decided just to bypass the valley entirely and ramp up a half - naut mi bridge across the whole matter . It got an update in 1973 when Union Pacific provided 22 concrete piers that would well stand firm flooding . The newfangled bridge was in use for just 30 years when UP resolve to discontinue the route . Though the decking was absent and repurposed , the piers remained ( at up to two million pounds each , they were n’t really budging ) . The astonishingly eerie deal of 22 concrete pillars substantiate a ghost bridge across the river valley prompted many to call it “ Iowa ’s Stonehenge . ”
Many desolate runway routes across the res publica have been converted into motorcycle trails , so the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation figured , hey , why not habituate this one to link up a couple of existing trails and allow some pretty spectacular views while we ’re at it ?
The undertaking was finally completed last year after much fundraising , but this is no average bridge circuit - it ’s an art installing . ( Here ’s whereTroncomes in . ) In a tribute to the former local mining industry , the pull and turns of the metal crib over the bridge conflate with view to make it sense like you ’re entering a mine shaft . It ’s awesome in the daylight - and totally techno when the sun go bad down and the blue lights engraft in the cribbing twist on . The bridge is bathed in this blue gleaming until midnight every night , so there ’s plenty of time for sci - fi cycling enthusiasts to pretend they ’re entering a vortex while hurtling a half - mile in the dark .
range viawoodwardia.org
Just in caseTronwasn’t enough ‘ 80 flashback for you , there ’s this : someone managed to concede their love for ‘ 80s WWF wrestler The Ultimate Warrior with graffiti down one pillar . That is a consecrated fan right there .
One more picture to give you an idea of the elevation :
Is there anything awesome and unexpected like this where you live ?
