Bridges bring together II

The Principality of Liechtenstein and its neighbour Switzerland are joined by several bridges over the Rhine, the border river. In the second part of the “Bridges bring together” series Philately Liechtenstein turns its attention to the “Foot and Cycle Bridge” (CHF 0.85) “Buchs-Schaan“ (CHF 1.00) and also the “Rhine Bridge” (CHF 1.40) “Bendern-Haag“ (CHF 1.90).

Until well into the 19th century the Rhine could be crossed only on ferries. These crossings were not without danger: in 1587 85 people from Werdenberg drowned in a ferry accident on the way home after a pilgrimage to the Church of St. Mary in Bendern. In 1868 the first bridge was built at the Rhine crossing between Bendern (Liechtenstein) and Haag (Switzerland). It was burned down in 1894, whereupon a new wooden bridge was erected in 1896. This one collapsed in 1974 after another fire. Fortunately the concrete bridge of today depicted on the commemoratives was built in 1965, so that the transport link between the two countries operated without interruption at the time of the disaster.

Since the spring of 2009 pedestrians and cyclists in the Rhine local recreation area have enjoyed an attractive link between Schaan (Liechtenstein) and Buchs (Switzerland). The 132-metres long bridge weighing 120 tonnes is suspended over the water on two transversely positioned steel pylons. The bridge itself is, so to speak, a welcome spinoff from a much larger construction project, for it represents the visible heart of an otherwise underground steam pipeline. This just six kilometres long pipeline supplies three industrial undertakings in Liechtenstein with process steam from the refuse incineration plant in Buchs. The annual supply of some 100 tonnes of steam is equivalent to about 12 million litres of heating oil and contributes every year to the avoidance of 20,000 tonnes of CO2.

Source: Liechtenstein Post

Stamp Issue: 2014.03.10

Verrazano-Narrows Bridge

Majestic, graceful, powerful — the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is a breathtaking sight visible from vantage points in all five of New York City’s boroughs. The bridge celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2014, which the U.S. Postal Service commemorates with this new Priority Mail stamp.

The digital illustration on the stamp captures the grandeur of the Verrazano, not only showing its sheer size and scale, but also giving a sense of the sweeping curve of the double-decker roadway. The artist chose to showcase the bridge at twilight, which offers an interesting play of light and shadow.

Named for explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, the first European to enter New York Bay, the bridge spans the Narrows, the strait dividing Upper and Lower New York Bay, and connects Brooklyn and Staten Island. The bridge’s two massive towers support four enormous cables that each weighs more than 9,000 tons. From each cable hang 262 suspender ropes that hold up the double-decker roadway. Each deck carries six lanes of traffic.

The bridge’s center span is 4,260 feet long—so long that its two monumental towers, soaring 690 feet into the sky, are spaced one-and-five-eighths inches farther apart at their tops than at their bases to compensate for the curvature of the earth.

At time of the opening of the upper deck on November 21, 1964, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. (The lower deck opened five years later.)

Designed by art director Phil Jordan, the stamp features a digital illustration created by Dan Cosgrove.

Stamp Issue: 2014

The Mackinac Bridge

The Mackinac Bridge towers 200 feet above the windswept waters of Lakes Huron and Michigan.  “Mighty Mac” extends 5 miles across the Straits of Mackinac to link Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas.

Before the bridge opened in 1957, travelers waited in long lines to cross the channel by ferry or drove all the way around Lake Michigan and through Wisconsin to get to the other side.  The Mackinac Bridge shortened the trip to a ten-minute drive and opened the Upper Peninsula to tourism – adding an estimated $100 million a year to Michigan’s tourist trade.

Bridge designers took special precautions for Michigan’s severe winter weather.  Grated openings between the center lanes improve airflow and prevent the road deck from being pushed up by strong winds.  During high winds, the road deck can also move up to 35 feet from side to side to keep the bridge from buckling.

Some drivers are uncomfortable crossing the Mighty Mac.  Bridge personnel call these commuters “timmies,” because they are too timid to drive across.  The bridge authority provides them with a chauffeur at no extra fee. 

On September 6, 2009, the 150 millionth vehicle crossed the Mackinac Bridge.

Stamp Issue: 2010.02.03

China-Turkey joint stamp issue

The joint stamp issue by Chinese and Turkish posts is dedicated to famous bridges of the both countries: the Yichang Yangtze Highway Bridge in China and the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey.

The Yichang Yangtze Highway Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the Yangtze River some 20 km downstream from the center city of Yichang, China. The bridge was essentially designed to be extremely similar in appearance to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, USA. The construction of the bridge started on February 19, 1998 and it was open for traffic on September 19, 2001. It was a main span of 960 meters. As of 2012 m it is among the 30 longest suspension bridges, based on the length of the main span.

The Bosphorus Bridge is one of the two bridges in Istanbul, Turkey, spanning the Bosphorus strait and thus connecting Europe and Asia. It is a gravity anchored suspension bridge with steel towers and inclined hangers. The aerodynamic deck hangs on zigzag steel cables. It is 1,560 long with a deck width of 33.40 m and the total height of the towers 165 m. The Bosphorus Bridge had the 4th longest suspension bridge span in the world when it was completed in 1973, and the longest outside the United States. At present, it is the 19th longest suspension bridge span in the world

Stamp Issue:  2012.11.26

Verranzano-Narrows Bridge

The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, between Staten Island and Brooklyn, New York, is the longest single suspension bridge in the world. It is named for Giovanni da Verrazano, Florentine explorer who discovered New York harbor in about 1524. The massive span features a double deck thoroughfare, each wide enough for six lanes of traffic. The diameter of the cables measures 1 yard-identical with those on the George Washington Bridge. The Narrows Bridge is important in that it by-passes New York City. A map, illustrated on the stamp itself, pinpoints the positions of the Bridge with its close relationship to Staten Island and Brooklyn and also Manhattan and Jersey City, New Jersey.

Stamp Issue: 1954

The Mackinac Bridge Connecting The Peninsulas of Michigan

The Mackinac Straits Bridge extends over the Mackinaw Straits between Mackinaw City and St. Ignace, Michigan. The Mackinac Straits connects Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. The total suspension length of the span is more than a mile and a half between the cable anchors. The principle of the suspension bridge is that it has three essential parts: towers, anchorages, and cables. Towers for suspension bridges are built of stone or steel. Anchorages secure the ends of the cables, and most often are built of concrete or masonry. Cables are the most important element of a suspension bridge, since they carry the horrendous weight of the roadway.

Stamp Issue: 1958

The Golden Gate Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge has the longest single span in the world, and the tallest bridge towers. Each of the cables has a diameter of one yard, and is composed of 27 thousand wires. Foundations have been sunk to solid rock 100 feet below water. The two main cables, each a yard wide, are outlined for the entire length by electric lights-magnificent evening sight. The Golden Gate Bridge and the Oakland-Bay Bridge were under construction at the same time; the Golden Gate Bridge is considered one of the most attractive spans in the world. The wonder of the extraordinary length of the span and the way it fits in with the site, make it one of the most exhilarating of bridges.

Stamp Issue: 1998

The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge

In 1928, a San Francisco delegation urged Congress to pass a bill authorizing a bridge to connect San Francisco with Oakland and Berkeley-with 5 miles of water between. The legislation was defeated, but in 1932 Congress approved a $73 million loan with the endorsement of President Herbert Hoover. The first shovel broke ground in 1933, and 3 years later the span was opened to vehicular traffic with excited celebration. After competing ferries cut their fares in half in 1927, the bridge traffic amounted to 23 thousand vehicles a day. With the opening of the Golden Gate Exposition in San Francisco in 1939, tolls were reduced from 50 to 40 cents, and when cut further to 25 cents, the ferries gave up.

The roadway was built on two suspension bridges, with a central pier or anchorage at mid-channel. There are two decks: the top one handles six lanes for cars and light truck traffic. The lower deck carries three lanes for heavy trucks and multi-wheelers. There are also two streetcar (trolley) tracks provided. The structure is a combination of suspension and cantilever spans connected with a tunneled island.

Stamp Issue: 1939

The George Washington Bridge

The George Washington Bridge, over the Hudson River and dividing New York and New Jersey, is likely the heaviest and busiest of suspension bridges. Crossing the Hudson River at 178th Street, it is designed to carry huge loads. Twenty thousand tons of riveted steel for each tower was erected by massive derricks. Sixteen columns of steel 635 feet above water, as high as the Washington Monument, were put up.

The steelwork was planned early as a skeleton, and was to be covered by concrete and granite. However, as the steel skeleton rose, story by story, the unexpected attractiveness of the exposed steelwork fascinated virtually everyone who witnessed it. Consequently, massive appeals arose to "forget the masonry" that had been planned for the towers. Each of the four cables holding up the deck is a yard in diameter and a mile long. The 100,000 miles of wire could encircle the globe four times. Construction began in 1927 and continued for the next 4 years. Provision was made for an additional (lower) deck, which has since been added. The bridge opened to traffic in 1931. Of course it honors the name of the great General who managed to form the thirteen original colonies into one United States.

Stamp Issue: 1952

The Brooklyn Bridge

In l869, actual construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, over the East River between Brooklyn and Manhattan, started. John Augustus Roebling, original architect of the project, was injured in an accident. Blood poisoning resulted in his untimely death. Fortunately his son, Colonel Washington Augustus Roebling, took over direction of the work involved from then on until completion. The grand opening was in May 1883.

This great bridge handles two elevated railroad tracks, two streetcar (trolley) tracks, road lanes for vehicles, and even a foot walk for pedestrians. Just to observe the massive stone towers one is in awe of their height. They had to be lofty to carry the cables which in themselves-wire by wire-measured 16 inches in diameter. Tons of steel wire had to be used to hold up the incredibly heavy bridge deck.
With the long main span, and two shorter spans, the bridge is 1 mile long. It is constructed of four cables, each anchored to plates of many tons, embedded in masonry foundations. Each foundation has a weight of 44 thousand tons. Every cable contains more than five thousand steel wires-a total of fourteen thousand miles of wire. It took thirteen years to build the bridge. At present thousands cross it each day. Even this writer, when working in New York, walked across this Bridge with friends and couldn't help but marvel at the magnificence of it all.

Stamp Issue: 1983

The chain bridge at Stádlec

The chain bridge at Stádlec from 1848 was originally built in Podolsko on the Vltava (Moldau) but after the Orlík dam was built it was moved to its present location on the Lužnice and put back into service in 1975. It is the only bridge of its kind in the Czech Republic which has been conserved.

Stamp Issue: 1999.05.26

Inaguration of the Seto Ohashi Bridge

The Seto Ohashi Bridge connecting Honshu (mainland) and Shikoku (large island in the Seto Inland Sea) is inaugurated on April 10, 1988. The bridge is 9.4 kilometers long, made up of six branch bridge across 8 small islands. It is a two-storied bridge; the upper for automobiles and the lower for rail ways. The bridge seen from both ends is depicted on a se-tenant strip of four.

Stamp Issue: 1988-04-08

Opening of Oh-Naruto Bridge

The Oh-Naruto Bridge is in the Honshu-Shikoku Conjunction Route, build over the faumos whirlpools of the Naruto Straits. The bridge is 876 meters main spain and 1,629 meters long. This is the suspension bridge largest in Asia and the 10th largest in the world. As a road-railway bridge, it is the largest in the world.

Stamp Issue: 1985-06-07