I had been to this particular spot a few months back. The path was clearly still under construction then, with large unpaved stretches broken up only by a bridge with no apparent connection to anything. I figured things would be all finished after a few months. I figured wrong.
This big, lovely, paid-for-by-London-taxpayers bridge is still disconnected from anything remotely approaching asphalt. It sits behind a fence, and leads to nothing more than a strip of gravel that stops for good at the edge of an impenetrable forest. From the looks of things, not a stitch of work has been done here all summer.
Still, this big piece of engineering with a big price tag seemed worthy of a picture.
Your turn: When the road suddenly ends. Please discuss.
One more thing: To participate in this week's Thematic Photographic theme, perspective, just click here. Thanks!
Being an elder I do not like roads that "suddenly' end. Gentle and interesting ends are OK.
ReplyDeleteI agree - too abrupt.
ReplyDeleteIn the US that kind of project is referred to as pork-barrel. We have a few bridges to nowhere here, too.
I can't handle it when a new road suddenly ends. My mind hums with questions, I feel rather tense and upset. There are no definitive answers as to why.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, a road which is old, grass covered and ends finally in a trail or at a creek or lake...that's ok.
I prefer to think of the road as leading to other paths. We walk many different roads, even in the course of a day; none of those ends at the end of its intended direction, either it picks up after a speed bump (or a pothole), or leads to other avenues. I, too, don't like endings. None of us does - unless it is the end of a difficult time and the beginning of a new, more promising road.
ReplyDeleteBut this bridge can symbolize intent; after all someone had to conceive of it, design it, get funding for it, materials and laborers, and build it. Bad planning? Sure...but it's a good lesson to be learned.
LOTS of symbolism here! And, as always, your thoughtful writing and artistic photographs inspire!
We have a bridge at the end of a bridle path (aka cycle path) that crosses a motorway and ends in a field without an obvious path the other side. I sometimes ride across and then skirt along a field boundary finally bursting onto a lane near to a friendly pub.
ReplyDeleteSometimes a little persistence pays off.
Hoping something similarly good occurs around your lonely bridge.
There's a pedestrian bridge that crosses the I-440 Beltline around Raleigh that was the subject of a similar controversy when it was built a few years ago. to date, I have yet to find either end of said bridge, and have only seen the span crossing the highway while traveling between Wade Ave and Lake Boone Trail on the Beltline. I suppose one day I'll figure out where it starts and ends, and what was so important at either end that the city felt the need to connect those two points. But for now, the question remains unresolved. For me anyway. I suppose somebody uses the thing, right?
ReplyDeleteRight?
Which does not segue into either of my two most recent forays into the world of perspective... but here they are anyway.
Thematic Photographic 65: "Perspective" v.5.0 - Not Quite Isometric Projection
Thematic Photographic 65: "Perspective" v.6.0 - The Big Picture