Bridge aficionado Patrick O'Donnell has toured 1,103 suspension bridges from Japan to Maine. Near Orofino, Idaho, O'Donnell holds a sign indicating Dent Bridge was the 191st bridge he had visited. If there are no gates or signs prohibiting it, sometimes O'Donnell will climb suspension cables to one of the bridge's towers. Click through the gallery to see more bridge photos.
Courtesy Patrick O'Donnell
Touring China's giants —
Eric Sakowski, right, a Los Angeles-based film and video producer, began his bridge obsession as a boy by reading the "Guinness Book of World Records." He started tracking lofty bridges on his own, eventually recording his research on his website highestbridges.com. Recently Sakowski has been touring China, along with Chinese bridge engineer Shijie Du.
Courtesy Eric Sakowski
The highest bridge in the world —
This is the highest bridge in the world. The Sidhue River Bridge hangs 1,627 feet (496 meters) above the water, according to highestbridges.com. It's located in China's Hubei Province, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of the well-known Yangtze River area called Three Gorges.
Courtesy Eric Sakowski
Confirmation —
When construction was finished, Sakowski measured the Sidhue bridge's height with a precision laser device.
Courtesy Eric Sakowski
1,627 feet (496 meters) —
The gadget showed the bridge at the same height claimed by official Chinese documents: 1,627 feet -- or 496 meters.
Courtesy Eric Sakowski
The highest bridge in the United States —
This is the highest bridge in the United States: Royal Gorge Bridge near Canon City, Colorado. In 2010, Sakowski made headlines when -- armed with a laser distance finder -- he showed that the bridge was not as high as advertised. Since the 1920s it had been billed as 1,053 feet high. Sakowski marked it at 955. "I kind of shook things up a bit there," Sakowski said.
Courtesy Patrick O'Donnell
A long way down —
Drivers are required to cruise across the Royal Gorge Bridge, suspended above a canyon cut by the Arkansas River, at just 5 mph. Even at that speed, "the bridge moves and shakes," Sakoswski says. "It's scary because of the wood planks. You get the feeling that one of them might give way and the car will get stuck there."
Courtesy Patrick O'Donnell
Dent Bridge, Idaho —
Dent Bridge, spanning Idaho's Dworshak Reservoir, is the 11th-highest bridge in the United States, according to highestbridges.com.
Courtesy Patrick O'Donnell
Bridge climbing —
If you "slip and fall, the outcome is not going to be good," says O'Donnell, seen here walking on one of Dent Bridge's suspension cables.
Courtesy Patrick O'Donnell
North America's 'loneliest' suspension bridge —
O'Donnell "has visited more suspension bridges than any person alive in the world," says Sakowski. O'Donnell says climbing Dent Bridge was no more difficult than "climbing monkey bars when you're a kid." Only a handful of cars passed over the bridge during the half-hour O'Donnell spent perched on what he calls "the loneliest suspension bridge in North America."
Courtesy Patrick O'Donnell
Fishermen far below —
O'Donnell paused to wave at fishermen on the smooth lake surface far below.
Courtesy Patrick O'Donnell
Deer Isle Bridge, Maine —
Approaching Maine's nearly 75-year-old Deer Isle Bridge, the road appears to go up ... and up ... toward giant, looming green towers. Then, the asphalt appears to simply drop out of sight. "It's a mystery. That's why you have that concern, you don't readily see what's in front of you" says O'Donnell. "You've gotta take it on faith as far as safely getting to the other side."
Courtesy Patrick O'Donnell
Mackinac Bridge, Michigan —
Michigan's Mackinac Bridge, aka Mighty Mac, is "quite a structure with it's three suspended spans," O'Donnell says. The distance from the water to the deck at the bridge's center is about 155 feet, according to the bridge website.
Courtesy Patrick O'Donnell
'Mind-boggling' —
"To visit that bridge," says O'Donnell, "it's mind-boggling ... it's obviously a piece of history." During a Labor Day walkover of the 5-mile-long bridge, O'Donnell says he saw fascinating details that drivers can't see. "When you look down you can see two pedestals that the bridge sits on, but 10 feet underwater you can also see a huge concrete pier that I'm guessing is 150 feet in diameter. Just think what it took to build that."
Courtesy Patrick O'Donnell
Sen. William V. Roth, Jr. Bridge, Delaware —
Delaware's Sen. William V. Roth Jr. Bridge, aka the C & D Canal Bridge, was dedicated in 2007 and named after the lawmaker who fathered the Roth IRA. The St. Georges Bridge is in the background.
Courtesy Patrick O'Donnell
Inside the bridge —
O'Donnell somehow gained permission to tour inside the Roth Bridge's massive prefabricated concrete girders while it was under construction. Alongside O'Donnell are high-tension cables that hold the bridge together. Construction workers told O'Donnell that if the cables had snapped, their force would have been deadly.
Courtesy Patrick O'Donnell
Overview —
O'Donnell snapped this amazing photo from the top of the Roth Bridge as it cast an interesting shadow pattern across the deck.
Courtesy Patrick O'Donnell
Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco —
O'Donnell enjoys a visit to San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. Height: 220 feet (67 meters) above the water, according to the bridge website.
Courtesy Patrick O'Donnell
A son, a father and a bridge —
As a boy, O'Donnell aspired to be a "bridge builder." His father -- seen here with O'Donnell on New York's Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, encouraged him to be a bridge designer instead. "I didn't like the idea of being in an office all the time," O'Donnell said. "Because of that conflict I just never followed that path."
Courtesy Patrick O'Donnell
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, New York City —
The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, according to the U.S. government, is suspended 228 feet (69 meters) above the water between Brooklyn and Staten Island.
Courtesy Patrick O'Donnell
Chesapeake Bay Bridge, Maryland —
Drivers who cross Maryland's William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge -- aka the Chesapeake Bay Bridge -- are 186 feet above the water, according to the bridge website.
Courtesy Patrick O'Donnell
Tacoma Narrows Bridge, Washington —
The double spanned Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington state has gone through many changes over the decades. The first version of the bridge collapsed in 1940 after the structure shockingly bent during 40-mph winds. A single span replacement was built in 1950.
Courtesy Patrick O'Donnell
Between the spans —
A second span to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge was added in 2007. From road to water, the clearance is about 187 feet.
