The Texas Bridges Give Texans Lots Of Anxiety When Crossing Them

If it weren't for bridges Texans would not be able to around the Lone Star State much less navigate through Dallas, Texas, or San Antonio, Texas. Bridges connect us to other parts of the city we live in and sometimes even within our communities and neighborhoods. We rely on bridges not only while driving but also when riding a bike or even while on the walking trail.

Texas has more than 55,000 bridges within the state. That is about 28,000 more bridges than any other state in the US. TXDOT says Texas has more bridges carrying vehicular traffic than 17 states combined.

When it comes to crossing bridges, they can terrify many people and raise their anxiety levels because of their height, narrow lanes, or even the length of the bridge.

Crossing bridges causes some drivers anxiety

While I don't have anxiety when going over a bridge, I do hope all the spans are intact when I'm driving across one! When I was much younger I would visit my grandparents in Barry, Texas (west of Corsicana on State Hwy. 22) and we would go to their family farmland, but to get there we had to cross this old wooden bridge that was sketchy to say it nicely.  It was the scariest bridge I had ever been across.

Get our free mobile app

There are a couple of bridges that I've been across in Texas that were a bit terrifying, but after getting across them it wasn't all that bad. Now if I have to cross them I think nothing of them. One of those bridges is the Houston Ship Channel Bridge on Beltway 8 and the other is going over The High Five in North Dallas, that's one tall bridge!

Four bridges that scare Texans to death

Houston Ship Channel Bridge - Beltway 8

Crossing the Houston Ship Channel Bridge, you've got to pay attention as the driver. It's a pretty steep incline but thankfully you can't see over the railing much unless you're a passenger.

High Five Interchange in North Dallas

If heights scare you, don't look down as you're going from 635 East to 75 South or 635 West to 75 North because these bridges reach a height of around 100 feet or the equivalent of a 12-story building.

Rainbow Bridge in Port Arthur

Another bridge that gives Texans anxiety is the Rainbow Bridge in Port Arthur. This bridge reaches a height of 176.9 feet above the water (TXDOT) and is the steepest bridge in Texas.

While these are tall bridges that cause a lot of white-knuckle driving, there's still one that gives others a lot of anxiety. It's the Queen Isabella Memorial Bridge in South Padre Island. This is the longest bridge spanning a body of water in Texas and it's 12,510 feet long. It is owned and maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation.

What Texas bridge terrifies you when you drive across it?