Changing the face of Charleston : The unbuilding of the Grace and Pearman Bridges
Frank's Internet Home Page
Blog: 2005
Archives of unbuilding sections
Blog: 2006
The story of building the Ravenel Bridge
Visit our
Adventures in Singapore
Click to view all web page segments
I enjoy hearing from you. If you have comments and suggestions, write me.


Unbuilding Highlights
(Apr 10)
Meeting St. Stories
(Jul 10 2006)
East Bay Stories
(Oct 10 2006)
Drum Island Stories
(Feb 17)
Pearman Bridge Stories
(Apr 3)
Grace Bridge Stories
(Apr 3)
Imposions: Prep and boom
(Mar 27)
Unbuilding Bridge Blog
(July 23 2006)
Unbuilding Challenges
(Mar 13)
Learning Links
(Feb 20)
Unbuilding Stories
(Mar 13)
Video and Sounds
(Feb 28)

December 27, 2006:
A bridge, spider and dragon flies at MacRitchie Reservoir

Linda and her husband often walk around MacRitchie reservoir - about 13 km. Ellen frequently joins them - and discovered the Treetops Bridge and so today this was my adventure. What an adventure - camera, tripod, umbrella, flash - and about 6 hours of walking / photos

A map of the TreeTop trail. We started in the upper right and I finished in the lower middle section

dec_27_1816_sign.jpg

Here is the plan and specifications of the TreeTop suspension bridge. Just like the Ravenel Bridge - there are two backspans and a mainspan. Unlike the Ravenel Bridge - the mainspan is 150 m and instead of 8 lanes - there is one, width = 80 cm

dec_27_1778_treetop_plan.jpg

The backspan with Ellen in front

dec_27_1782_ backspan.jpg

Just to give you some idea of the scale - here is a tree - about 30 meters high - like the length of Manny's boom on his crane

dec_27_1787_manny_boom.jpg

and a view from the bridge

dec_27_1788_from_bridge.jpg

The mainspan

dec_27_1793_treetops_mainspan.jpg

Looking back from the other end

dec_27_1795_treetops_mainspan.jpg

This is a one way bridge

dec_27_1800_backspan.jpg

and looking up one of the suspension cables

dec_27_1801_backspan_suspension_tiedown.jpg

the backspan exit

dec_27_1802_backspan_exit.jpg

and the walkway - from the bridge to the forest / jungle

Bees in action - part 1

dec_27_1759_bee_flower.jpg

part 2

dec_27_1760_flower_bee.jpg

part 3

dec_27_1761_bee_flower.jpg

and steps down into the forest

dec_27_1820_steps_down.jpg

It is monsoon season - so some interesting photos of flowers with water drops (about an hour later - there was a serious rain

dec_27_1765_rain_forest_flower.jpg

Here is what in the US we would call a grasshopper. Here, I call them either a flower hopper or leaf hopper. This one is a flower hopper

dec_27_1770_flower_hopper.jpg

from behind

dec_27_1771_flower_hopper_rear.jpg

and from the side - just like a grasshopper - except there is no grass in this rain forest

dec_27_1774_leaf_hopper.jpg

and from the front - very cooperative leafhopper

dec_27_1776_leaf_hopper.jpg

An interesting web

dec_27_1808_web.jpg

and all about catepillars - not the kind Michael and Jackie drive

dec_27_1810_catepillar_data.jpg

This was just a fun photo

dec_27_1819_new_fern.jpg

A dragon fly with 1 pair of wings

dec_27_1935_dragon_1wing.jpg

and a dragon fly with 2 pairs of wings

dec_27_1944_dragon_2wing.jpg

from the top

dec_27_1980_2wing_dragon.jpg

another fun photo

dec_27_1956_ferns.jpg

another from the top

dec_27_1991_2wing_dragon.jpg

From the side

dec_27_2063_dragon_side.jpg

and from the front

dec_27_2040_dragon_face.jpg

A butterfly

dec_27_2118_butterfly.jpg

and Nephila maculata - a cousin of Nephila clavipes that lives around Charleston

dec_27_2131_nephila_side.jpg

Actually - wife at the bottom and two husbands (orange blobs) near the top

dec_27_2138_nephila_wedding.jpg

She can dance

dec_27_2153_nephila_dance.jpg

Husband #1

dec_27_2158_nephila_male.jpg

and husband #2

dec_27_2159_2nd_male.jpg

Click to view all unbuilding web page segments

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Attribution: C. Frank Starmer and Sparky Witte from http://oldcooperriverbridge.org