The Old Talmadge Bridge in 1989 (better quality) 

In the early 1970s, we used to cross that bridge twice every weekend, driving from NC to south Florida (920 miles) & back again. Both bf & brother were stationed in neighboring military bases. More than once, traveling north, we'd cross the old Talmadge bridge at night & the fog at the top would make it look like we were driving into the clouds. Thanks for posting this video! 🌁

Thank you for posting this had to prove to my father that the current bridge is the new one not the one when he was in school in 65😂

cool how they’re building the new one in this video

I'm glad they demolished that bridge before something like the Francis Scott Key Bridge happened to it.

The cantilever through truss of the old Talmadge Bridge reminds me of the old Sunshine Skyway Bridge - the same design including the cantilever through truss and the main channel piers and were both designed by the same engineering firm, Parsons Brinckerhoff. But there are two differences: 1. The old Sunshine Skyway cantilever through truss span was longer, 864 feet from channel pier to channel pier. The old Talmadge Bridge covered a lesser distance. 2. The tall channel piers are basically the same design: The piers on the old Talmadge Bridge had its support legs go straight down into the river bed of the Savannah River but the piers on the old Sunshine Skyway Bridge had its support legs rest on a concrete base and the concrete base goes straight down into Tampa Bay, supported by steel H-piles that were driven into bedrock. However, the Sunshine Skyway’s southbound span - the one that was damaged on 9 May 1980 - had concrete pilings on most of its support piers including the two main channel piers that were driven into the muddy bottom of Tampa Bay rather than steel H-piles, all in the name of cutting construction costs. During construction one of the channel piers cracked and had to be repaired using steel pilings driven to bedrock costing Florida taxpayers $3 million. However, with longer and taller ships coming into the Port of Savannah the old Talmadge Bridge became a navigational hazard. Both the old Talmadge Bridge and the old Sunshine Skyway Bridge lacked any robust channel pier protection (the old Sunshine Skyway had a cluster of wooden piles secured together by a steel cable). The height of the old Talmadge Bridge and the location of the tall main channel piers in the Savannah River is what prompted the Georgia DOT to replace the old Talmadge Bridge with the cable stayed Talmadge Bridge that stands today.

Better quality??? Bad constant shaking of the camera!

Ill be 51 in 2 wks and I'll never as long as I live forget fishtailing on the metal grate midsection of the old Talmadge bridge...prob about 87-88. Scariest moment of my life to this day.