Times Mother Nature Reminded Us Who’s Boss

#40: Bridge to Nowhere

One glance at this photo and you could be thinking, “Wow how can a whole team of engineers mess up this badly?” The story behind why this bridge doesn’t span water is actually a lot more interesting than a design failure. This bridge in Honduras, called the New Choluteca Bridge, was built in the 1990s and did originally go over the Choluteca River.

The bridge was celebrated as a major construction project, but nature had other plans. Hurricane Mitch hit in 1998, destroying the roads on either side of the bridge. The hurricane also caused the waterway to forge a new channel right next to the bridge, making it useless. People nicknamed this “The Bridge to Nowhere” with good reason!