Ten great places to cross the water

By Gene Sloan, USA TODAY

Bridges are crucial links of a driving vacation. Though we often take them for granted, sometimes they are so majestic, so monumental in scope and beauty, that they become not just the gateway to a destination, but the destination itself. Judith Dupre, author of Bridges (Black Dog & Leventhal, $22.98), cites 10 American classics worthy of a detour.

George Washington Bridge
New York City
The first bridge to cross the Hudson River into New Jersey was - and still is - "a major engineering feat." At more than 1,000 yards, its span was the world's longest when completed in 1931, and its revolutionary exposed steel-lattice towers made it "the cathedral of bridges, considered by many to be the most beautiful in the world."

Michigan Avenue Bridge
Chicago
Finished in 1920, the world's first double-decker bascule bridge - a type of drawbridge now synonymous with Chicago - is the city's spiritual and historical center. From top-deck walkways, pedestrians look up to the soaring Tribune and Wrigley buildings, down to the cleaned-up Chicago River and across to majestic Michigan Avenue.

Siuslaw River Bridge
Florence, Ore.
Built during the great public works era of the Depression, this is the most stunning of the "extraordinary bridges, no two alike" along the Oregon Coast. Made of concrete and steel and finished in 1936, it has art deco styling, bracketed balustrades and pointed towers.

River Relocation Bridges
Providence, R.I.
In a sweeping downtown renewal that's still under way, the historic city has unearthed its rivers - paved over during a century of development - and built 12 brick, granite and textured-concrete bridges. They reign over 11 acres of riverfront parks and provide new access to older attractions from Colonial times.

Eads Bridge
St. Louis, Mo.
Completed in 1874, "this is one of the great American masterpieces, and it's virtually unknown." Designed to allow trains across the Mississippi - and assure St. Louis' dominance as a trading hub - it was the first major bridge to use steel and cantilevered construction. Now a car crossing (the last train rumbled over in 1974), it's undergoing a $25 million restoration.

London Bridge
Lake Havasu City, Ariz.
London Bridge wasn't falling down, but it was sinking into the Thames in 1968 when American entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch offered to buy it from the British for $2.46 million. The historic structure was dismantled, crated and shipped to Arizona, where McCulloch rebuilt it in the desert next to his growing resort community. A water channel was added later. It's now one of Arizona's top attractions.

Golden Gate Bridge
San Francisco
"An American icon," the 4,200-foot span across San Francisco Bay was long thought impossible to build because of the length of the span and the deep, frigid water. "The bridge's greatest asset - its setting - was also its most formidable construction challenge." But designer Joseph Strauss persevered, and the bright-orange bridge, completed in 1937, now offers "majestic views of the Bay Area and graceful art deco lines."

Mackinac Bridge
Mackinaw City, Mich.
Completed in 1957, the green-and-ivory span was for decades the longest suspension bridge in the world - "so long that people are afraid to cross it" - and sways as much as 20 feet on a windy day. Those wary of crossing the 5-mile "Mighty Mack" can sign up for the Timid Driver program: "They throw you in the back seat, put a towel on your head and drive." The bridge spans the Straits of Mackinac, connecting mainland Michigan with the Upper Peninsula.

Sunshine Skyway Bridge
St. Petersburg, Fla.
The world's longest cable-stayed concrete bridge, completed in 1987, "seems to just sail across Tampa Bay," 190 feet above the water. Painted brilliant taxicab yellow, it has two slender pylons that support 21 sleek steel cables, giving drivers unobstructed views during the 4.1-mile trip to Tampa.

Brooklyn Bridge and Rialto Bridge
Las Vegas
Only in Vegas can you "sample the best of the old and the new in bridge building in one spot." The Brooklyn Bridge - opened in 1883, spanning the East River to Manhattan - and Venice's famous Rialto (1591 ) have been re-created as tourist attractions at casinos. "The designers of Las Vegas are building an architectural Disney World, appropriating the icons of other cities and bringing them to one place."