The Brookport Bridge: One of the Scariest Bridges in America

Skip to 3:35 to see and hear the bridge.

The Brookport bridge is one of the most fascinating bridges in the country. It crosses the Ohio River via US Highway 45 between Paducah, Kentucky and Brookport, Illinois.

It's over 90 years old and carries over 5,000 vehicles over the river every day - its become a local legend due to the nerve-racking driving experience it offers.

(The bridge is entirely safe to travel and undergoes regular inspections by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. If you plan to visit, PLEASE follow all vehicular size and weight restrictions.)

Sources and more information can be found here:

KYTC images are from the KYTC District 1 Public Facebook Page.

[shytownmofo]

The tires going over the steel deck sounded like a lost soul moaning.

[johnspence]

Never thought I would be watching a POV of someone driving across a bridge I've never heard of.

[Zeoytaccount]

The fact that the height limit sign has a noticeable dent in it is just the icing on the cake 👌

[lavernevictoriacarol]

CORRECTION: Thank you for all your kind comments regarding my family’s ties to this bridge. My grandfather and his brothers were ironworkers on many jobs in the area and my Grandfather was an ironworker for the Army Corps of Engineers during WWII. The correction is this: My Grandfather fell from this bridge (NOT his brother) and Grandpa broke his back. My Great-Uncle (Grandpa’s brother) fell while working on the Atomic plant in Paducah, Ky in 1951. I’m not a ‘spring chicken anymore myself and sometimes the oral stories get confused. But as stated previously, I grew up in this area and have crossed this bridge more times than I can count…and it sounds just like the video and is exactly as others have commented. Rest in peace, Gr-Uncle Joe and my dear sweet Grandpa.

[Yahyia-cvsx]

Sometime between 1987 - 1990, I was travelling from Memphis to Galesburg Illinois. I had only enough money to get to Paducah, so I started walking north from there. I was approaching this brifge by foot, when an RV pulled to the curb. The driver, an old Marine vet, was tired, & figured I could help him drive while he rested, & I would get further along. Thanks to him, I was spared having to cross this on foot, or trying to, anyway. I don't remember how much further he took me past Fort Massac, but he was a decent fellow, & we had goid conversation while he got me closer to my destination.

[erg]

The " you are not alone" suicide prevention hotline sign is definitely a good shout at the end of that bridge...

[harrisconnection]

I went across this bridge in thick fog! Heart sat in my throat the entire time! I was SO glad when I got off!

[thoreauminded]

This video is a masterpiece -- sound, visuals, editing -- and words w/o voice over...it's a brilliantly produced short movie about this historic, scary bridge. Many thanks to the creator of it!

[NoBite]

I live nearby. When I first moved to the area, I was a sales trainer for a local food distribution company. I rented a 13-passenger van and took a group of sales people north into central Illinois to tour a Kraft manufacturing plant. A local sales person said it would be quicker if we crossed the Brookport Bridge. I'd never seen the bridge, so agreed to the plan. I am afraid of heights and a bit afraid of bridges. This bridge, with that large unfamiliar van, terrified me. When we got to the end and came to the sharp curve, I couldn't budge my foot off the accelerator and onto the brakes! A couple of folks on one side of the van swore they could count the rivets in the side of the railing because we got so close to the side! I've been across the bridge several times since then, but not as a driver. You definitely get a side-to-side motion of your tires due to the grooves in the steel road bed. No way to prevent that via steering, you just have to go with it. You could not pay me to ride a motorcycle across it!

[swisdom]

This video is 100% genuine to the authenticity of how I felt the one-time I drove across this bridge. It is definitely one of the top 10 scariest I've ever been on. Aside from nostalgia and convenience, the bridge offers nothing in the way of safety or feeling secure when passing through.

[samspencer]

I'd imagine the narrowness and the noise from the steel grating actually cause drivers to slow down. Often the perception of danger actually makes something safer as it reduces complacency and makes drivers take more care. The final turn at the end though, I can see that causing scrapes (albeit low speed ones).

[mariahb]

I've driven this bridge more than once and hate it intensely. It is so terrifying.
Once, I got to that corner only to find a semi, going too fast, and taking up both lanes, coming right at me. He took up the entire roadway because he was going too fast for the corner. To this day, I have no idea how we got safely past it. It's all a big blur. But somehow, we made it past the semi and off the bridge. Had to have been angels

[jacquelinerodenbush]

Imagine being afraid of bridges, and not knowing that this was part of the "shortcut" to your brother's house.

[JasonSpitzMI]

Crossing that bridge at night listening to the moening that comes from the steel under your tires. Sounds like the highway to hell crossing the River Styx. 🥺😬

[ardegagayle]

This was filmed on a bright clear day. I can't imagine driving over this bridge at night with oncoming headlights. Nor could I imagine driving over this bridge during rain and snow storms.

[saggitarusspirit]

Well thanks for the ride, now ill make sure to go another way
.

[jackdispennett]

I cycled across this bridge in May 2017. There were a few holes in it that were small enough that a car would have been ok hitting them but it would have absolutely wrecked my bike. I was definitely a man of prayer going over that bridge that day. Never been so glad to get back to a regular road.

[warrenmortensen]

We had a few of these steel deck bridges in Minneapolis when I was a kid. Advantages: The snow would often filter through which eliminated a lot of plowing. Invented in "horse & buggy days" it allowed the manure to fall through to the river below so easy cleanup. Early narrow-tired vehicles such as the Model T could cross with little trouble (I own one and have tried it) but as tires became wider vehicles tended to "dance" side-to-side and you had to correct for this while steering.

[aegisofhonor]

I live in southern IL and I have crossed this bridge many times over the years. I never knew there was a suicide hotline, so ironic that that is posted near one of the most dangerous bridges in the US. Just a few years ago a NEARLY IDENTICAL BRIDGE that was about the same size and age as this bridge collapsed maybe 50 miles away in Southeast Missouri .

[TruthToldTV]

I'm from a metropolis illinois. A small town right past brookport. We used to take this bridge on a regular basis because metropolis doesn't have a Walmart. Most Of the stores we shopped at was in Paducah Kentucky. But if you were coming from the brookport side going over to the Paducah Kentucky side. The curve at the bottom of the bridge is called Dead Man's curve. A lot of people have died speeding around that curve.