The most hated bridges in the US

• Some bridges are beautiful pieces of architecture that are beloved by tourists and locals alike.
• Others, not so much.
• These bridges are hated by locals, whether it's because they're ugly, old, constantly full of traffic, or even haunted.
• The Brent Spence Bridge is falling apart, literally. One local claimed it has "ALWAYS been a nightmare."
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

In theory, bridges are supposed to connect us to places we'd otherwise be unable to get to with cars, like islands, or help remedy traffic in highly-congested areas.

But sometimes, either due to high tolls, poor design, or frequent extreme weather, bridges can be the bane of a driver's existence, like the Tappan Zee Bridge in New York or the Calcasieu River Bridge in Louisiana.

Scouring local online forums, architectural critiques, and news articles, Insider went state by state to find the most despised bridges across the US — be it due to traffic, architecture, or structural integrity.

Keep scrolling to see the US' worst bridges.

The Old Naheola Bridge in Pennington, Alabama, scared locals when it was in use, and is now simply an eyesore.

The Old Naheola Bridge made car website Jalopnik's list of most hated bridges in the US, coming in eighth place. While it closed in 2000, it was one of the only bridges in the country that accommodated rail, auto, and river traffic. People hated and feared it in equal measure, as drivers had to pay attention to multiple sources of traffic on a one-lane bridge.

Despite no longer being in use, the bridge is still there, gathering rust, and now simply an eyesore to most passersby.

Deception Pass Bridge connects Whidbey Island to Fidalgo Island in Washington, and has become more of a tourist attraction than a roadway.

Inside Edition called this one of the scariest bridges in the US, since "when the fog and mist mix on the driver's windshield it creates tough driving conditions and poor visibility." The bridge is beautiful, but, 180 feet above water, definitely not for the faint of heart.

However, what really bugs locals is the number of tourists clogging up the bridge. Visitors drive slowly to take pictures, or will even jump out of their vehicles to get the perfect shot — when they're not just parking them on the bridge. "All of you tourists are clogging up the only way on and off the north end of the island," lamented one Yelp user. 

The Mackinac Bridge that connects the two peninsulas of Michigan is a nightmare to cross during the winter.

While some affectionately call it the "Mighty Mac," others aren't so fond.

Users complain mainly about three things: a metal grating on the left lane that is apparently scary to drive on, a lack of dividers between oncoming traffic, and, worst of all, terrifying winter conditions.

"I've crossed within 10 minutes of it closing for winter weather/wind. I don't know how I'm still alive," said one user, while another agreed, "Crossing this bridge in the winter time SUCKS! The combination of high winds, the rusting metal grate as a driving surface, and the lack of any major guardrail always make me pucker."

The Brent Spence Bridge connecting Ohio and Kentucky is rusty, old, and quite literally falling apart.

The Brent Spence Bridge crosses the Ohio River, and connects Kentucky and Ohio. While both states are responsible for its upkeep, it's falling apart at the seams — apparently chunks of concrete from it fell on a parked car underneath, smashing its windshield.

As the New York Times put it, it is "creaky and rust stained. It is known for traffic jams and car crashes. People who live in both states avoid it if they can."

One Twitter user claimed that the bridge has "ALWAYS been a nightmare," while another called it "our ugly and possibly dangerous I-75/I-71 bridge."

Another local wrote, "Yeah, remember the time it was declared 'functionally obsolete?' Or the time pieces of the upper deck kinda sorta maybe fell down onto the lower deck?"

The Calcasieu River Bridge in Lake Charles, Louisiana, gives some locals nightmares.

The Calcasieu River Bridge is, according to a Twitter user "incredibly unsafe." It is also very steep, and decorated with cast iron pistols. 

"I literally used to have nightmares about this bridge. I knew it was the L.C. bridge in my dream, because of the 'crossed musket' guardrails," wrote one Jalopnik user.

It also earned a staggeringly low 6.6% sufficiency rating — out of 100%.

Other Jalopnik commenters had thoughts as well. "It has all of the elements of a horrible bridge. It is narrow, steep, poorly designed and poorly constructed," wrote one.

Another added, "It's on I-10, which is a decrepit piece of road to begin with. So rough you don't even think about speeding. Combine that with a bridge that has an incredibly high pitch and it'll scare the heck out of you quickly."

The Vicksburg Bridge in Vicksburg, in Mississippi, is dangerous.

According to Patch, it's one of the most structurally unsound bridges in the US. It's also a victim to poor design — apparently, it has had to be repaired multiple times because barges keep hitting it.

The Tappan Zee Bridge in Tarrytown, New York, has been called "the Big Ugly."

A quick search on Twitter proves that people aren't happy with the Tappan Zee Bridge, officially called the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge.

One Twitter user wrote "If y'all vote for that ugly bridge to be NY's new license plate you're going straight to jail," while another said it should be "renamed the Big Ugly."

According to New York Magazine, one of Governor Cuomo's aides even referred to it as the "hold-your-breath bridge." While New York Magazine says the bridge is in no immediate danger of falling apart, it also says that "The Tappan Zee routinely sheds chunks of concrete, like so much dandruff, into the river below. Engineering assessments have found that everything from steel corrosion to earthquakes to maritime accidents could cause major, perhaps catastrophic, damage to the span."

A Jalopnik commenter confirms this, saying. "Every time I cross it I always think this is the day. This is the day its going to collapse. Every bump feels like your last. How I loathe the thing, but how little choice I have in crossing it considering I live right next to it."

The Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge in Maryland has two stars on Yelp.

One tweet called it "the worst bridge in America." A smattering of Yelp reviews call it everything from "Narrow. High. Scary," to "One of the dumbest things I have ever seen," to "a bad thrill ride at an amusement park."

Another asked "Who came up with this stupidity? They should be fired."

Apparently, the bridge is too narrow for the amount of traffic crossing it, and thus a congested nightmare that takes around 45 minutes to cross.

The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in Oakland, California has been called "janky."

One Twitter user called it "janky," while another quipped "What is that, the Oakland Bay Bridge? Nah, I never go there."

Another tweet said "I hate driving over the Bay Bridge. It is literally the worst bridge in America."

It's also frightening to some drivers, especially those with gephyrophobia, a fear of bridges. Authorities offer to escort these terrified drivers over the bridge by towing them across.

The Atchafalaya Basin Bridge in Louisiana was called "an evil stretch of road."

Though this bridge is pretty simple, its hatred comes from its poor design. It's 18.2 miles long and only has two exits, meaning that if someone gets in an accident it's backed up for miles — which apparently happens all the time.

One Jalopnik user wrote, "It's over 18 miles long. The scenery is nothing special (and doesn't change), so the drive is very monotonous. There are only 2 exits in that 18+ miles. And inevitably, somebody f's up and causes a wreck. If you get stuck in the aftermath, you're going to be there all day with no way out and no restroom. You can't even walk off into the trees to answer the call of nature because bridge."

Another person complained of the frequent wrecks as well, in addition to extreme weather. "I've traveled this many many many times and 90% of the time there will be a horrible wreck. I find this odd since ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS DRIVE STRAIGHT."

"There's nowhere to turn around, nowhere to stop, alligators staring at you from either side, it's a nail biter," says another.

The Kosciusko Bridge in New York inspires vitriol from drivers.

The Kosciuszko Bridge is part of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, and is almost always backed up, "even at midnight on a weekday," according to one tweet that also called it "the worst bridge in existence."

Another tweet called it "the worst bridge in America," and warned drivers to "avoid at all cost and/or demolish it."

The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in Louisiana is so long it freaks people out.

The almost 24 mile-long bridge is the longest over-water bridge in the world — but this freaks many drivers out.

"This is a long, long, long, looooong bridge. Nothing but the lake to look at. N-O-T-H-I-N-G at all. It is 23.83 miles long, with less than a dozen crossovers, no shoulders for break downs. Fill up your gas tank before you get on because there is no exit," warned one Yelp user.

"It's narrow, it's long, it gives me mild panic attacks," wrote another.

Locals complain that the Delaware Memorial Bridge in New Castle, Delaware, is frequently backed up with traffic.

As it's the only bridge between Delaware and New Jersey, it frequently gets backed up. A two-star review on TripAdvisor explained "traffic is backed up most of the time due to construction either on the bridge or I-95." Another wrote, "I think the moral is that even with high Amtrak prices, it is better to take the train."

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge in St. Petersburg, Florida, feels like a design bait-and-switch to some.

"There's this bridge here in Florida that they spent a bunch of money on to try to make it look like a suspension bridge but it's just really ugly," wrote a Twitter user about the new Sunshine Skyway.

"Some folks hate the height, water, etc. and want to avoid it," wrote one TripAdvisor user, while others complained about the expensive tolls.

The Talmadge Memorial Bridge in Savannah, Georgia, has a controversial name not everyone is on board with.

The Talmadge Memorial Bridge has sparked controversy for its name. It's named after former governor Eugene Talmadge, a "staunch segregationist." There's even a petition asking the government to rename it.

The Gold Brook Covered Bridge in Stowe, Vermont, is beautiful... but locals claim it's haunted.

Built in 1844 and also known as Emily's Bridge, for the woman that allegedly hung herself on the bridge and now haunts it, it has been plagued by scary stories since the day it opened. According to Atlas Obscura, it has an "infamous reputation." There have been stories of "claw-like gouges down the sides of cars" and "bloody scratches down the backs of pedestrian crossers."

While it might not actually be haunted, according to a TripAdvisor user "It smells of urine and empty beer bottles," while another called it "very run down."

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge connects the eastern and western shores of Maryland, and is traumatizing for some.

As one Twitter user put it, it is "truly one of the most terrifying bridges — narrow lanes, that treacherous curve just as you enter/exit, and barriers you can see through so the whole time you're just looking down 100 feet to the water on either side."

One Jalopnik commenter wrote that it has "Narrow lanes, two way traffic, horrible congestion, and if it's windy forget it." Another added, "This is the only bridge I've ever had a problem driving over ... You can see easily there are no lights on it, so when I was out in the middle of it and the wind picked up, I felt like I was going over the side and nobody would ever know. Just kept going and thanked god when I got to the tunnel sections."

The Tobin Bridge in Boston, Massachusetts, is just ugly.

According to Twitter, this bridge is always under construction, constantly backed up, and is repeatedly simply referred to as "ugly."

The Ben Sawyer Bridge in Sullivan's Island, North Carolina, is cool, but not practical.

The cool thing about Ben Sawyer's Bridge is that it swivels on its axis to let boats go by. However, this feature is why the bridge hasn't gotten a much needed update. According to one Twitter user: "Old Ben Sawyer Bridge easily could have been replaced by a fixed span for less money, but Sullivan's Island residents insisted on replicating the antiquated swivel bridge. #shortsighted."

The Fort Pitt Bridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a victim of poor design.

A Yelp reviewer called it "one of the biggest headaches of my life," while a Twitter user deigned it the "Worst bridge in America."

Why so complicated? As one Tweet puts it, "You have 100 yards to cross four lanes of busy traffic or you'll miss your exit and have to drive around the city again. Oh, and DO NOT SLOW DOWN."

The Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle, Washington, looks like a parking garage.

The New York Times called it "sublimely ugly" and a "stoutly utilitarian force of engineering."

The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge connecting Staten Island and Brooklyn does not inspire love.

"It may not be the most pothole ridden, or the most trafficky, but $15 is a ridiculous amount of money to pay for a toll...," wrote one Jalopnik commenter. "Don't forget the ever-present construction at each end," another wrote.

One Yelp user wrote in a one-star review, "Stupidest bridge in NYC. Zero stars. Swear I once saw a human hand on the lower level. Get a pedestrian walkway you filthy animal!"

Simply put, "Verrazano sucks."

To add insult to injury, it was spelled wrong for over 50 years — it's named after Giovanni da Verrazzano. It was missing a "z" for 58 years until it was corrected in 2018.

Poplar Street Bridge connecting downtown St. Louis, Missouri, to Illinois is frequently congested.

According to one Jalopnik commenter, "Interstates 70, 64, 55 and 44 all merged onto one bridge," creating what one might call a "traffic clusterf---." They also added that "despite the fact that there's always construction on it, the driving surface is terrible. Concrete is patchy and there are spots where the steel bridge deck is all that you're driving on."

Another local wrote "It's so g------ bad in every way. I used to live just south of the [Poplar Street Bridge] in Soulard and it seemed liked at least a few times a year a semi would take one of the I-55 ramps too fast and overturn backing traffic up even more than usual. And of course the road surface just eats tires and wheels for breakfast."

The John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge in Louisville, Kentucky, has been called an "outdated monstrosity."

As one Jalopnik user put it: "I-65 connecting Indiana and Kentucky over the ever-brown Ohio River, this outdated monstrosity is in a constant state of renovation. Add in complicated on and off ramp patterning and you have a recipe for hell on Earth."

Another said "it is a bumpy, sometimes potholed mess."

The Pulaski Skyway in Kearny, New Jersey, is constantly backed up.

Per Jalopnik users "there is only so much you can polish out of this obsolete turd."

Another wrote, "Its substandard roadway design meant it was closed to trucks only a YEAR after it was opened because it was so narrow and curved that they kept hitting each other in the center 'suicide' lane."

But most simply put: "Confirmed for worst f------ bridge ever."

• Read more:
• 30 stunning bridges to see in your lifetime
• 8 of the most innovatively designed bridges from around the world
• There's a bridge in Japan that looks terrifyingly steep
• The world's longest suspension bridge has opened in the Swiss Alps — and it looks terrifying

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