Hawthorne Bridge

Entering the East side approach to the Hawthorne Bridge yesterday afternoon we noticed that the lights on the Drawbridge Open sign were flashing. Never seen that before. The approach is long, maybe a quarter mile, and goes through an S-curve, so you can't really see the bridge from the entrance. We finally get onto the bridge itself and the warning lights have just turned to red and the crossing guards are just coming down. One car 50 yards ahead of us in the adjacent lane scooted through on yellow. Our timing is impeccable. It takes them a minute to get their gears engaged, but then the bridge does start going up. You can see the raised deck just below the traffic lights and above the roof of the car. It must have just been a test, this is as high as it went, it only stayed up for a minute or two, and no boats of any size went underneath. (Ski boats don't count.)

While we are waiting, I think to get out and walk around, but as I open the door with my keys in my hand I look down and see the water through the four inch openings in the grill. Drop your keys out there and they are gone. I sit back down and close the door.