The bridge of a giant rattlesnake (11 photos + 1 video)

In Tucson, a giant metal snake helps pedestrians cross a busy highway.





Tucson, Arizona, is a city that pays a lot of attention to street art. Millions have been allocated from the budget for various projects throughout the city over the past few decades.



But perhaps the most monumental of these projects is the Diamondback Bridge, which was built in the shape of a remarkably anatomically accurate giant rattlesnake.





Built in 2002, the bridge was designed by a local artist who wanted to incorporate local wildlife into his urban design. The bridge, although abstract, is quite biologically accurate. On one side, the entrance to the bridge is made in the form of a gaping snake's mouth, long fangs are presented as support beams under the hypnotizing eyes of the reptile.



The bridge itself is covered with a metal mesh that forms the body, which is painted in the exact shades and gradient of a real reptile.



In addition, drivers and passengers of cars passing under the bridge can see precisely positioned segments of the creature depicted on the belly. At the other end of the snake is a tall statue in the shape of a tail rattle, which rises almost 10 meters above the ground.



It is also made and painted with maximum biological accuracy. And finally, if you walk in the right place when exiting the bridge, a loud and striking "goodbye" will be heard from hidden speakers.



When the bridge was first built, it caused a certain reaction from local residents, who considered it garish and even vulgar, but the artist's vision won out, and the bridge has survived and continues to be used.



Unfortunately, the budget for maintenance is minimal, and the snake looks like it needs to grow a new skin: peeling paint and cracked concrete indicate the snake's considerable age.



However, despite this, there is still something sacred in repeatedly unceremoniously and with impunity penetrating into the belly of a metal monster, as if learning at that moment all the secrets of nature and the universe at once.