On Shabbat afternoon, after I had finished feeding the snakes, we decided to go for a little drive. First, we explored a little in the area near where the Jordan River flows into the Kinneret (the "Sea of Galilee"). Just before the road crosses the river, there is a small road that turns of towards the Kinneret. A short distance down that road, this is what we saw:
At first, I wasn't sure what it was, but then I figured it out. It's a pontoon bridge, just sitting there on the dry land for now. Although you can't see it very clearly in this picture, there are a dozen or so big round barrels which are no doubt sealed so that the air can't get out of them. That way, they would float on the water. They can also serve as wheels to move the bridge into the water, I think. I walked up the ramp that you can see and along the top of the bridge. From up there, I took this second picture, in which you can see the Jordan River itself curving around on its journey to the Kinneret, which is less than a kilometer away.
Not far from this same spot, there was another similar (if not identical) pontoon bridge, also sitting on dry ground. It's quite obvious that these two bridges are positioned here so that they could be quickly rolled into place across the river if the road bridge nearby were to be destroyed. The sign next to this bridge stated (in Hebrew) that it is the property of the IDF (the Israeli Defense Force). I had, of course, heard of pontoon bridges before, but I don't think I had ever seen one or even thought very much about how it would work.
At first, I wasn't sure what it was, but then I figured it out. It's a pontoon bridge, just sitting there on the dry land for now. Although you can't see it very clearly in this picture, there are a dozen or so big round barrels which are no doubt sealed so that the air can't get out of them. That way, they would float on the water. They can also serve as wheels to move the bridge into the water, I think. I walked up the ramp that you can see and along the top of the bridge. From up there, I took this second picture, in which you can see the Jordan River itself curving around on its journey to the Kinneret, which is less than a kilometer away.
Not far from this same spot, there was another similar (if not identical) pontoon bridge, also sitting on dry ground. It's quite obvious that these two bridges are positioned here so that they could be quickly rolled into place across the river if the road bridge nearby were to be destroyed. The sign next to this bridge stated (in Hebrew) that it is the property of the IDF (the Israeli Defense Force). I had, of course, heard of pontoon bridges before, but I don't think I had ever seen one or even thought very much about how it would work.
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