It’s a bit surprising to encounter a spillway on a public road these days. When you cross one, you feel a bit exposed. You also get a twinge of excitement…and a little wet if you’re on a bike. Your car might suffer a small splash.
Spillways rest on bedrock. During a heavy downpour, the creek makes the crossing unnavigable, but it soon returns to a trickle.
These inconvenient fords are often replaced by bridges.
You can imagine the demand for such progress coming from the upwardly mobile who are beginning to fill up subdivisions and build mini-mansions in Williamson County, fully 25 miles south of Nashville.
The irony is that today’s SUV’s, cross-overs, and trucks are able to withstand a little more than a trickle. They could win a land skirmish with their generous horsepower, all-wheel-drive, and extreme ground clearance.
Throw in 18 cup holders for the troops, and you’ve got yourself an element-thrashing assault vehicle for the streets.
Bypassing a spillway is not only ironic, given our advancement in cars, but would also be short-sighted.
Fifty years after a bridge is built, the rebar inside the concrete will begin to rust, and a replacement will become inevitable.
Somewhere below, a burbly voice will bubble, “I’m still here. Come on in. The water’s fine, and you will be too!”