Sewalls Falls Bridge is a rusty, dinged-up, beat-up old bridge spanning the almost-mighty Merrimack River. It’s within eyesight of the Concord Monitor and Insider offices, and a route probably used by many Monitor employees to cross the river.
But beneath that battered exterior which has often been slated for repairs or to be replaced, there is something special about the bridge. I call it the “No Road Rage” zone.
There are no stop lights or police directing traffic over the one-lane bridge, which often sees a heavy volume of traffic.
But people driving across the bridge have settled into a self-regulated system of rules, with a line of cars crossing in one direction while the line going the other way waits patiently for their turn.
Then they cross, and on and on goes the exchange. Often, if one direction is heavy flowing traffic, they will stop and flash their headlights and let the other side cross. When approaching the other line waiting, it is not unusual to receive waves and a mouthed through closed windows “thank you” from the other drivers.
I rarely see any deviations from this process, an example of courtesy and kindness for all drivers to emulate, is it a magic bridge? Could it just be this way from the proximity of the Insider staff and good karma?
Next time you cross the bridge, give the other guys a friendly wave – we could be onto something here!
