Bridge Point

"Use extreme caution when approaching the bridge. Radio silence from that outpost leads me to believe it has come under Combine control. Still, you're clearly the right man for the job!"

- Odessa Cubbage

Bridge Point was once a Resistance outpost on the Coast near a large railroad bridge. Its occupants were eliminated by the Combine and Xen wildlife some time before Gordon Freeman's arrival.

Features
The base consists of three 'houses', two small sheds and a windmill. The largest of the buildings is three stories tall. All the larger buildings contain beds and other necessary items for living. The windmill was possibly used to generate electricity or pump up ground water however there doesn't appear to be any infrastructure for either function.

Bridge Point is located right beside an old 2-track train bridge spanning a river which, at Gordon Freeman's time of arrival, was being used by the Combine as a way of moving supplies in and out of Nova Prospekt. One track was blocked by a partially derailed train and the Combine had secured the bridge and the tunnels leading to it with force-fields to prevent unauthorised traffic from crossing. The narrow catwalks and walkways under the bridge had fallen into serious disrepair, presumably from general disuse, although the power supply for the force shields was located on the far side from Bridge Point which is only seen to be accessible using these walkways.

On the cliff face on which Bridge Point rests upon is a small path which leads to the lower levels of the bridge. It is evident that this pathway, and the catwalks under the bridge, were rarely used, as various Xen wildlife have taken up residence there.

It is evident that resistance soldiers made use of the base at some point before Gordon Freeman's arrival, however, probably because of its location near an important supply railroad, the Combine Overwatch had eliminated the residents. Headcrabs may have also been used, as a Poison Zombie can be found wandering around the upper floor. The Combine seem to have no particular use for the base though and simply left it abandoned. The other resistance occupied bases and outposts (such as New Little Odessa and Shorepoint) apparently did not risk attempting to re-take the base.

Freeman's arrival
Gordon Freeman visits the base during the events of Half-Life 2 in his journey along the Coast to Nova Prospekt. The Combine decided to reinforce the base when Freeman was detected heading that way and two squads were air-dropped in. Freeman destroyed both of the Combine Overwatch garrisons from the base and the bridge as well as a Gunship sent to reinforce and investigate whilst deactivating the force-shields protecting the bridge.

The Combine probably did not retake the base after this, as their military presence in the area was significantly weakened after the destruction of Nova Prospekt.

Behind the scenes
In the playable Half-Life 2 Beta, the bridge is not a railway bridge, but a road bridge.

Trivia
There is a Lambda Cache behind some rocks near the railway in a wooden shack-like building with a poison and a regular headcrab.

List of appearances

 * Half-Life 2