A truss is an assembly of members such as beams, connected by nodes, that creates a rigid structure.
A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. The basic types of truss bridges shown in this article have simple designs which could be easily analyzed by 19th and early 20th-century engineers. A truss bridge is economical to construct because it uses materials efficiently.
The Big Four Bridge is a six-span former railroad truss bridge that crosses the Ohio River, connecting Louisville, Kentucky, and Jeffersonville, Indiana. It was completed in 1895, updated in 1929, taken out of rail service in 1968, and converted to bicycle and pedestrian use in 2014. The largest single span is 547 feet (167 m), with the entire bridge spanning 2,525 feet (770 m). It took its name from the defunct Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, which was nicknamed the "Big Four Railroad".
The Cincinnati Southern Bridge, originally the Cincinnati Southern Railroad Swinging Truss Bridge, is a vertical lift bridge that carries the Norfolk Southern Railway over the Ohio River between Cincinnati, Ohio and Ludlow, Kentucky in the United States. The bridge is composed of four through truss spans: a main span on the northern side of the bridge, a currently unused vertical lift span on the southern side, and two additional spans over the main shipping channels in the center of the bridge. The bridge crosses the Ohio River just downstream from downtown Cincinnati, and can be seen clearly from the lower level of the nearby Brent Spence Bridge.
A tied-arch bridge is an arch bridge in which the outward horizontal forces of the arch(es) caused by tension at the arch ends to a foundation are countered by equal tension of its own gravity plus any element of the total deck structure such great arch(es) support. The arch(es) have strengthened chord(s) that run to a strong part of the deck structure or to independent tie-rods below the arch ends.
The Bollman Truss Railroad Bridge at Savage, Maryland is the sole surviving example of a revolutionary design in the history of American bridge engineering. The 160-foot (48.8 m) double-span is a suspension truss bridge. The first Bollman bridge was installed on the site; however, the current bridge is not the original. The current bridge was built in 1852 and moved to the site thirty years later. It is one of the oldest standing iron railroad bridges in the United States. Currently, however, it is in use carrying the Savage Mill Trail across the Little Patuxent River.
The Fourteenth Street Bridge, also known as the Ohio Falls Bridge, Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge, Conrail Railroad Bridge or Louisville and Indiana (L&I) Bridge, is a truss drawbridge that spans the Ohio River, between Louisville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Indiana.
Albert Fink was a German-born civil engineer who worked in the United States. He is best known for his railroad bridge designs, which helped revolutionize the use of iron for American railroad bridge construction. He devised the Fink truss and many truss bridges, especially the Fink-Type Truss Bridge.
A Howe truss is a truss bridge consisting of chords, verticals, and diagonals whose vertical members are in tension and whose diagonal members are in compression. The Howe truss was invented by William Howe in 1840, and was widely used as a bridge in the mid to late 1800s.
High Bridge is a historic former railroad bridge across the Appomattox River valley about 6 miles (9.7 km) east, or downstream, of the town of Farmville in Prince Edward County, Virginia. The remains of the bridge and its adjacent rail line are now a rail trail park, High Bridge Trail State Park.
Foxburg Bridge was a steel-built truss bridge in Foxburg, Pennsylvania. The crossing, which spanned the Allegheny River, was built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in the 1920s. It originally had a two-tier design in which the top level carried a branch of Northern Subdivision railroad while the lower level was used by road traffic and pedestrians.
B & O Railroad Viaduct is a historic structure in Bellaire, Ohio, listed in the National Register of Historic Places on June 22, 1976.
Blackfriars Bridge in London, Ontario, Canada is a wrought iron bowstring arch through truss bridge, crossing the North Thames River. The bridge was constructed in 1875 and carries single-lane vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians from Blackfriars Street to Ridout Street North.
The Fairmont Railroad Bridge is a truss bridge that carries the Norfolk Southern Railway across the Monongahela River just north of Fairmont, West Virginia. The bridge was built in 1853 as one of the early works of Albert Fink, the engineer who popularized the use of iron structures as opposed to those that are made of stone masonry or wood. It was reconstructed in 1912 and continues to serve as a major industrial route.
Starke County Bridge No. 39 is a single span Warren Pony Truss structure. The bridge is located on the northern outskirts of the small town of Knox, Indiana, where Main and Water Streets terminate at the former Penn Central Railroad cut. The bridge spans the rail cut in a northwest–southeast direction, allowing access to Wythougan Park.
The Martin Covered Bridge is a wooden covered bridge spanning the Winooski River off United States Route 2 in southern Marshfield, Vermont. Built about 1890, it is the only surviving historic covered bridge in the town. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The Straight Street Bridge is a vehicular bridge over the Passaic River in Paterson, New Jersey, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Burrington Covered Bridge is a historic queenpost truss covered bridge in Lyndon, Vermont. Built in the 19th century, it is one of five covered bridges in Lyndon. It formerly carried Burrington Bridge Road across the Passumpsic River; it has been bypassed by a modern bridge. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The Waddell "A" Truss Bridge is standardized truss bridge design that was first patented in 1893 by prolific civil engineer John Alexander Low Waddell. The design provided a simple low-cost, high-strength solution for use by railroads across the United States and Empire of Japan for short spans of around 100 ft. According to the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), "beyond its role in the growth of railroad transportation, the "A" truss is perhaps most historically significant when viewed within the context of Waddell's career and the emergence of the American bridge fabrication industry into international marketing."
Manzanola Bridge was a truss bridge which was originally built in 1911 by the Patterson-Burghardt Bridge Company over the Colorado River and later moved over the Arkansas River in the year 1950. The bridge used to connect the town of Manzanola, Otero County, with Crowley County in Colorado.
