List of longest continuous truss bridge spans

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The Braga Bridge is a continuous truss bridge. It was the fourth longest span of this type when it was completed in 1966. Braga Bridge.JPG
The Braga Bridge is a continuous truss bridge. It was the fourth longest span of this type when it was completed in 1966.

This list of continuous bridge spans ranks the world's continuous truss bridges in two listings: The first is ranked by the length of main span (the longest length of unsupported roadway) and the second by the total length of continuous truss spans.

Contents

Both lists include bridges that act primarily as a continuous truss. These bridges may appear to be—or may incorporate elements of—a different design. For example, the now destroyed Francis Scott Key Bridge incorporated an arch shape into the design, but was continuous across multiple spans. The Key Bridge acted first as a continuous truss bridge and secondarily as an arch bridge. This list does not include cantilever bridges.

Only bridges that are currently in use are included in the rankings. Bridges currently being planned, designed, or constructed and bridges that have been destroyed or demolished are noted separately.

List ranked by length of main span

The length of main span is the most common method of comparing the size of bridges. The length of the main span will often correlate with the depth of the truss (height the truss from bottom to top) and the engineering complexity involved in designing and constructing the bridge.

For bridges that have the same span length, the older bridge is listed first.

Note: Click on each bridge's rank to go to the bridge's official Web site. Ranks with a red asterisk (*) do not have official Web sites (or they do not have an English-language version) and are linked instead to a reference entry.
   RankNameLocationMain
span
metres
Main
span
feet
Year
opened
Ikitsuki Bridge.jpg * Ikitsuki Bridge
(The longest span from 1991 to the present)
Flag of Japan.svg Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan 4001,312  1991
Astoria-Megler Bridge01 2008-02-26.jpg * Astoria-Megler Bridge
(The longest span from 1966 to 1991)
Flag of the United States.svg Astoria, Oregon, USA 3761,232  1966
The Francis Scott Key Bridge (Baltimore).jpg Francis Scott Key Bridge (destroyed in 2024) Flag of the United States.svg Baltimore, Maryland, USA 3661,200  1977
HartBridgeJax.jpg Hart Bridge Flag of the United States.svg Jacksonville, Florida, USA 3311,088  1967
Oshima Big Bridge-2.jpg * Oshima Bridge Flag of Japan.svg Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan 3251,066  1976
Tenmon-bridge-misumiside.jpg * Tenmon Bridge Flag of Japan.svg Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan 300984  1966
Kuronoseto Ohashi.jpg Kuronoseto Bridge Flag of Japan.svg Kuronoseto, Japan 300984  1974
Cincinnati-Taylor-Soutgate-Bridge.JPG * Taylor-Southgate Bridge Flag of the United States.svg Cincinnati, Ohio / Newport, Kentucky, USA 259850  1995
Julien Dubuque Bridge 066951pr.jpg * Julien Dubuque Bridge Flag of the United States.svg Dubuque, Iowa / East Dubuque, Illinois, USA 258845  1943
Braga Bridge.JPG Braga Bridge Flag of the United States.svg Somerset / Fall River, Massachusetts, USA 256840  1966
KamagariBridge 02.jpg * Kamakari bridge Flag of Japan.svg Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan 255837  1979
Linked image * Earle C. Clements (Shawneetown) Bridge Flag of the United States.svg Old Shawneetown, Illinois / Union County, Kentucky, USA 251.5826  1955
Cairo I-57 Bridge 1997.jpg * Cairo I-57 Bridge Flag of the United States.svg Charleston, Missouri / Cairo, Illinois, USA 250821  1978
Kite photo big Suspension Bridge2.jpg Yoshima Bridge Flag of Japan.svg Seto Inland Sea, Japan 245804  1988
Gov. Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge.jpg Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge Flag of the United States.svg Dahlgren, Virginia and Newburg, Maryland, USA 244800  1940
Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge2.JPG Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge Flag of the United States.svg Kingston, New York, USA 244800  1957
Donholt.JPG * Don N. Holt Bridge Flag of the United States.svg Charleston, South Carolina, USA 244800  1992
Linked image * Phil G McDonald Bridge Flag of the United States.svg Beckley, West Virginia, USA 239785  1988
Linked image * Rochester-Monaca Bridge Flag of the United States.svg Rochester, Pennsylvania, USA 238780  1986
SciotovilleBridge.jpg * Sciotoville Bridge (2 spans) Flag of the United States.svg Sciotodale, Ohio / Limeville, Kentucky, USA 236775  1916
Sonoma Lake aerial view.jpg * Warm Springs Creek Bridge [1] Flag of the United States.svg Sonoma County, California, USA 230753  1978
Sewickleybridge.jpg * Sewickley Bridge Flag of the United States.svg Sewickley, Pennsylvania, USA 229750  1981
Betsy Ross Bridge from Pennsauken Township Boat Ramp.jpeg Betsy Ross Bridge Flag of the United States.svg Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA 222729  1976
MatthewWelshBridge.jpg * Matthew E. Welsh Bridge Flag of the United States.svg Mauckport, Indiana, USA 221725  1966



List ranked by total length

It is also possible to rank continuous truss bridges by the sum of the continuous spans.

Note that if the bridge has an expansion joint (a discontinuity), the sections of the bridge would be considered separate (by the definition of a continuous bridge) for the purposes of this ranking. The Yoshima Bridge is an example of this. It consists of two continuous-truss sections that together have five total spans. The first section (or unit) is 2-span continuous, 125 m + 137 m; the second section is a 3-span unit, 165 m + 245 m + 165 m. [2]

RankNameLocationIndividual span lengths
in meters or feet
Total length in
meters (feet)
Ayeyawady Bridge (Pakokku) (15581031967).jpg
1 Pakokku Bridge Flag of Myanmar.svg Pakokku, Myanmar 390 ft6,278 m (20,597 ft)
Thanlwin Bridge (Mawlamyine) Flag of Myanmar.svg Mawlamyine, Myanmar 367 ft6,596 m (21,640 ft)
Irrawaddy Bridge (Nyaungdon) Flag of Myanmar.svg Nyaungdon, Myanmar 390 ft
Nan Jing Da Sheng Guan Tie Lu Qiao  - panoramio.jpg 2 Dashengguan Bridge Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Nanjing, China 108 + 192 + 336 + 336 + 192 + 108 meters [3] 1,272 metres (4,173 ft)
Jiu Jiang Pi Pa Ting Yuan Tiao Chang Jiang Da Qiao .JPG 2 Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Jiujiang, China 3*162 + 180 + 216 + 180 + 2*126 m [4] 1,314 m (4,311 ft)
The Francis Scott Key Bridge (Baltimore).jpg 3 Francis Scott Key Bridge (destroyed in 2024) Flag of the United States.svg Baltimore, Maryland, USA 219.6 + 366 + 219.6 meters [5] 2,640 feet (800 m)
Ikitsuki Bridge.jpg 4 Ikitsuki Bridge Flag of Japan.svg Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan 200 + 400 + 200 m [5] 800.0 m (2,624.7 ft)
Astoria-Megler Bridge01 2008-02-26.jpg 5 Astoria-Megler Bridge Flag of the United States.svg Astoria, Oregon, USA 616 + 1,232 + 616 ft [5] 751 m (2,464 ft)

History of the record span

NameLocationMain span
in meters (feet)
Longest
from
Longest
to
Ikitsuki Bridge.jpg Ikitsuki Bridge Flag of Japan.svg Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan 400 m (1,300 ft)1991present
Astoria-Megler Bridge01 2008-02-26.jpg Astoria-Megler Bridge Flag of the United States.svg Astoria, Oregon, USA 375.6 m (1,232 ft)19661991
NRW, Duisburg-Hochfelder Eisenbahnbrucke 01.jpg Duisburg-Rheinhausen Bridge Flag of Germany.svg Duisburg, Germany 254.5 meters (835 ft)19451966
SciotovilleBridge.jpg Sciotoville Bridge Flag of the United States.svg Sciotodale, Ohio, USA 236 meters (774 ft)19161945

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References

Footnotes

  1. "Warm Springs Creek Bridge". HighestBridges.com.
  2. Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Authority. "Yoshima Bridge". Archived from the original on 2008-02-14. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
  3. "Dashengguan Bridge (Nanjing, 2010)".
  4. (Chinese) 有关“九江长江大桥”的图片 Archived 2015-01-28 at the Wayback Machine
  5. 1 2 3 Ewert, Sven (2003). Brücken (Bridges) (in German). Ernst & Sohn. p. 43. ISBN   3-433-01612-7 . Retrieved 2008-07-11.