A multi-way bridge is a bridge with three or more distinct and separate spans, where one end of each span meets at a common point near the centre of the bridge. Unlike other bridges which have two entry-exit points, multi-way bridges have three or more entry-exit points. For this reason, multi-way bridges are not to be confused with commonly found road bridges which carry vehicles in one direction from one entry point, and then bifurcate into two other one-way bridges. [1]
Multi-way bridges are located throughout the world, though they are rare. Some are as small as a footbridge, while others are multi-lane roadways.
Three-way bridges are often referred to as "T-bridges" or "Y-bridges", due to their shape when viewed from above. Three cities in Michigan each have a three-way bridge named "Tridge", combining "tri" and "bridge": [1] The Tridge (Midland, Michigan), The Tridge (Ypsilanti, Michigan) and The Tridge in Brighton, Michigan.
The unique shape of a multi-way bridge makes it easy to identify from an airplane. Pilot Amelia Earhart described Zanesville, Ohio as "the most recognizable city in the country" because of its Y-shaped bridge, [2] and the pilots of Enola Gay aimed for Hiroshima's T-shaped Aioi Bridge when they dropped the atom bomb. [3]
While designing the Tripartite Bridge in 1846—a Y-bridge proposed to span the Allegheny River and Monongahela River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—engineer John A. Roebling identified one of the challenges of erecting a three-way suspension-type bridge. Suspension-bridge cables on two-way bridges support heavy loads and are anchored solidly at either end, [4] while on a three-way bridge the cables of each of the three spans need to anchor at a central pier in the water, where cable forces from each span would have to balance each another: "the intersection of the cables at the top of the center pier...would have created enormous horizontal forces, and the stone arches connecting the three towers could hardly have resisted the tensions imposed by the cables radiating from their tops." [4] [5] The bridge was never built. [4]
| Bridge name | Location | Coordinates | Description | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aioi Bridge | Hiroshima, Japan | 34°23′47″N132°27′09″E / 34.3964°N 132.4526°E | Vehicle and pedestrian T-bridge. Built in 1932, heavily damaged by atomic bombing in 1945, reconstructed 1983. |  |
| Alsen Bridge | Berlin, Germany | 52°31′25″N13°22′20″E / 52.5235°N 13.3722°E | T-shaped bridge. Built in 1858; damaged by exposure to shipping, and torn down in 1890. |  |
| Andorra Bridge | Madrid, Spain | 40°24′18″N3°43′22″W / 40.405114°N 3.722811°W | Y-shaped footbridge over Manzanares River. |  |
| Bergues Bridge (fr:Pont des Bergues) | Geneva, Switzerland | 46°12′21″N6°08′49″E / 46.20593°N 6.147054°E | Pedestrian Y-bridge over the Rhône. |  |
| BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee building footbridge | Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States | 35°03′08″N85°19′05″W / 35.05223°N 85.31798°W | T-shaped footbridge | |
| Bow River Pathway bridge | Calgary, Canada | 51°02′56″N114°06′34″W / 51.048807°N 114.109497°W | T-shaped footbridge | |
| Bridge With 3 Branches (Le pont à 3 branches) | Pont-de-Veyle, France | 46°15′59″N4°52′45″E / 46.266467°N 4.879134°E | Pedestrian Y-bridge over the Veyle. |  |
| Bridge With Three Entrances (Ponte das Três Entradas) | Oliveira do Hospital Municipality, Portugal | 40°18′24″N7°52′16″W / 40.306739°N 7.871198°W | Vehicle and pedestrian Y-bridge. | |
| Calatrava Bridge | Petah Tikva, Israel | 32°05′30″N34°51′59″E / 32.091803°N 34.86641°E | Y-shaped footbridge designed by Santiago Calatrava. |  |
| Camp Evergreen Girl Scouts Camp bridge | Cowlitz County, Washington, United States | 46°12′40″N123°12′24″W / 46.211098°N 123.206755°W | Pedestrian Y-bridge over Mill Creek. | |
| Chincoteague Road | Chincoteague, Virginia, United States | 37°56′15″N75°22′54″W / 37.937603°N 75.381620°W | Vehicle T-bridge. | |
| Chu Y Bridge | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | 10°45′03″N106°41′01″E / 10.750946°N 106.683653°E | Vehicle and pedestrian Y-bridge built in 1937. [6] |  |
| Colin Glen Forest Park Tri-Bridge | Dunmurry, Northern Ireland | 54°34′38″N6°02′04″W / 54.577218°N 6.034307°W | Y-shaped footbridge. | |
| Eco-Viikki Three Way Bridge | Helsinki, Finland | 60°13′34″N25°02′03″E / 60.226107°N 25.034079°E | Pedestrian Y-bridge. | |
| Fogelsangh State Three Way Bridge | Veenklooster, Netherlands | 53°15′48″N6°06′35″E / 53.263396°N 6.109713°E | Pedestrian Y-bridge. |  |
| Galena Y-Bridge | Galena, Missouri, United States | 36°48′19″N93°27′40″W / 36.805393°N 93.460998°W | Y-shaped bridge historically used for vehicle traffic, now a footbridge. |  |
| Jasenovac Tri-Bridge | Between Jasenovac, Sisak-Moslavina County, Slavonia and Uštica, Bosnia and Herzegovina | 45°16′05″N16°55′01″E / 45.267997°N 16.916949°E | Vehicle and pedestrian Y-bridge originally built in 1973, destroyed in 1991, then re-built in 2005. [7] | |
| Kang Ding Tri-Bridge | Kang Ding Xian, Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, China | 30°03′21″N101°57′55″E / 30.05592°N 101.965254°E | Pedestrian Y-bridge. | |
| Kikko Bridge | Aoyamakogen Country Club, Mie Prefecture, Japan | 34°42′01″N136°24′04″E / 34.700234°N 136.401003°E | Y-shaped footbridge built in 1991. [6] | |
| Krestovy Bridge | Saint Petersburg, Russia | 59°42′55.61″N30°23′24.93″E / 59.7154472°N 30.3902583°E | Built in 1779, the Krestovy Bridge is a pedestrian Y-bridge over Krestovy Canal in Alexander Park. [8] |  |
| Lune Millennium Bridge | Lancaster, Lancashire, England | 54°03′08″N2°48′09″W / 54.052191°N 2.802525°W | Y-shaped footbridge. |  |
| Louisa/Fort Gay Tri-Bridge | Between Fort Gay, West Virginia and Louisa, Kentucky, United States | 38°06′59″N82°35′59″W / 38.11632°N 82.599821°W | Vehicle and pedestrian T-bridge opened in 1906. [7] | |
| Lowell T Bridge | Lowell, Ohio, United States | 39°31′35″N81°30′25″W / 39.526465°N 81.50698°W | Vehicle and pedestrian T-bridge over Muskingum River. | |
| Malvina Footbridge | Malvina, Mississippi, United States | 33°51′08″N90°55′09″W / 33.852288°N 90.919145°W | Wooden vehicle and pedestrian T-bridge built in the late 1920s, and demolished in 1972. [9] | |
| Mangakahia Twin Bridges | Nukutawhiti, New Zealand | 35°37′26″S173°50′48″E / 35.623797°S 173.846626°E | Vehicle and pedestrian T-bridge over Mangakahia River. |  |
| Margaret Bridge | Budapest, Hungary | 47°30′53″N19°02′37″E / 47.514722°N 19.043611°E | Vehicle and pedestrian Y-bridge. |  |
| Miyoshi Bridge | Tokyo, Japan | 35°40′16.44″N139°46′19.11″E / 35.6712333°N 139.7719750°E | Vehicle and pedestrian Y-bridge (1929) over a bend in the Tsukiji canal. [10] | |
| nl:Noabers Badde, also called Mercedesbrug | Veelerveen, Netherlands | 53°03′12″N7°07′39″E / 53.053361°N 7.127363°E | Pedestrian Y-bridge built in 1989 at the convergence of the Mussel, Diamonds, and During canals. [11] |  |
| Overseas Highway | Pigeon Key, Florida, United States | 24°42′15″N81°09′22″W / 24.704289°N 81.155974°W | Partially abandoned vehicle and pedestrian T-bridge. |  |
| Pierre Corneille Bridge | Rouen, France | 49°26′09″N1°05′44″E / 49.435948°N 1.095497°E | Vehicle and pedestrian T-bridge over the Seine. |  |
| Raehills Three-Way Footbridge | Lockerbie, Scotland | 55°13′38″N3°27′55″W / 55.227105°N 3.465388°W | Y-shaped footbridge built in the late 1800s. [12] | |
| Sancha Zijin Bridge/Hama Bridge | Xingtai, Hebei, China | 37°31′19″N114°29′08″E / 37.522016°N 114.485609°E | Vehicle and pedestrian stone Y-bridge built in 1691. [13] | |
| Sheikh Hasina Titas Bridge | Charlohania, Bangladesh | 23°43′36.56″N90°50′56.67″E / 23.7268222°N 90.8490750°E | Vehicle and pedestrian Y-bridge opened in 2018 over Titas River and Sadarghat-Ramchandrapur Ferry Path. [14] | |
| Staniastate footbridge | Staniastate, Oentsjerk, Netherlands | 53°15′25″N5°53′50″E / 53.257006°N 5.897111°E | Y-shaped footbridge. | |
| Stockingfield Bridge | Glasgow, Scotland | 55°53′33.44″N4°17′9.63″W / 55.8926222°N 4.2860083°W | Y-shaped footbridge over Forth and Clyde Canal, connecting Maryhill, Ruchill, and Gilshochill. Completed in 2022. [15] |  |
| Strömsborgsbron | Gamla stan, Sweden | 59°19′38″N18°03′51″E / 59.327304°N 18.064282°E | Vehicle and pedestrian T-bridge. |  |
| Thetford Footbridge | Thetford, England | 52°24′48″N0°44′49″E / 52.413277°N 0.746904°E | Y-shaped footbridge. |  |
| Three-Legged Bridge | Milton Keynes, England | 52°02′49″N0°44′03″W / 52.047022°N 0.734279°W | Y-shaped footbridge | |
| Three-Way Bridge | Lyons Falls, New York, United States | 43°37′01″N75°21′26″W / 43.616879°N 75.357202°W | Vehicle and pedestrian wooden T-bridge opened in 1849, replaced with steel in 1916, and demolished in 1965. [16] | |
| Tinmukhe Bridge | Lumbini Province, Nepal | 27°56′05.3″N83°26′22.8″E / 27.934806°N 83.439667°E | Y-shaped suspension bridge at junction of Gulmi, Palpa and Syangja districts. [17] | |
| The Tridge (Brighton) | Brighton, Michigan, United States | 42°31′50″N83°46′59″W / 42.530473°N 83.783022°W | Y-shaped footbridge. [18] |  |
| The Tridge (Midland) | Midland, Michigan, United States | 43°36′40″N84°14′55″W / 43.611052°N 84.248689°W | Y-shaped footbridge. |  |
| The Tridge (Ypsilanti) | Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States | 42°14′44″N83°36′42″W / 42.24561°N 83.6116°W | Y-shaped footbridge. |  |
| Trangrav Bridge (Trangravsbroen) | Copenhagen, Denmark | 55°40′40″N12°35′56″E / 55.677694°N 12.598943°E | Pedestrian and cyclist Y-bridge over Christianshavn Canal and Trangraven. Two of the bridge spans may open for passing sailboats. When both spans open at the same time the bridge resembles a butterfly. [19] |  |
| Trinity Bridge (Crowland) | Crowland, Lincolnshire, England | 52°40′33″N0°10′06″W / 52.6757°N 0.168281°W | Y-shaped stone footbridge. |  |
| Trinity Bridge (Greater Manchester) | Greater Manchester, England | 53°28′58″N2°15′04″W / 53.482717°N 2.251098°W | Y-shaped footbridge over River Irwell, designed by Santiago Calatrava. |  |
| Tripartite Bridge | Saint Petersburg, Russia | 59°56′29.64″N30°19′43.89″E / 59.9415667°N 30.3288583°E | Vehicle and pedestrian T-bridge over Moyka River and Griboyedov Canal. |  |
| Vijversburg Estate Tri-Bridge | Tytsjerk, Netherlands | 53°13′01″N5°54′28″E / 53.217052°N 5.907743°E | Y-shaped footbridge. |  |
| Vines Mansion Bridge | Loganville, Georgia, United States | 33°51′43″N83°55′25″W / 33.862035°N 83.923614°W | Y-shaped footbridge. | |
| Ypsilon Bridge | Drammen, Norway | 59°44′40″N10°11′43″E / 59.744396°N 10.195313°E | Y-shaped footbridge. |  |
| Zanesville Y-Bridge | Zanesville, Ohio, United States | 39°56′26″N82°00′52″W / 39.940417°N 82.014306°W | Vehicle and pedestrian Y-bridge. |  |
| Bridge name | Location | Coordinates | Description | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridge over Fondamenta Tre Ponti | Venice, Italy | 45°26′13.49″N12°19′11.74″E / 45.4370806°N 12.3199278°E | Four-way footbridge over the intersection of three canals. |  |
| Bridge over two canals at Les Attaques, France | Les Attaques, France | 50°53′35.63″N1°58′11.89″E / 50.8932306°N 1.9699694°E | Four-way vehicle and pedestrian T-bridge over two canals. |  |
| The Three Bridges (De Tre Broer) | Aarhus, Denmark | 56°08′38″N10°10′24″E / 56.14380°N 10.17347°E | Bikeway bridge in H-shape over Arhus River. The bridge has two spans to each of the river banks. They are connected by a longer fifth span in the middle of the river. The middle span passes under 3 railway bridges which crosses the river. |  |
| Bridge name | Location | Coordinates | Description | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ponte dei Trepponti | Comacchio, Italy | 44°41′35″N12°11′00″E / 44.692984°N 12.18329°E | Five-way stone footbridge at the intersection of five canals, built in 1634. [7] |  |
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually something that is otherwise difficult or impossible to cross. There are many different designs of bridges, each serving a particular purpose and applicable to different situations. Designs of bridges vary depending on factors such as the function of the bridge, the nature of the terrain where the bridge is constructed and anchored, the material used to make it, and the funds available to build it.
The Mackinac Bridge is a suspension bridge that connects the Upper and Lower peninsulas of the U.S. state of Michigan. It spans the Straits of Mackinac, a body of water connecting Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, two of the Great Lakes. Opened in 1957, the 26,372-foot-long bridge is the world's 27th-longest main span and is the longest suspension bridge between anchorages in the Western Hemisphere. The Mackinac Bridge is part of Interstate 75 (I-75) and the Lake Michigan and Huron components of the Great Lakes Circle Tour across the straits; it is also a segment of the U.S. North Country National Scenic Trail. The bridge connects the city of St. Ignace to the north with the village of Mackinaw City to the south.
A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridges, which lack vertical suspenders, have a long history in many mountainous parts of the world.
A cable-stayed bridge has one or more towers, from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern or a series of parallel lines. This is in contrast to the modern suspension bridge, where the cables supporting the deck are suspended vertically from the main cable, anchored at both ends of the bridge and running between the towers. The cable-stayed bridge is optimal for spans longer than cantilever bridges and shorter than suspension bridges. This is the range within which cantilever bridges would rapidly grow heavier, and suspension bridge cabling would be more costly.
The Hungerford Bridge crosses the River Thames in London, and lies between Waterloo Bridge and Westminster Bridge. Owned by Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd it is a steel truss railway bridge flanked by two more recent, cable-stayed, pedestrian bridges that share the railway bridge's foundation piers, and which are named the Golden Jubilee Bridges.
The Blue Water Bridge is a twin-span international bridge across the St. Clair River that links Port Huron, Michigan, United States, and Point Edward, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Water Bridge connects Highway 402 in Ontario with both Interstate 69 (I-69) and Interstate 94 (I-94) in Michigan.
The Roberto Clemente Bridge, also known as the Sixth Street Bridge, spans the Allegheny River in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.
Hampden Bridge is a heritage-listed single-span suspension bridge that carries Moss Vale Road (B73) across the Kangaroo River, in Kangaroo Valley, in the City of Shoalhaven local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The bridge was designed by Ernest de Burgh and built by Loveridge and Hudson. The property is owned by Transport for NSW. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 August 2019.
Barnes Railway Bridge is a Grade II listed railway bridge in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and the London Borough of Hounslow. It crosses the River Thames in London in a northwest to southeast direction at Barnes. It carries the South Western Railway's Hounslow Loop Line, and lies between Barnes Bridge and Chiswick stations. It can also be crossed on foot, and is one of only three bridges in London to combine pedestrian and rail use; the others being Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges and Fulham Railway Bridge.
The Cable Bridge, officially called the Ed Hendler Bridge and sometimes called the Intercity Bridge, spans the Columbia River between Pasco and Kennewick in southeastern Washington as State Route 397. It was constructed in 1978 and replaced the Pasco–Kennewick Bridge, an earlier span built in 1922 and demolished in 1990.
An extradosed bridge employs a structure that combines the main elements of both a prestressed box girder bridge and a cable-stayed bridge. The name comes from the word extrados, the exterior or upper curve of an arch, and refers to how the "stay cables" on an extradosed bridge are not considered as such in the design, but are instead treated as external prestressing tendons deviating upward from the deck. In this concept, they remain part of the main bridge superstructure.
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 Tridge is the formal name of a three-way wooden footbridge spanning the confluence of the Chippewa and Tittabawassee Rivers in Chippewassee Park near downtown Midland, Michigan, in the Tri-Cities region. Named as a portmanteau of "tri" and "bridge", the structure opened in 1981. It consists of one 31-foot (9.4 m) tall central pillar supporting three spokes. Each spoke is 180 feet (55 m) long by 8 feet (2.4 m) wide.
The Zanesville Y-Bridge is a historic Y-shaped three-way bridge that spans the confluence of the Licking and Muskingum Rivers in downtown Zanesville, Ohio. It carries the traffic of U.S. Route 40, as well as Linden Avenue.
Tilikum Crossing, Bridge of the People is a cable-stayed bridge across the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was designed by TriMet, the Portland metropolitan area's regional transit authority, for its MAX Orange Line light rail passenger trains. The bridge also serves city buses and the Portland Streetcar, as well as bicycles, pedestrians, and emergency vehicles. Private cars and trucks are not permitted on the bridge. It is the first major bridge in the U.S. that was designed to allow access to transit vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians but not cars.
The Infinity Bridge is a public pedestrian and cycle footbridge across the River Tees in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees in northern England. The bridge is situated one kilometre downriver of Stockton town centre, between the Princess of Wales Bridge and the Tees Barrage. It connects the Teesdale Business Park and the University of Durham's Queen's Campus in Thornaby-on-Tees on the south bank of the Tees with the Tees Valley Regeneration's £320 million North Shore development on the north bank.
Vidyasagar Setu, also known as the Second Hooghly Bridge, is a toll bridge over the Hooghly River in West Bengal, India, linking the cities of Kolkata and Howrah.
The Samuel De Champlain Bridge, colloquially known as the Champlain Bridge, is a cable-stayed bridge design by architect Poul Ove Jensen and built to replace the original Champlain Bridge over the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, between Nuns' Island in the borough of Verdun in Montreal and the suburban city of Brossard on the South Shore. A second, connected bridge links Nuns' Island to the main Island of Montreal. The bridge is the busiest bridge in the country with more cars flowing into it than any other bridge.
The Victoria Bridge is a suspension footbridge near the village of Aberlour in Moray, Scotland. It was built in 1902, replacing a ferry that had previously been in service there, and is now a Category A listed building.
Media related to Multi-way bridges at Wikimedia Commons
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