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Ancestor | Truss bridge, cantilever bridge |
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Related | Other moving types: Bascule bridge, drawbridge, jetway, vertical-lift bridge, tilt bridge |
Descendant | Gate-swing bridge – see Puente de la Mujer |
Carries | Automobile, truck, light rail, heavy rail |
Span range | Short |
Material | Steel |
Movable | Yes |
Design effort | Medium |
Falsework required | No |
A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that can be rotated horizontally around a vertical axis. It has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right.
In its closed position, a swing bridge carrying a road or railway over a river or canal, for example, allows traffic to cross. When a water vessel needs to pass the bridge, road traffic is stopped (usually by traffic signals and barriers), and then motors rotate the bridge horizontally about its pivot point. The typical swing bridge will rotate approximately 90 degrees, or one-quarter turn; however, a bridge which intersects the navigation channel at an oblique angle may be built to rotate only 45 degrees, or one-eighth turn, in order to clear the channel. Small swing bridges as found over narrow canals may be pivoted only at one end, opening as would a gate, but require substantial underground structure to support the pivot.
Bridge Name | Waterway | Co-ordinates | Status | Comments |
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Cambie Street Bridge Connaught Bridge | False Creek, Vancouver, British Columbia | 49°16′19″N123°6′54″W / 49.27194°N 123.11500°W | Demolished/replaced (1985), formerly vehicle, pedestrian & streetcar traffic | Short documentary "Swingspan" tells the history of the bridge and its demolition. |
Canso Canal Bridge | Canso Canal, Nova Scotia | 45°38′50″N61°24′45″W / 45.64722°N 61.41250°W | Still swings, Vehicle/Rail Traffic | Links Nova Scotia mainland with Cape Breton Island with 2 traffic lanes of Highway 104 (the Trans-Canada Highway) as well as a single track railway line operated by the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway (CBNS). |
CNR Bridge | Fraser River, British Columbia | 49°11′50″N122°55′24″W / 49.19722°N 122.92333°W | Still swings, Rail Traffic | Between Queensborough in New Westminster, British Columbia and the mainland |
Derwent Way Bridge | Fraser River, British Columbia | 49°11′09″N122°55′55″W / 49.18583°N 122.93194°W | Still swings, Vehicle/Rail Traffic | Between Queensborough in New Westminster, British Columbia and Annacis Island in Delta, British Columbia |
Fredericton Railway Bridge | Fredericton, New Brunswick | 45°57′25″N66°37′43″W / 45.95694°N 66.62861°W | No longer swings, pedestrian traffic. | Constructed in 1887 and opened 1889. Last train on the bridge was in 1996. |
Grand Narrows Bridge | Barra Strait, Bras d'Or Lake, Nova Scotia | 45°57′35.75″N60°48′1.03″W / 45.9599306°N 60.8002861°W | Was last opened for marine traffic on December 30, 2014 remaining open for marine traffic since that date, no longer swings, Rail Traffic cannot cross. | Carrying the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway (CBNS). |
Hog's Back Bridge | Rideau Canal, Ottawa, Ontario | 45°22′11″N75°41′54″W / 45.36972°N 75.69833°W | Still swings, Vehicle Traffic | This bridge swings from one end. There is an adjacent fixed bridge over Hog's Back Falls |
Iron Bridge | Third Welland Canal, Thorold, Ontario | 43°08′15″N79°10′38″W / 43.13750°N 79.17722°W | No longer swings, Rail Traffic | Carrying the CNR Grimsby Subdivision over the third Welland Canal. |
Kaministiquia River Swing Bridge | Kaministiquia River, Thunder Bay, Ontario | 48°21′31″N89°17′15″W / 48.35861°N 89.28750°W | No longer swings. Road and rail traffic only. Currently closed due to 29 October 2013 fire [1] | Built in 1908 by Grand Trunk Railway; currently owned by the CNR |
Little Current Swing Bridge | North Channel, Little Current, Ontario | 45°58′48″N81°54′50″W / 45.98000°N 81.91389°W | Still swings, Vehicle Traffic (formerly rail) | Built by Algoma Eastern Railway, 1913 |
Montrose Swing Bridge | Welland River, Niagara Falls, Ontario | 43°02′45″N79°07′11″W / 43.04583°N 79.11972°W | No longer swings, Rail Traffic | Formerly Canada Southern Railway, now CPR |
Moray Bridge | Middle Arm of the Fraser River, Richmond, British Columbia | 49°11′30″N123°08′13″W / 49.19167°N 123.13694°W | Still swings; Eastbound Vehicle Traffic | Connects Sea Island, Richmond, BC (location of Vancouver International Airport) to Lulu Island, Richmond, BC |
New Westminster Bridge | Fraser River, British Columbia | 49°12′29″N122°53′38″W / 49.20806°N 122.89389°W | Still swings, Rail Traffic, formerly had 2nd deck for vehicles | Between New Westminster and Surrey. |
Pitt River Bridge | Pitt River, British Columbia | 49°14′52″N122°43′44″W / 49.24778°N 122.72889°W | No longer swings, Vehicle Traffic | Twin side-by-side bridges connecting Port Coquitlam, British Columbia to Pitt Meadows, British Columbia |
Pitt River Railway Bridge | Pitt River, British Columbia | 49°14′42″N122°44′01″W / 49.24500°N 122.73361°W | Still swings – Rail Traffic | (Please Contribute) |
Wasauksing (Rose Point) Swing Bridge | South Channel, Georgian Bay, near Parry Sound, Ontario | 45°18′54″N80°2′40″W / 45.31500°N 80.04444°W | Still swings, Vehicle Traffic (formerly rail) | Links Wasauksing First Nation (Parry Island) to the mainland at Rose Point |
Welland Canal, Bridge 15 | Welland Recreational Waterway, Welland, Ontario | 42°58′37″N79°15′21″W / 42.97694°N 79.25583°W | No longer swings, Rail Traffic | Built by Canada Southern Railway, c. 1910. Now operated by Trillium Railway |
Welland Canal, Bridge 20 Approach Span | 2nd and 3rd Welland Canal, Port Colborne, Ontario | 42°53′14″N79°14′58″W / 42.88722°N 79.24944°W | No longer swings, Abandoned (formerly rail) | Abandoned 1998 when adjacent Vertical-lift bridge was dismantled. |
Bergen Cut-off Bridge | Red River, Winnipeg, Manitoba | 49°56′49″N97°5′53″W / 49.94694°N 97.09806°W | Centre span permanently in open position, allowing unrestricted river traffic | Decommissioned CPR railway bridge (last used in 1946) Superstructure built by Dominion Bridge Co. 1913–1914 |
Pont CN-Du port | Lachine Canal, Montreal, Quebec | 45°29′24.9″N73°33′26.1″W / 45.490250°N 73.557250°W | No longer swings. | Abandoned CN railway swing bridge in the middle of Lachine Canal. Constructed in 1912 by the Dominion Bridge Company for the Grand Trunk Railway company. [2] The pivot system and the cockpit are still in place, but the bridge has not been operational since the late 1960s. [3] |
Many inner cities have swing bridges, since these require less street space than other types of bridges.
(A "swing bridge" in New Zealand refers to a flexible walking track bridge which "swings" as you walk across.) [9]
In the UK, there is a legal definition in current statute as to what is, or is not a 'swing bridge' [12]
The largest double swing-span bridge in the United States is the 3,250 feet (990 m) long, 450 feet (140 m) navigable span, 60 feet (18 m) clearance George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge. [15]
Omaha NE Turn Style Bridge is now a historical landmark. Located 86H674H5+98 Used for rail transport. Connecting Council Bluffs, Iowa to downtown Omaha, Nebraska
A bridge to nowhere is a bridge where one or both ends are broken, incomplete, or unconnected to any roads. If it is an overpass or an interchange, the term overpass to nowhere or interchange to nowhere may be used respectively.
The 14th Street bridges refers to the three bridges near each other that cross the Potomac River, connecting Arlington, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Sometimes the two nearby rail bridges are included as part of the 14th Street bridge complex. A major gateway for automotive, bicycle and rail traffic, the bridge complex is named for 14th Street, which feeds automotive traffic into it on the D.C. end.
The Seven Mile Bridge is a bridge in the Florida Keys, in Monroe County, Florida, United States. It connects Knight's Key in the Middle Keys to Little Duck Key in the Lower Keys. Among the longest bridges in existence when it was built, it is part of the Overseas Highway in the Keys, which is part of the 2,369-mile (3,813 km) U.S. Route 1.
A moveable bridge, or movable bridge, is a bridge that moves to allow passage for boats or barges. In American English, the term is synonymous with drawbridge, and the latter is the common term, but drawbridge can be limited to the narrower, historical definition used in some other forms of English, in which drawbridge refers to only a specific type of moveable bridge often found in castles.
The International Railway Bridge is a two-span swing bridge carrying the Stamford Subdivision of the Canadian National Railway across the Niagara River between Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada, and Buffalo, New York, United States. It was originally built in 1873 for the International Bridge Company by Casimir Stanislaus Gzowski and D.L. MacPherson.
The Quincy Rail Bridge is a truss bridge that carries a rail line across the Mississippi River between West Quincy, Missouri, and Quincy, Illinois, USA. It was originally constructed in 1868 for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, a predecessor of BNSF Railway.
The University Heights Bridge is a steel-truss revolving swing bridge across the Harlem River in New York City. It connects West 207th Street in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan with West Fordham Road in the University Heights neighborhood of the Bronx. The bridge is operated and maintained by the New York City Department of Transportation.
The Government Bridge or Arsenal Bridge spans the Mississippi River, connecting Rock Island, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa. The Iowa Interstate Railroad uses the upper deck of the bridge for its ex-Chicago and Rock Island Railroad route between Council Bluffs, Iowa and Chicago, Illinois. The lower deck carries automobile traffic between the two cities. It is located near Upper Mississippi Mile Marker 483, adjacent to the Mississippi River Lock and Dam No. 15. The current structure is the fourth at this location. The bridges all were built with a swing section to accommodate traffic navigating the river.
The Schuylkill River Trail is a multi-use trail along the banks of the Schuylkill River in southeastern Pennsylvania. Partially complete as of 2018, the trail is ultimately planned to run about 140 miles (230 km) from the river's headwaters in Schuylkill County to Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia.
Transportation in New York is made up of some of the most extensive and one of the oldest transportation infrastructures in the country. Engineering difficulties because of the terrain of the State of New York and the unique issues of New York City brought on by urban crowding have had to be overcome since the state was young. Population expansion of the state generally followed the path of the early waterways, first the Hudson River and then the Erie Canal. Today, railroad lines and the New York State Thruway follow the same general route.
The Chicago and North Western Railway's Kinzie Street railroad bridge is a single leaf bascule bridge across the north branch of the Chicago River in downtown Chicago, Illinois. At the time of its opening in 1908 it was the world's longest and heaviest bascule bridge. The previous bridges on the same site included a pedestrian span that was the first bridge across the Chicago River; a second bridge that served as Chicago's first railroad bridge; and a third bridge that was one of the first all-steel spans in the United States.
The Cherry Avenue Bridge is an asymmetric bob-tail swing bridge in Chicago, Illinois, that carries the Chicago Terminal Railroad, pedestrians, and cyclists across the North Branch Canal of the Chicago River. It was constructed in 1901–02 by the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway, and it is a rare example of this type of bridge; it was designated a Chicago Landmark on December 12, 2007.
Barton Road Swing Bridge is a swing bridge for road traffic in Greater Manchester that crosses the Manchester Ship Canal between Trafford Park in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford to Barton-upon-Irwell in the City of Salford. The bridge is a Grade II* listed building, and is part of a surrounding conservation area. It runs parallel to the Barton Swing Aqueduct which carries the Bridgewater Canal. The bridge opens regularly for traffic along the Manchester Ship Canal, which can cause delays for road traffic.
The Illinois Central Missouri River Bridge, also known as the IC Bridge or the East Omaha Bridge, is a rail through truss double swing bridge across the Missouri River connecting Council Bluffs, Iowa, with Omaha, Nebraska. It is owned by the Canadian National Railway and is closed to all traffic. At 521 feet long, the second version of the bridge was the longest swing bridge in the world from when it was completed in 1903 through 1915. In 1975 it was regarded as the third longest swing bridge.
U.S. Highway 136 (US 136) is a short U.S. Highway in Keokuk, Iowa. The route was designated nationally in 1951 and has remained largely unchanged through Keokuk since then. The highway originally crossed the Mississippi on the Keokuk Rail Bridge, which was the second bridge built and operated by Andrew Carnegie's Keokuk & Hamilton Bridge Company in that location. While it was designed for wagons and early automobiles, crossing the rail bridge became difficult in larger modern vehicles, specifically semi trucks. As a result, a new automobile-only bridge was built directly to the south of the older span. The Keokuk–Hamilton Bridge opened in 1985 eight months early and under budget.
Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Bridge No. 1 was a swing steel through truss that spanned the Schuylkill River between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's Kingsessing and Grays Ferry neighborhoods.