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 Wheeling Suspension Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the main channel of the Ohio River at Wheeling, West Virginia. It was the largest suspension bridge in the world from 1849 until 1851. Charles Ellet Jr. designed it and supervised construction of what became the first bridge to span a major river west of the Appalachian mountains. It linked the eastern and western section of the National Road, and became especially strategically important during the American Civil War. Litigation in the United States Supreme Court concerning its obstruction of the new high steamboat smokestacks eventually cleared the way for other bridges, especially needed by expanding railroads. Because this bridge was designed during the horse-and-buggy era, 2-ton weight limits and vehicle separation requirements applied in later years until it was closed to automobile traffic in September 2019.
The Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway was a railroad in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Wheeling, West Virginia, areas. Originally built as the Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway, a Pittsburgh extension of George J. Gould's Wabash Railroad, the venture entered receivership in 1908 and the line was cut loose. An extension completed in 1931 connected it to the Western Maryland Railway at Connellsville, Pennsylvania, forming part of the Alphabet Route, a coalition of independent lines between the Northeastern United States and the Midwest. It was leased by the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1964 in conjunction with the N&W acquiring several other sections of the former Alphabet Route, but was leased to the new spinoff Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway in 1990, just months before the N&W was merged into the Norfolk Southern Railway.
The Walkway over the Hudson is a steel cantilever bridge spanning the Hudson River between Poughkeepsie, New York, on the east bank and Highland, New York, on the west bank. Built as a double track railroad bridge, it was completed on January 1, 1889, and formed part of the Maybrook Railroad Line of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.
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.
A continuous truss bridge is a truss bridge which extends without hinges or joints across three or more supports. A continuous truss bridge may use less material than a series of simple trusses because a continuous truss distributes live loads across all the spans; in a series of simple trusses, each truss must be capable of supporting the entire load.
The Bellaire Bridge or Interstate Bridge is a privately owned, closed cantilever truss toll bridge that spans the Ohio River between Benwood, West Virginia and Bellaire, Ohio. It provided a link for commuters between southern Ohio border towns and West Virginia steel mills from 1926 to 1991.
The Parkersburg Bridge crosses the Ohio River between Parkersburg, West Virginia, and Belpre, Ohio. Designed by Jacob Linville, the bridge has 46 spans: 25 deck plate girder, 14 deck truss, 6 through truss, and 1 through plate girder. 50,000 cubic yards (38,000 m3) of stone were used for the 53 piers. The bridge was constructed from May 1869 to January 1871 by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. At the time of its completion, the bridge was reportedly the longest in the world at 7,140 feet (2,180 m).
The West Philadelphia Elevated, also known as the High Line or Philadelphia High Line, is a railroad viaduct in the western part of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 8,140-foot (2,480 m) structure spans the railway lines of 30th Street Station, parallel to the main track of the station, in a north-south direction. The 1,045-foot (319 m) long approach made of brick arches is the longest brick bridge and probably even the longest brick building in the United States.
B & O Railroad Viaduct is a historic structure in Bellaire, Ohio, listed in the National Register of Historic Places on June 22, 1976.
The Housatonic River Railroad Bridge is a historic bridge carrying Metro-North Railroad's New Haven Line trackage across the lower Housatonic River in the U.S. state of Connecticut. The bridge is also used by Amtrak for its Northeast Corridor services. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, which also refers to the bridge as the Devon Bridge. It is also referred to as the Devon Railroad Bridge by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The Kettle Falls Bridges is the collective name for a pair of steel cantilever bridges carrying State Route 20/U.S. Route 395 and the Kettle Falls International Railway across the Columbia River at Kettle Falls, Washington. The south bridge carries motor vehicle traffic while the similar northern span is used for rail.
The Mianus River Railroad Bridge, also known as the Cos Cob Bridge, is a bascule drawbridge built in 1904 over the Mianus River, in Greenwich, Connecticut. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. The bridge carries the Northeast Corridor, the busiest rail line in the United States, both in terms of ridership and service frequency. It is operated by the Metro-North Railroad, successor to Conrail, Penn Central, and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, which erected it, and is owned by the Connecticut Department of Transportation.
The Jefferson Street Viaduct is an historic structure located in Ottumwa, Iowa, United States. The riveted Warren deck truss bridge was completed in 1936. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998 as a part of the Highway Bridges of Iowa MPS.
The Market Street Bridge is a suspension bridge connecting Market Street in Steubenville, Ohio and West Virginia Route 2 in Follansbee, West Virginia over the Ohio River. As a project of the Steubenville Bridge Company, it was constructed in 1905 by the Ohio Steel Erection Company, the framework was created by the Penn Bridge Company, and the original steel was done by Jones and Laughlin Steel Company and Bethlehem Steel. The bridge spans a length of 1,794 feet (547 m) with a width of 20.7 feet (6.3 m). As of 2002, the average daily traffic was estimated around 15,000 vehicles. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.
The Ross Booth Memorial Bridge, historically known as the Winfield Toll Bridge, also known as, is a historic three-span cantilever Warren Truss bridge located at Winfield and Red House, Putnam County, West Virginia. It was built in 1955, and spans the Kanawha River, carrying West Virginia Route 34. The cantilever through-truss consists of two anchor spans each 245 feet (75 m) in length and the main span 462 feet (141 m) in length between pier center lines. The main span consists of two 128-foot-4-inch (39.12 m) cantilever arms and a 205-foot-4-inch (62.59 m) suspended span.
The Goffstown Covered Railroad Bridge was a rare railroad covered bridge in Goffstown, New Hampshire. It was built in 1901 by the Boston and Maine Railroad, on the site of an earlier bridge built in 1850 by the New Hampshire Central Railroad, and carried its tracks across the Piscataquog River in the center of Goffstown. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. It was destroyed by arson in 1976, as would later be the case with the Hillsborough Railroad Bridge in 1985.
The Hillsborough Railroad Bridge was a historic covered railroad bridge spanning the Contoocook River in Hillsborough, New Hampshire. Built in 1903 by the Boston and Maine Railroad, it was destroyed by arson in 1985. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. At the time of its nomination it was one of six covered railroad bridges in the state; it and at least one other were destroyed by the actions of arsonists.
The Quechee Gorge Bridge is a historic bridge, carrying U.S. Route 4 (US 4) across Quechee Gorge, near the Quechee village of Hartford, Vermont. Built in 1911, it is Vermont's oldest surviving steel arch bridge. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
The Jeffersonville Bridge is a steel girder bridge carrying Vermont Route 108 across the Lamoille River, just north of the village of Jeffersonville, Vermont. It was built in 2014, replacing a Parker through truss bridge built in 1931; the latter bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
