Swing bridge

Swing bridge

Ancestor	Truss bridge, cantilever bridge
Related	Other moving types: Bascule bridge, drawbridge, jetway, 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 is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring at or near to its center, about which the turning span can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration below. Small swing bridges as found over canals may be pivoted only at one end, opening as would a gate, but require substantial underground structure to support the pivot.

In its closed position, a swing bridge carrying a road over a river or canal, for example, allows road 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 approximately 90 degrees horizontally about its pivot point.

Advantages

Swing Bridge for pedestrians, in motion with ferry approaching, at Victoria & Alfred Waterfront.

• As this type requires no counterweights the complete weight is significantly reduced as compared to other moveable bridges.
• Where sufficient channel is available to have individual traffic directions on each side the likelihood of vessel-to-vessel collisions is reduced.
• The central support is often mounted upon a berm along the axis of the watercourse, intended to protect the bridge from watercraft collisions when it is opened. This artificial island forms an excellent construction area for building the movable span as the construction will not impede channel traffic.

Disadvantages

Government Bridge across the Mississippi has a swing section for river traffic traversing Lock and Dam 15.

• The central pier forms a hazard to navigation.
• Where a wide channel is not available a large portion of the bridge may be over an area that would be easily spanned by other means.
• A wide channel will be reduced by the center pivot and foundation.
• When open, the bridge will have to maintain its own weight as a balanced double cantilever, while when closed and in use for traffic the live loads will be distributed as in a pair of conventional truss bridges, which may require additional stiffness in some members whose loading will be alternately in compression or tension.
• If struck from the water near the edge of the span, it may rotate enough to cause safety problems (cf. Big Bayou Canot train disaster).

Examples

Pyrmont Bridge, Sydney.

Argentina

• Puente de la Mujer, an asymmetrical cable-stayed span.

Australia

• Pyrmont Bridge, Sydney, Australia. (opened 1902. Closed to traffic, 1988. Still in use as pedestrian and monorail bridge.)
• Glebe Island Bridge, Sydney, Australia. (Opened 1901. Closed to traffic, 1995; supplanted by Anzac Bridge. Still in existence.)
• Victoria Bridge,Townsville, Queensland, Australia.(Opened 1914 est. still in use as a foot bridge.)
• The Sale Swing Bridge, Sale, Victoria, Australia. (Opened 1883. Closed to traffic in 2002. Restored to full working order in 2006.)
• Dunalley Bridge, Dunalley, Tasmania Still in use.

Canada

Bridge Name	Waterway	Co-ordinates	Status	Comments
Canso Canal Bridge	Canso Canal, Nova Scotia	45°38′50″N 61°24′45″W	Still swings, Vehicle/Rail Traffic	Links Nova Scotia mainland with Cape Breton Island
Derwent Way Bridge	Fraser River, British Columbia	49°11′09″N 122°55′55″W	Still swings, Vehicle/Rail Traffic	Between Queensborough in New Westminster, British Columbia and Annacis Island in Delta, British Columbia
Hog's Back Bridge	Rideau Canal, Ottawa, Ontario	45°22′11″N 75°41′54″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″N 79°10′38″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″N 89°17′15″W	(Please Contribute)
Little Current Swing Bridge	North Channel, Little Current, Ontario	45°58′48″N 81°54′50″W	Still swings, Vehicle Traffic (formerly rail)	Built by Algoma Eastern Railway, 1913
Montrose Swing Bridge	Welland River, Niagara Falls, Ontario	43°02′45″N 79°07′11″W	No longer swings, Rail Traffic	Formerly Canada Southern Railway, now CPR
Moray Bridge	A branch of the Fraser River, Richmond, British Columbia	49°11′30″N 123°08′13″W	Still swings?, Vehicle Traffic	Connects between Richmond, British Columbia and Vancouver International Airporton Sea Island
New Westminster Bridge	Fraser River, British Columbia	49°12′29″N 122°53′38″W	Still swings, Rail Traffic	Between New Westminster and Surrey.
Pitt River Bridge	Pitt River, British Columbia	49°14′52″N 122°43′44″W	Still 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″N 122°44′01″W	Still swings - Rail Traffic	(Please Contribute)
Wasauksing (Rose Point) Swing Bridge	South Channel, Georgian Bay, near Parry Sound, Ontario	45°18′54″N 80°2′40″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″N 79°15′21″W	No longer swings, Rail Traffic	Built by Canada Southern Railway, ca. 1910. Now operated by Trillium Railway
Welland Canal, Bridge 20 Approach Span	2nd and 3rd Welland Canal, Port Colborne, Ontario	42°53′14″N 79°14′58″W	No longer swings, Abandoned (formerly rail)	Abandoned 1998 when adjacent Vertical lift bridge was dismantled.

Egypt

• The longest swing bridge span is 340 metres, by the El Ferdan Railway Bridge across the Suez Canal.

France

• Le pont tournant rue Dieu, across the Canal Saint-Martin in Paris, is a distinctive location in the 1938 film Hôtel du Nord, and is featured in the opening shot of the film.

Germany

• Kaiser-Wilhelm-Brücke in Wilhelmshaven, built in 1907, with the length of 159m, it was once Europe's biggest swing bridge

The Netherlands

Abtsewoudsebrug in Delft, close the Technische Universiteit Delft, is a bridge of this type. 52°0′5.71″N 4°21′50.10″E

India

• Garden Reach Road Swing Bridge, For Calcutta Port, Kidderpore, Kolkata
• Poira -Corjuem Bridge,for GSIDC,Corjuem,Goa by Rajdeep Buildcon Pvt. Ltd.

Ireland

• Seán O'Casey Bridge, Dublin, Ireland
• Michael Davitt Bridge, Co. Mayo, Ireland
• Portumna Bridge,Portumna, Co. Galway, Ireland

Italy

• Ponte Girevole, Taranto

New Zealand

• Kopu Bridge, Waihou River, near Thames, New Zealand

United Kingdom

Traffic crossing the Northwich Road swing bridge on the Manchester Ship Canal at Stockton Heath, Warrington

Sulhamstead Tyle Mill swing bridge on the Kennet & Avon Canal - road traffic.

Sulhamstead Tyle Mill swing bridge - opening.

Sulhamstead Tyle Mill swing bridge - canal traffic.

• Boothferry swing bridge at Boothferry, Yorkshire (see article for image)
• Connaught Crossing in London Docklands, built as a low-rising swing bridge to allow marine traffic in the Royal Docks to pass at a place when the proximity of London City Airport meant a higher fixed bridge was not practicable.

• Manchester Ship Canal at Latchford, Stockton Heath and Lower Walton in Warrington, and also slightly further west at Moore. Near the eastern end of the canal in Salford, the Barton swing bridge is adjacent to the Barton Swing Aqueduct - a 234-foot, 800-tonne trough holding some 800 tonnes of water (retained by gates at either end) swings so that it is at right angles to the Bridgewater Canal to allow ships to pass up the Ship Canal.

• Swing Bridge, River Tyne at Newcastle Upon Tyne. The Tyne swing bridge has an 85.7 metre cantilevered span with a central axis of rotation able to move through 90° to allow vessels to pass on either side of it.

• Trowse Bridge at Norwich. Carries the electrified Great Eastern Main Line over the River Yare. It is the only overhead electrified swing bridge in the country.

• Barmouth Bridge - rail
• Beccles swing bridge - rail
• Bethells Swing Bridge
• Goole swing bridge - rail
• Hawarden Railway Bridge - rail (now deactivated).
• Leeds and Liverpool Canal Has a large number of swing bridges, especially between Bingley and Skipton and Burscough and Liverpool. Many are manually operated, carrying only farm tracks, but a significant number carry road traffic and are mechanised for boater operation.
• Kennet and Avon Canal at Sulhamstead, Berkshire
• Oulton Broad swing bridge - rail
• Reedham swing bridge - rail
• Selby swing bridge - rail
• Somerleyton swing bridge
• Sutton Bridge swing bridge
• Caernarfon swing bridge

United States

A swing brige near Belle Glade, Florida.

• Bridgeport Swing Bridge, Bridgeport, Alabama (demolished in late 1970s, replaced with new span)
• Bridge No. 1397, Route 156 over the Niantic River, East Lyme, Connecticut-Waterford, Connecticut (1921 steel swing bridge)
• Bridge No. 4455, Central Avenue over Lewis Gut, Bridgeport, Connecticut (1924 steel swing bridge)
• Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad Bridge crossing the Columbia River, Portland, OR
  • Google Maps image
• Curtis Creek Rail Bridge, Baltimore, Maryland
  • Google Maps image
• Center Street Bridge, Cleveland, Ohio (1901)
• Chef Menteur Bridge, near Slidell, Louisiana
• East Haddam Bridge, Route 82 over the Connecticut River, East Haddam, Connecticut (1913)
• Fort Madison Toll Bridge
• Fort Pike Bridge, near Slidell, Louisiana and New Orleans, Louisiana
• Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, Washington, DC
• Figure Eight Island Bridge, North of Wilmington, North Carolina
• Government Bridge on the Mississippi River between Davenport, Iowa and Rock Island, Illinois (1896)
• Grand Haven GTW RR Swing Bridge Connecting Grand Haven & Ferrysburg, MI
  • [1]
• Grosse Ile Toll Bridge and nearby Wayne County Bridge, Grosse Ile, Michigan
• I Street Bridge, Sacramento, California
• Livingston Avenue Bridge, Albany, New York
• Middle Branch of Patapsco River Rail Bridge, near Camden Yards, Baltimore, Maryland
  • Google Maps image
• Mathers Bridge, Connecting Merritt Island, Florida to Indian Harbour Beach, Florida across the Banana River
• New Richmond Swing Bridge, near Fennville, Michigan
• Norfolk Southern Railway (former Conrail) Bridge crossing the Maumee River, Toledo, Ohio
  • Google Maps image
  • RailPictures.Net Photo
• The 2,800 ft Norfolk Southern Railway Bridge crossing the Ocmulgee River in Lumber City, Georgia built 1916. "Note- Electrical Swing Components Removed"
• North Fork New River Bridge, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
• Northern Avenue Bridge over Fort Point Channel in Boston, Massachusetts (1908 steel truss)
• Omaha Road Bridge Number 15, an asymmetrical single track railroad bridge over the Mississippi River between Saint Paul, Minnesota and Lilydale, Minnesota (1916)
• Pennsylvania Railroad's Shellpot Branch over Christina River in Wilmington, Delaware (original two-track bridge replaced with a single track bridge in 2003)
• Pennsylvania Railroad's South Philadelphia Branch over Schuylkill River
• Providence & Worcester railroad bridge, Middletown, Connecticut
• Riverside-Delanco Bridge over Rancocas Creek in New Jersey
• Saugatuck River Bridge (Bridge No. 1349), Route 136 over the Saugatuck River, Westport, Connecticut (1884 iron-truss swing bridge)
• Spokane Street Bridge over the Duwamish Waterway in Seattle, Washington (1991 reinforced concrete double swing span)
• St. Joseph Swing Bridge over the St. Joseph River, St. Joseph, Michigan (1904)
  • Railroadfan.com Photo
• Surf City Bridge Surf City, NC
• Union Pacific Railroad (former CNW) Bridge crossing the Mississippi River, Clinton, Iowa
  • RailPictures.net Photo (1 of 2)
  • RailPictures.net Photo (2 of 2)
• Seven bridges over the Harlem River in New York City, including from south to north:
  • Willis Avenue Bridge
  • Third Avenue Bridge (Manhattan)
  • Madison Avenue Bridge
  • 145th Street Bridge
  • Macombs Dam Bridge
  • University Heights Bridge
  • Spuyten Duyvil Bridge

See also

• Movable bridge for a list of other movable bridge types

External link

• Video of manually operated railroad swing bridge over the Lewes & Rehoboth Canal, Lewes, Delaware, 2008