Swing bridge.html

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For New Zealand's wire tramping bridges referred by the same name, see Simple suspension 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 yacht 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.

For a symmetrical bridge the central pier forms a hazard to navigation. Asymmetrical bridges may place the pivot near one side of the channel.
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.

Belize

Belize City Swing Bridge, Belize City (oldest such bridge in Central America, restored in 2000's)

Canada

Bridge Name	Waterway	Co-ordinates	Status	Comments
Canso Canal Bridge	Canso Canal, Nova Scotia	45°38′50″N 61°24′45″W / 45.64722, -61.4125 (Canso Swing Bridge)	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 / 49.18583, -122.93194 (Derwent Way Bridge)	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 / 45.36972, -75.69833 (Hog's Back Bridge)	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 / 43.1375, -79.17722 (Iron Bridge)	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 / 48.35861, -89.2875 (Kaministiquia River Swing Bridge)	(Please Contribute)
Little Current Swing Bridge	North Channel, Little Current, Ontario	45°58′48″N 81°54′50″W / 45.98, -81.91389 (Little Current Swing Bridge)	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 / 43.04583, -79.11972 (Montrose Swing Bridge)	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 / 49.19167, -123.13694 (Moray Bridge)	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 / 49.20806, -122.89389 (New Westminster Bridge)	Still swings, Rail Traffic	Between New Westminster and Surrey.
Pitt River Bridge	Pitt River, British Columbia	49°14′52″N 122°43′44″W / 49.24778, -122.72889 (Pitt River Bridge)	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 / 49.245, -122.73361 (Pitt River Bridge)	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 / 45.315, -80.04444 (Wasauksing Swing Bridge)	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 / 42.97694, -79.25583 (Welland Canal, Bridge 15)	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 / 42.88722, -79.24944 (Welland Canal, Bridge 20 approach)	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 / 52.0015861, 4.3639167

Poira-Corjuem Bridge, Goa.

India

Garden Reach Road Swing Bridge, for Calcutta Port, Kidderpore, Kolkata^{citation needed}
Poira-Corjuem Bridge, for GSIDC, Corjuem, Goa by Rajdeep Buildcon Pvt. Ltd.^{citation needed}

Ireland

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

Italy

Ponte Girevole, Taranto

Latvia

Kalpaka Tilts, Liepāja, connecting the city with the former Russian/Soviet port Karosta. The bridge is temporary not operating after a ship rammed part of the construction.

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.
Samuel Beckett Bridge, Dublin, Ireland (under construction)
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