Vertical-lift bridge
 | |
| Ancestor | Truss bridge, |
|---|---|
| Related | Bascule bridge, swing bridge, folding bridge, retractable bridge |
| Descendant | Submersible bridge, table bridge |
| Carries | Automobile, pedestrians, truck, light rail, heavy rail |
| Span range | Short |
| Material | Steel |
| Movable | Yes |
| Design effort | medium |
| Falsework required | Depends upon degree of prefabrication |
A vertical lift bridge or lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck.
The vertical lift offers several benefits over other movable bridges such as the bascule and swing span bridge. Generally speaking they cost less to build for longer moveable spans.[1] The counterweights in a vertical lift are only required to be equal to the weight of the deck, whereas bascule bridge counterweights must weigh several times as much as the span being lifted. As a result, heavier materials can be used in the deck, and so this type of bridge is especially suited for heavy railroad use.
Although most vertical lift bridges use towers, each equipped with counterweights, some use hydraulic jacks located below the deck. An example is the 16m span bridge at St Paul Avenue in Milwaukee[2] (see also table bridges). Another design used balance beams to lift the deck, with pivoting bascules located on the top of the lift towers.[3] An example of this kind was built at La Salle in Illinois, USA.
The biggest disadvantage to the vertical lift bridge (in comparison with many other designs) is the height restriction for vessels passing under it. This is a result of the deck remaining suspended above the passageway.
-
A lift bridge over the Erie Canal at Lockport... -
...elevates at both ends... -
...and nears its upward position. Pedestrians may cross when it is up using stairways.
Examples
Australia
- Ryde Bridge - road - Ryde, New South Wales - opened 1935, now permanently lowered
- Port Adelaide - rail - opened 2008
- Bridgewater Bridge - road & rail - Bridgewater, Tasmania - opened
- Clyde River Bridge - road - Batemans Bay, New South Wales - opened 1956
- Hobart Bridge - road - Hobart, Tasmania - opened 1943, closed 1964 and demolished afterwards
Canada
- Bridges 5 (Glendale Avenue Bridge), 11 (Allanburg Bridge) and 21 (Clarence Street Bridge) on the Welland Canal, all built during the late 1920s as part of the Fourth Canal expansion project (1913-1932). In addition, there are also Bridges 13 (Main Street Bridge), 17 (Dain City Railway Bridge) and 18 (Forks Road Bridge) on the Welland Recreational Waterway (a former channel of the Welland Canal). However, these bridges have not been operational since 1973. Bridges 13 and 18 have had their counterweights removed while the machinery for Bridge 17 has been dismantled. In addition, Bridge 18 no longer possesses its towers; they were removed for ease of maintenance.
- Burlington Lift Bridge, over the Burlington Canal, Burlington, Ontario. Information is available from Transport Canada
- Pretoria Bridge over the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, Ontario
- Selkirk Lift Bridge over the Red River in Selkirk, Manitoba
- Victoria Bridge over the Saint Lawrence River connecting Saint-Lambert and Montreal, Quebec.
- Second Narrows Bridge Vancouver, BC over Burrard Inlet (rail bridge).
- Okanagan Lake Bridge in Kelowna, BC across Okanagan Lake - replaced in 2008.
- Shippagan Bridge Shippagan, NB over Shippagan Bay.
France
- Pont Gustave-Flaubert - Crossing the Seine at Rouen this lift bridge is the highest lift bridge in Europe, allowing ships up to 55 m tall to pass under it. It is 670 m long, with a span of 116 m. A striking design feature, the two road sections are mounted outside the central towers. The bridge was designed by François Gillard and Aymeric Zublena and opened to road traffic on 25 September 2008. It is named after the author Gustave Flaubert who was born in Rouen.[4]
- Pont de Recouvrance - Over the Penfeld in Brest giving access to the military arsenal.
- Pont Levant de Crimée - Over the Ourcq Canal, the last surviving lift bridge in Paris
Indonesia
- Jembatan Ampera (Ampera Bridge) - an automobile lift bridge located in Palembang that cross the Musi River. This bridge is still used by road vehicles but it never lift its road deck again.
Japan
- Chikugo River Lift Bridge - connecting Ōkawa, Fukuoka and Saga, Saga. Constructed as a railway bridge in 1935, it is 507 m long, with a central span 24 m long that weighs 48 t and rises 23 m. The railway closed in 1987, but the bridge reopened to pedestrians in 1996 and was designated an important cultural property in 2003.[5]
The Netherlands
- Gouwe - three identical lift bridges crossing the Gouwe river at Alphen aan den Rijn, Boskoop and Waddinxveen, built in 1930.
United States
- Aerial Lift Bridge - An automobile bridge in Duluth, Minnesota which began life as an aerial transfer or ferry bridge.
- Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge - Connecting Elizabeth, New Jersey, and Staten Island, New York; at 170 m span, the longest in the world.
- ASB Bridge - A bridge that handled both trains and cars on two decks over the Missouri River in Kansas City, Missouri.
- Burlington-Bristol Bridge - A two-lane bridge over the Delaware River, joining Bristol, Pennsylvania with Burlington, New Jersey between Philadelphia and New York City.
- Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge - A single-track railroad bridge over the Cape Cod Canal in Bourne, Massachusetts.
- Cape Fear Memorial Bridge - A four-lane bridge over the Cape Fear River that joins Wilmington and Brunswick County, North Carolina.
- Chesapeake & Delaware Canal Lift Bridge - A single-track railroad bridge over the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal in Delaware that was built in 1966 for the Pennsylvania Railroad and replaced an earlier structure when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers widened the canal in the mid-1960s. It is the only bridge of its type along the canal, with earlier highway lift or swing bridges being replaced by high-level crossings.
- Claiborne Avenue Bridge - A four lane bridge over the ICWW carrying LA 39 in New Orleans
- Conrail Bridge - A single track railroad bridge over the mouth of the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, one of nine railroad and automobile lift bridges, and three bascule bridges, allowing ore boats to service the Flats.
- Danziger Bridge - The world's widest vertical lift movable bridge, at seven lanes, over the ICWW in New Orleans
- Green Island Bridge - Opened in 1981, its span is a simply supported plate girder bridge supported by a cross member
- Hastings Rail Bridge - A single track railroad bridge at Hastings, Minnesota over the Mississippi River
- Hawthorne Bridge - A four lane bridge over the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. Opened in 1910, it is the oldest operating vertical lift bridge in the United States.[6]
- Interstate Bridge - Carries Interstate 5 traffic over the Columbia River between Vancouver, Washington, and Portland, Oregon.
- Main Street Bridge - A four-lane bridge over the St. Johns River in downtown Jacksonville, Florida.
- Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge - Crosses Rockaway Inlet between Brooklyn and Queens, New York; designed in 1937 by David Steinman.
- Murray Morgan Bridge - Steel lift bridge in Tacoma, Washington. Notable for its height above water, sloping span and overhead span to carry a water pipe. Closed October 23rd, 2007.
- Park Avenue Bridge - New York City bridge with a 160-metre (520 ft) span, which replaced a swing bridge in 1960.
- Portage Lake Lift Bridge - A bridge which connects the Michigan cities of Hancock and Houghton
- Sarah Mildred Long Bridge and Memorial Bridge - Two lift bridges (out of 3 bridges) over the Piscataqua River between Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Kittery, Maine.
- Stillwater Bridge - A highway bridge that joins Stillwater, Minnesota with Houlton, Wisconsin over the St. Croix River.
- St. Paul Union Pacific Vertical-lift Rail Bridge - A single-track railroad bridge in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota over the Mississippi River.
- Steel Bridge - A double-lift bridge in Portland, Oregon over the Willamette River. Its bottom deck carries railroad tracks and a bike lane and can be lifted independently of the upper deck with a road and light rail tracks. It is the only double-deck bridge with independent lifts in the world.[7]
- Tower Bridge - A four-lane bridge over the Sacramento River connecting Sacramento and West Sacramento, California.
- Torrence Avenue (Chicago, IL) & 4 Railroad bridges along Calumet Shipping Canal
United Kingdom
- Kingsferry Bridge - built in Kent in 1960.
- Turnbridge Lift Bridge - highly unusual bridge at Turnbridge in Huddersfield.
- Salford Quays lift bridge - carries pedestrians across the Manchester Ship Canal.
- Tees Newport Bridge - 82m span, first major lift bridge in the UK.
Gallery of images
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One of the vertical lift bridges over the Gouwe River. It was built in 1930. -
ASB Bridge in Kansas City, Missouri. -
The Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge is the largest in the world.
See also
- Movable bridge for a list of other movable bridge types
- Table bridge for a vertical lift bridge without visible lifting means
- Submersible bridge for a similar disappearing bridge
References
- ^ Troyano, Leonardo Fernandez: "Bridge Engineering: A Global Perspective", Thomas Telford Publishing, 2003, p. 731
- ^ op. cit., p. 729
- ^ op. cit., p. 732
- ^ "6th bridge at Rouen: Pont Gustave Flaubert". Retrieved 2009-06-06.
- ^ Nihon Keizai Shimbun Evening edition 8 Dec 2008 p.1
- ^ "Regional Traffic Report". Portland Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2006-11-05.
- ^ "Willamette River (Steel) Bridge" (DOC). Portland Bridges. Oregon Department of Transportation. 1999. Retrieved 2007-08-25.