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A movable bridge is a bridge that moves to allow
passage for boats and ships. An advantage of making bridges moveable is
the lower cost, due to the absence of high piers and long approaches.
The principal disadvantage is that the traffic on the bridge must be
halted when it is opened for passage.
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Gateshead Millennium Bridge
The Gateshead Millennium Bridge is a pedestrian and cyclist tilt bridge
spanning the River Tyne in England between Gateshead’s Quays arts
quarter on the south bank, and the Quayside of Newcastle upon Tyne on
the north bank. The award-winning structure was conceived and designed
by architects Wilkinson Eyre and structural engineers Gifford. The
bridge is sometimes referred to as the ‘Blinking Eye Bridge or the
‘Winking Eye Bridge due to its shape and its tilting method. In terms of
height, the Gateshead Millennium Bridge is slightly shorter than the
neighbouring Tyne Bridge, and stands as the sixteenth tallest structure
in the city. |
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Slauerhoffbrug, Netherlands
The Slauerhoffbrug is a fully automatic bascule bridge (aka tail bridge)
in the city of Leeuwarden in the Netherlands. It uses two arms to swing
a section of road in and out of place within the road itself. It is also
known as the “Slauerhoffbrug ‘Flying’ Drawbridge”. A tail bridge can
quickly and efficiently be raised and lowered from one pylon (instead of
hinges). This quickly allows water traffic to pass while only briefly
stalling road traffic. The deck is 15 m by 15 m. It is painted in yellow
and blue, representative of Leeuwarden’s flag and seal. Slauerhoffbrug
is perhaps named after J.J. Slauerhoff, the famous Leeuwarder, Dutch
poet. |
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Pont Jacques Chaban-Delmas, France
The Pont Jacques Chaban-Delmas is a vertical-lift bridge over the
Garonne in Bordeaux, France. It was inaugurated on 16 March 2013 by
President François Hollande and Alain Juppé, mayor of Bordeaux. Its main
span is 110 m (361 ft) long. As of 2013, it is the longest vertical-lift
bridge in Europe. It is named in honour of Jacques Chaban-Delmas, a
former Prime Minister of France and a former mayor of Bordeaux. |
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Vizcaya Bridge, Spain
The Vizcaya Bridge, is a transporter bridge that links the towns of
Portugalete and Las Arenas in the Biscay province of Spain, crossing the
mouth of the Ibaizabal River. People in the area, and even the official
website, commonly call it the Puente Colgante, although its structure is
quite different from a suspension bridge. |
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Puente de la Mujer, Argentina
Puente de la Mujer is a rotating footbridge for Dock 3 of the Puerto
Madero commercial district of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is of the
Cantilever spar cable-stayed bridge type and is also a swing bridge, but
somewhat unusual in its asymmetrical arrangement. It has a single mast
with cables suspending a portion of the bridge which rotates 90 degrees
in order to allow water traffic to pass. When it swings to allow
watercraft passage, the far end comes to a resting point on a
stabilizing pylon.
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River Hull Footbridge, UK
The steel River Hull Footbridge (also called Scale Lane Bridge) is the
world’s first footbridge that rotates to open or close for river traffic
while pedestrians are still on it. The beautiful prefab structure
designed by London-based McDowell+Benedetti spans the River Hull in
Yorkshire and takes about two minutes to fully open or close. It
connects the city center (Hull) with the eastern development, acting as
both an important infrastructural urban element and a new civic
landmark. The footbridge is approximately 16 meters (52.5ft) in diameter
and features a series of wheels running on a circular track below the
hub that allows it to open and close – depending on the amount of river
traffic. A full sequence takes about two minutes and moves very slowly
at a speed lower than that of the London Eye. Pedestrians and bikers can
stay on it while it rotates and experience the river from a whole new
perspective.
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Hörn Bridge, Germany
The Hörn Bridgeis a folding bridge in the city of Kiel in the German
state of Schleswig-Holstein. The bridge spans over the end of the Kiel
Fjord and was designed by Gerkan, Marg and Partners. The Hörn Bridge is
a three-segment bascule bridge with a main span of 25.5 metres (84 ft)
that folds in the shape of the letter “N”. The bridge was built in 1997
and did cost DM 16 million.
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Foryd Harbour Bridge, UK
Foryd Harbour Cycle and Pedestrian Bridge is located in Rhyl – a seaside
resort town and community in Denbighshire, situated on the north east
coast of Wales, UK. The iconic structure provides a single leaf bascule
opening span over the navigable channel, giving unlimited clearance. To
balance the lift, the back-span also lifts mirroring its twin.
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Submersible Bridges at Corinth Canal, Greece
The Corinth Canal in Greece cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth
and separates the Peloponnesian peninsula from the Greek mainland,
connecting the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea.
Built between 1881 and 1893, the Corinth Canal is considered a great
technical achievement for its time. Although the canal saves the
700-kilometer (435mi) journey around the Peloponnese, it is too narrow
for modern ocean freighters, as it can only accommodate ships of a width
of up to 16.5 meters (54ft) and a draught of 7.3 meters (24ft).
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El Ferdan Railway Bridge, Egypt
The El Ferdan Railway Bridge is a swing bridge that spans the Suez Canal
near Ismailia, Egypt. It is the longest swing bridge in the world, with
a span of 1100 ft (340 m).
The first El Ferdan Railway Bridge over the Suez Canal was completed in
April 1918 for the Palestine Military Railway. It was considered a
hindrance to shipping so after the First World War it was removed.
During the Second World War a steel swing bridge was built in 1942 but
this was damaged by a steamship and removed in 1947. A double swing
bridge was completed in 1954 but the 1956 Israeli invasion of Sinai
severed rail traffic across the canal for a third time. A replacement
bridge was completed in 1963 which was destroyed in 1967 in the Six-Day
War by the Engineering General Ahmed Hamdy. The current bridge was
constructed in 2001.
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