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A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a that can be rotated horizontally around a vertical axis. It has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right.

In its closed position, a swing bridge carrying a road or railway over a river or , for example, allows 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 horizontally about its pivot point. The typical swing bridge will rotate approximately 90 degrees, or one-quarter turn; however, a bridge which intersects the navigation channel at an oblique angle may be built to rotate only 45 degrees, or one-eighth turn, in order to clear the channel. Small swing bridges as found over narrow canals may be pivoted only at one end, opening as would a gate, but require substantial underground structure to support the pivot.


Advantages
  • As this type requires no counterweights, the complete weight is significantly reduced as compared to other moveable bridges.
  • Where the channel is wide enough for separate traffic directions on each side, the likelihood of vessel-to-vessel collisions is reduced.
  • The central support is often mounted upon a 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 moveable span, as the construction will not impede traffic.


Disadvantages
  • In 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 , while when closed and in use for traffic, the live loads will be distributed as in a pair of conventional bridges, which may require additional stiffness in some members whose loading will be alternately in compression and tension.
  • If struck from the water near the edge of the span, it may rotate enough to cause safety problems (see Big Bayou Canot rail accident).


Examples

Albania
  • Buna river Bridge, in , Albania.


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


Australia
  • Gladesville Bridge, Sydney. Opened 1881, closed 1964 and demolished; had a small swing span on the southern end.
  • , Sydney. Opened 1902. Closed to traffic 1988. Still in use as a pedestrian bridge.
  • Glebe Island Bridge, Sydney. Opened 1903. Tramway defunct. Closed to traffic, 1995; supplanted by . Still in existence.
  • Hay Bridge, Hay, New South Wales. Opened 1873, demolished 1973. Replaced by a fixed concrete bridge.
  • Victoria Bridge, Townsville, Queensland. Opened 1889, closed to traffic 1975. Still in use as a foot bridge.
  • Sale Swing Bridge, Sale, Victoria. Opened 1883. Closed to traffic in 2002. Restored to full working order in 2006.
  • Dunalley Bridge, Dunalley, Tasmania. Still in use.


Belgium
  • , Zeebrugge. Opened in May 2022. With a length of 130 metres and a passage width of 55 metres, it is the longest swing bridge in Europe.
  • (), . It allows railway lines 58 and 55 () to cross the Ghent–Terneuzen Canal. The current iteration of the bridge was built in 2008.


Belize
  • Belize City Swing Bridge, Belize City, Belize. Oldest such bridge in Central America and one of the few manually operated swing bridge in world still in operation. (Restored in the 2000s)


Canada
Cambie Street Bridge Connaught Bridge, Vancouver, Demolished/replaced (1985), formerly vehicle, pedestrian & streetcar trafficShort documentary "Swingspan" tells the history of the bridge and its demolition.
Canso Canal Bridge, Nova Scotia Still swings, Vehicle/Rail TrafficLinks Nova Scotia mainland with Cape Breton Island with 2 traffic lanes of Highway 104 (the Trans-Canada Highway) as well as a single track railway line operated by the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway (CBNS).
, British Columbia Still swings, Rail TrafficBetween Queensborough in New Westminster, British Columbia and the mainland
Derwent Way Bridge, British Columbia Still swings, Vehicle/Rail TrafficBetween Queensborough in New Westminster, British Columbia and in Delta, British Columbia
Fredericton Railway Bridge, New Brunswick No longer swings, pedestrian traffic.Constructed in 1887 and opened 1889. Last train on the bridge was in 1996.
Grand Narrows Bridge, Bras d'Or Lake, Nova Scotia Was last opened for marine traffic on December 30, 2014 remaining open for marine traffic since that date, no longer swings, Rail Traffic cannot cross.Carrying the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway (CBNS).
Hog's Back Bridge, Ottawa, Still swings, Vehicle TrafficThis bridge swings from one end. There is an adjacent fixed bridge over Hog's Back Falls
Iron BridgeThird , Thorold, Ontario No longer swings, Rail TrafficCarrying the CNR Grimsby Subdivision over the third Welland Canal.
Kaministiquia River Swing BridgeKaministiquia River, , Ontario No longer swings. Road and rail traffic only. Currently closed due to 29 October 2013 fireBuilt in 1908 by Grand Trunk Railway; currently owned by the CNR
Little Current Swing BridgeNorth Channel, Little Current, Ontario Still swings, Vehicle Traffic (formerly rail)Built by Algoma Eastern Railway, 1913
Montrose Swing Bridge, Niagara Falls, Ontario No longer swings, Rail TrafficFormerly Canada Southern Railway, now CPR
Middle Arm of the , Richmond, British Columbia Still swings; Eastbound Vehicle TrafficConnects Sea Island, Richmond, BC (location of Vancouver International Airport) to , Richmond, BC
New Westminster Bridge, British Columbia Still swings, Rail Traffic, formerly had 2nd deck for vehiclesBetween New Westminster and Surrey.
Pitt River Bridge, British Columbia No longer swings, Vehicle TrafficTwin side-by-side bridges connecting Port Coquitlam, British Columbia to Pitt Meadows, British Columbia
Pitt River Railway Bridge, British Columbia Still swings – Rail Traffic(Please Contribute)
Wasauksing (Rose Point) Swing BridgeSouth Channel, , near Parry Sound, Ontario Still swings, Vehicle Traffic (formerly rail)Links Wasauksing First Nation (Parry Island) to the mainland at Rose Point
Welland Canal, Bridge 15Welland Recreational Waterway, Welland, Ontario No longer swings, Rail TrafficBuilt by Canada Southern Railway, . Now operated by
Welland Canal, Bridge 20 Approach Span2nd and 3rd , Port Colborne, Ontario No longer swings, Abandoned (formerly rail)Abandoned 1998 when adjacent Vertical-lift bridge was dismantled.
Bergen Cut-off BridgeRed River, Winnipeg, Centre span permanently in open position, allowing unrestricted river trafficDecommissioned CPR railway bridge (last used in 1946)
Superstructure built by Dominion Bridge Co. 1913–1914
Pont CN-Du port, Montreal, No longer swings.Abandoned CN railway swing bridge in the middle of Lachine Canal. Constructed in 1912 by the Dominion Bridge Company for the Grand Trunk Railway company. The pivot system and the cockpit are still in place, but the bridge has not been operational since the late 1960s.


China


Denmark
  • Pedestrian double swing bridge crossing the inner harbour at Copenhagen.
  • Naestved Svingbro, Horizontal clearance 42.0m. Carries a 14m-wide trunk road over the Naestved Canal.
  • Odin's Bridge, a double swing bridge crossing Odense Canal, with a horizontal span of almost 200 meters.


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


Estonia
  • The Admiral Bridge ( Admiralisild) is a pedestrian bridge in , , connecting two parts of the Old City Harbour. It allows access to the Admiralty Pool ( Admiraliteedi bassein) for yachts. It became the first swing bridge in Estonia in 2021.


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 , built in 1907, with a length of 159m, it was once Europe's biggest swing bridge.


India


Ireland
  • Samuel Beckett Bridge, Dublin
  • Seán O'Casey Bridge, Dublin
  • Michael Davitt Bridge, County Mayo
  • , between County Galway and County Tipperary


Italy
  • , (built in 1958, after an 1887 one of similar design but using different materials) – a very unusual type, with two spans that separate at the bridge's center and pivot sideways from the bridge's outer ends.


Latvia
  • Kalpaka Tilts, Liepāja, connecting the city with the former Russian/Soviet port .


Lithuania
  • Chain Bridge, Klaipeda. Built in 1855 and still working today, this is the only swing bridge in Lithuania. When the bridge is turned, boats and yachts can enter the Castle port. Rotation of the bridge is manual; two people can rotate the bridge.


The Netherlands
  • The "Abtsewoudsebrug" in , close to the Technische Universiteit Delft, is a bridge of this type.
  • There are four bridges of this type in use on the (Enclosure dam). They span the waterways that link the shipping lock complexes to the .
  • There is another one on the channel between Ghent (Belgium) and Terneuzen (The Netherlands) at Sas Van Gent.

Many inner cities have swing bridges, since these require less street space than other types of bridges.


New Zealand
  • , Waihou River, near Thames, New Zealand
  • (also known as 1st Panmure Bridge), Tāmaki River, near Panmure, New Zealand
(A "swing bridge" in New Zealand refers to a flexible walking track bridge which "swings" as you walk across.)Walkway swingbridge manual / prepared and finalised by S. Chiet ... et Published by : New Zealand Forest Service, Wellington N.Z. : 1986.


Panama
  • A swing bridge at the provides the only road passage over the Atlantic side of the . This is a small bridge that swings out from each side. Another larger swing bridge at the Miraflores Locks is on the Pacific side but is rarely used, having been supplanted by the Bridge of the Americas and the Centennial Bridge.


Poland
  • A swing bridge at the Giżycko is one of four bridges that cross over the Luczanski Channel. It is one of ten (four still in operation) swing bridges in .
  • A swing bridge in , which crosses the Słupia River, and is walkable every 20 minutes.
  • A swing bridge in Wolin, which crosses the Dziwna River.


South Africa
  • The Clocktower Bridge is a pedestrian swing bridge at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront in .


Taiwan
  • Great Harbor Bridge in is the longest cross-port rotating bridge in Asia.


Ukraine


United Kingdom
the UK, there is a legal definition in current statute as to what is, or is not a 'swing bridge'

  • Acton swing bridge – road
  • – rail
  • Beccles swing bridge – rail
  • Bell's Bridge, – pedestrian
  • Boothferry swing bridge at , Yorkshire
  • Caernarfon swing bridge
  • Connaught Crossing in , built as a low-rising swing bridge to allow marine traffic in the to pass at a place when the proximity of London City Airport meant a higher fixed bridge was not practicable.
  • Cross Keys Bridge in – carries the A17 road over the River Nene in Lincolnshire
  • Folkestone Harbour railway station – railway bridge on the branch line.
  • Foxton Swingbridge - road bridge over the Harborough arm of the Grand Union Canal in the village of Foxton.
  • Goole railway swing bridge
  • Glasson Dock swing bridge
  • Govan–Partick Bridge, Glasgow – pedestrian
  • – rail (now deactivated).
  • Hull, England docks branch bridge – rail
  • Kennet and Avon Canal at Tyle Mill Lock, , Berkshire
  • Kincardine Bridge – crossing the Firth of Forth from Falkirk council area to Kincardine-on-Forth, Fife (now deactivated).
  • Leeds and Liverpool Canal Has a large number of swing bridges, especially between and and Burscough and . Many are manually operated, carrying only farm tracks, but a significant number carry road traffic and are mechanised for boater operation.
  • Manchester Ship Canal at Latchford, and in , and also slightly further west at Moore. Near the eastern end of the canal in Salford, the Barton Road Swing Bridge is adjacent to the Barton Swing Aqueduct – a 234-foot, 800-ton trough holding some 800 tons 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.
  • Myton Swing Bridge - road bridge in Kingston upon Hull
  • Oulton Broad swing bridge – rail
  • Reedham Swing Bridge () – rail
  • , Glasgow - road
  • Ross Bridge, Penzance
  • Sandwich Toll Bridge (rebuilt 1892)
  • Selby swing bridge – rail
  • Somerleyton swing bridge
  • at . Carries the electrified Great Eastern Main Line over the . It is the only overhead electrified swing bridge in the country.
  • Tyne swing bridge at Newcastle Upon Tyne, which 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.
  • Whitby Swing Bridge over the River Esk at , North Yorkshire, with two swing leaves (though only one is usually opened).
  • Yar Swing Bridge, Yarmouth, Isle of Wight

File:Sulhamstead Tyle Mill swing bridge.JPG| File:Sulhamstead Tyle Mill swing bridge 2.JPG| File:Sulhamstead Tyle Mill swing bridge 4.JPG|


United States
The largest double swing-span bridge in the United States is the long, navigable span, clearance George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge.
  • CSXT Blackwater River bridge in Milton, Florida.
  • Alanson Swing Bridge, billed as America's shortest swing bridge, crossing the Crooked River in Alanson, Michigan. The world's shortest are located in the United Kingdom over some of the narrowest canals in the world, for example on the Stroudwater Navigation, or, see Yar Swing Bridge above.
  • Ben Sawyer Bridge, connecting the city of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, with Sullivan's Island
  • Berkley–Dighton Bridge (1896), connecting the towns of Berkley and Dighton, Massachusetts, crossing the ; removed in 2010. The replacement bridge is not a swing structure.
  • Black Point Bridge carrying Northwestern Pacific Railroad over the at Black Point-Green Point, California
  • Blackburn Point Road Bridge, over the Intracoastal Waterway in Osprey, Florida
  • Bridge No. 4455, Central Avenue over Lewis Gut, Bridgeport, Connecticut (1924 steel swing bridge)
  • Boca Grande Causeway, Built in 1958, this bridge is used for passage between Placida, FL to the island of Boca Grande. The original swing bridge was replaced by the current swing bridge in late 2015.
  • Bridgeport Swing Bridge, Bridgeport, Alabama (demolished in the late 1970s, replaced with new span)
  • Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge 9.6 (or BNSF Railway Bridge 9.6), crossing the , from Portland, Oregon, to Vancouver, Washington, built in 1908.
    (2025). 9780978736514, Urban Adventure Press.
  • Center Street Bridge, , Ohio (1901)
  • Chef Menteur Bridge, near Slidell, Louisiana
  • Chincoteague Channel Swing Bridge, Chincoteague, Virginia (demolished)
  • , modest swing bridge carrying former Baltimore & Eastern Railroad (PRR subsidiary) at Denton, Maryland (disused and isolated)
  • Clinton Railroad Bridge crossing the Mississippi River, Clinton, Iowa
  • Columbus Drive Bridge, Tampa, Florida, a bobtail swing bridge over the Hillsborough River
  • CSX Rail Bridge, Indiantown, Florida
  • Curtis Creek Rail Bridge, , Maryland
  • Deweyville Swing Bridge, crossing the Sabine River east of Deweyville, Texas
  • Dubuque Rail Bridge, crossing the Mississippi River and connecting Dubuque, Iowa with East Dubuque, Illinois
  • Dumbarton Rail Bridge, crossing San Francisco Bay in (1910); since being decommissioned, the swing portion of the bridge has been welded open.
  • East Haddam Bridge, Route 82 over the Connecticut River, East Haddam, Connecticut (1913)
  • Fort Madison Toll Bridge, crossing the Mississippi River and connecting Fort Madison, Iowa with Niota, Illinois
  • Fort Pike Bridge, near Slidell and , Louisiana
  • Fort Denaud Bridge, near LaBelle and Alva, Florida
  • Figure Eight Island Bridge, north of Wilmington, North Carolina
  • Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, Washington, D.C.
  • George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge, over the York River between Yorktown and Gloucester Point, Virginia
  • , near Hamilton City California, connecting Glenn and Butte Counties over the Sacramento River, It was built in 1937 and demolished in 1987.
  • Government Bridge on the Mississippi River between Davenport, Iowa and Rock Island, Illinois (1896)
  • Grand Haven GTW RR Swing Bridge, connecting Grand Haven and Ferrysburg, Michigan
  • Grand Rapids Swing Bridge, Grand Rapids, Michigan
  • Grosse Ile Toll Bridge and nearby Wayne County Bridge, Grosse Ile, Michigan
  • (1869, demolished) and Second Hannibal Bridge (1917), Kansas City, Missouri, crossing the
  • bridges in New York City, including from south to north:
    • Willis Avenue Bridge
    • Third Avenue Bridge
    • Madison Avenue Bridge
    • 145th Street Bridge
    • Macombs Dam Bridge
    • University Heights Bridge
    • Spuyten Duyvil Bridge
  • Harmar Railroad Bridge, Marietta, Ohio
  • Hodgdon Island Bridge, Boothbay, Maine. This is one of two manual swing bridges in Maine (see Songo Locks in Naples, Maine)
  • I Street Bridge, Sacramento, California
  • India Point Railroad Bridge, Providence, Rhode Island crossing the
  • International Railway Bridge connecting Buffalo, New York and Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada
  • La Crosse Rail Bridge, crossing the Mississippi River between La Crescent, Minnesota, and La Crosse, Wisconsin
  • Livingston Avenue Bridge, Albany, New York
  • , connecting Merritt Island to Indian Harbour Beach, Florida across the
  • Middle Branch of Rail Bridge, near , , Maryland
  • Mystic River Railroad Bridge, Mystic, Connecticut, carries 's Northeast Corridor tracks over the Mystic River.Amtrak Moveable Bridge Smart Card
  • Nature Coast State Trail, over the between Wilcox, Florida and Old Town, Florida
  • New Bedford-Fairhaven Bridge, connecting New Bedford and Fairhaven, Massachusetts
  • New Richmond Swing Bridge, near Fennville, Michigan
  • Norfolk Southern Railway Bridge crossing the , Toledo, Ohio
  • Norfolk Southern Railway Bridge crossing the in Lumber City, Georgia ( long; built 1916) (electrical swing components removed)
  • Northern Avenue Bridge over Fort Point Channel in , Massachusetts (1908 steel truss)
  • North Landing Bridge, built in the 1950s, on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway where it forms part of the border between Chesapeake and Virginia Beach, Virginia,
  • Omaha Road Bridge Number 15, an asymmetrical single-track railroad bridge over the Mississippi River between Saint Paul and Lilydale, Minnesota (1916)
  • Oregon Slough Railroad Bridge (1908), Portland, Oregon
  • on the causeway protecting Apponagansett Bay in Dartmouth, Massachusetts
  • Passaic River in Newark, New Jersey
    • Jackson Street Bridge
    • Bridge Street Bridge
    • Clay Street Bridge
  • Pennsylvania Railroad's over the in Wilmington, Delaware (original two-track bridge replaced with a single-track bridge in 2003)
  • Pennsylvania Railroad's South Philadelphia Branch Bridge over the , , Pennsylvania
  • Point Street Bridge, Providence, Rhode Island crossing the
  • , carrying the Northeast Corridor over the between Kearny and Secaucus, New Jersey
  • Providence & Worcester railroad bridge, Middletown, Connecticut
  • Richard V. Woods Memorial Bridge over the Beaufort River/Intracoastal Waterway in Beaufort, South Carolina]]
  • Riverside-Delanco Bridge over in
  • Rock Island Swing Bridge over the Mississippi River between Inver Grove Heights and St. Paul Park, Minnesota
  • "S" Swing Bridge over the , Hertford, North Carolina.
  • Sakonnet River rail bridge, crossing the between Tiverton and Portsmouth, Rhode Island
  • Saugatuck River Bridge (Bridge No. 1349), Route 136 over the , Westport, Connecticut (1884 iron-truss swing bridge)
  • Shaw Cove Railroad Bridge, New London, Connecticut, carrying 's Northeast Corridor tracks over the entrance to Shaw Cove in New London
  • Snow-Reed Swing Bridge, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, crossing the New River and connecting the Sailboat Bend neighborhood with the Riverside Park neighborhood
  • Bridge, Naples, Maine; carries Songo Lock Road over the just upstream of the lock. Powered by human operator turning gears using a removable crank. Not to be confused with a former swing bridge about two miles upstream which carried US 302 until replaced with a fixed span in May 2012.
  • South Bristol, Maine Asymmetric swing bridge connecting Rutherford Island to the mainland.
  • Southport, ME connects Southport Island to Boothbay Harbor on Route 27.
  • Spokane Street Bridge over the Duwamish Waterway in , Washington, built 1991. Features two reinforced concrete, serial swing spans, each rotating 45 degrees
  • St. Joseph Swing Bridge over the , St. Joseph, Missouri (1904)
  • Topsail Island Swing Bridge, Surf City, North Carolina (Constructed in the 1950s, the swing bridge was demolished after being replaced by a fixed-span high rise bridge in 2018).
  • Trail Creek Swing Bridge in Michigan City, Indiana, carrying the Michigan Central Railroad (now operated by )
  • Torry Island Swing Bridge, Torry Island, Florida
  • Umpqua River Bridge near Reedsport, Oregon on US-101
  • Victory Bridge, crossing the in Perth Amboy, New Jersey (taken down in 2003)
  • Walt Disney World Railroad (former Florida East Coast Railway) swing bridge, Bay Lake, Florida
    (2025). 9781533037077, Steel Wheel on Steel Rail Studio.
  • Woods Memorial Bridge over the Beaufort River in Beaufort, South Carolina
  • , , southeastern . Former railroad bridge with separate vertical-lift and swing trusses now part of ; swing span now manually operated
  • State Hwy 87 northbound bridge the eastern boundary of Bridge City, Texas

Omaha NE Turn Style Bridge is now a historical landmark. Located 86H674H5+98 Used for rail transport. Connecting Council Bluffs, Iowa to downtown Omaha, Nebraska


Uruguay
  • Carmelo Bridge. Built in 1912 in Carmelo, it is the oldest swing bridge in all of Latin America.
  • Barra del Santa Lucia Bridge. Built in 1925 as a railway bridge, today is used only by pedestrians.


Vietnam
  • Han River Bridge in downtown was designed and built by Vietnamese engineers and workers, and opened on 29 March 2000. Featuring a symmetrical cable-stayed steel swing span with a total length of 122.7m rotating on a rim-bearing circular central pier, it is the only swing bridge operating in Vietnam as of 2025.


See also
  • Movable bridges for a list of other movable bridge types


External links

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