A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss , a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements, typically straight, may be stressed from tension , compression , or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. There are several types of truss bridges, including some with simple designs that were among the first bridges designed in the 19th and early 20th centuries. A truss bridge is economical to construct primarily because it uses materials efficiently.
77-607: Grand Street Bridge is a through-truss swing bridge over Newtown Creek in New York City. The current crossing was completed in 1902, and links Grand Street and Grand Avenue via a two-lane, height-restricted roadway. It is a main connection between the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens , carrying an average of 10,200 vehicles per day (as of 2016). According to the New York City Department of Transportation , three distinct swing bridges have spanned Newtown Creek at
154-466: A Parker truss or Pratt truss than a true arch . In the Brown truss all vertical elements are under tension, with exception of the end posts. This type of truss is particularly suited for timber structures that use iron rods as tension members. See Lenticular truss below. This combines an arch with a truss to form a structure both strong and rigid. Most trusses have the lower chord under tension and
231-667: A covered bridge to protect the structure. In 1820, a simple form of truss, Town's lattice truss , was patented, and had the advantage of requiring neither high labor skills nor much metal. Few iron truss bridges were built in the United States before 1850. Truss bridges became a common type of bridge built from the 1870s through the 1930s. Examples of these bridges still remain across the US, but their numbers are dropping rapidly as they are demolished and replaced with new structures. As metal slowly started to replace timber, wrought iron bridges in
308-544: A Parker truss vary from near vertical in the center of the span to diagonal near each end, similar to a Warren truss. George H. Pegram , while the chief engineer of Edge Moor Iron Company in Wilmington, Delaware , patented this truss design in 1885. The Pegram truss consists of a Parker type design with the vertical posts leaning towards the center at an angle between 60 and 75°. The variable post angle and constant chord length allowed steel in existing bridges to be recycled into
385-422: A balance between the costs of raw materials, off-site fabrication, component transportation, on-site erection, the availability of machinery, and the cost of labor. In other cases, the appearance of the structure may take on greater importance and so influence the design decisions beyond mere matters of economics. Modern materials such as prestressed concrete and fabrication methods, such as automated welding , and
462-637: A campaign ad, the measure was one of several concurrent public works in Brooklyn (including the Williamsburg Bridge ) totaling over $ 14,904,000 (equivalent to $ 545,844,096 in 2023) worth of investment. Initial plans, drawn by the New York City Department of Bridges and approved by the Department of War on July 24, 1889, specified a steel through-truss superstructure with a masonry pier and abutments. The 195 feet (59 m) asymmetric span would provide
539-540: A clear opening of 91 feet (28 m) on the western side of the channel and 55 feet (17 m) on the eastern side. After a lengthy delay before the New York City Board of Aldermen , the bridge was granted final approval in December 1899. At some point in early 1900, the bridge's specifications were altered to extend the eastern portion of the span, ensuring an equal 91 feet (28 m) of clearance on both sides with
616-594: A continuous truss functions as a single rigid structure over multiple supports. This means that the live load on one span is partially supported by the other spans, and consequently it is possible to use less material in the truss. Continuous truss bridges were not very common before the mid-20th century because they are statically indeterminate , which makes them difficult to design without the use of computers . A multi-span truss bridge may also be constructed using cantilever spans, which are supported at only one end rather than both ends like other types of trusses. Unlike
693-516: A continuous truss, a cantilever truss does not need to be connected rigidly, or indeed at all, at the center. Many cantilever bridges, like the Quebec Bridge shown below, have two cantilever spans supporting a simple truss in the center. The bridge would remain standing if the simple truss section were removed. Bridges are the most widely known examples of truss use. There are many types, some of them dating back hundreds of years. Below are some of
770-435: A conventional truss into place or by building it in place using a "traveling support". In another method of construction, one outboard half of each balanced truss is built upon temporary falsework. When the outboard halves are completed and anchored the inboard halves may then be constructed and the center section completed as described above. The Fink truss was designed by Albert Fink of Germany in 1854. This type of bridge
847-707: A full 2 hours of advance notice for any Newtown Creek drawbridge openings. In the spring of 1894, a large fight broke out between county law enforcement and workers of the Brooklyn City Railroad when a construction permit dispute turned violent. According to a front-page report in The Standard Union newspaper, the railroad long-intended to install electrified trolley wires on the second Grand Street Bridge, but had failed to obtain permission from municipal engineers of Kings and Queens counties. Just before midnight on March 21, in defiance of local authorities,
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#1732863323059924-590: A lack of durability, and gave way to the Pratt truss design, which was stronger. Again, the bridge companies marketed their designs, with the Wrought Iron Bridge Company in the lead. As the 1880s and 1890s progressed, steel began to replace wrought iron as the preferred material. Other truss designs were used during this time, including the camel-back. By the 1910s, many states developed standard plan truss bridges, including steel Warren pony truss bridges. In
1001-477: A lower chord (functioning as a suspension cable) that curves down and then up to meet at the same end points. Where the arches extend above and below the roadbed, it is called a lenticular pony truss bridge . The Pauli truss bridge is a specific variant of the lenticular truss, but the terms are not interchangeable. One type of lenticular truss consists of arcuate upper compression chords and lower eyebar chain tension links. Brunel 's Royal Albert Bridge over
1078-470: A modest tension force, it breaks easily if bent. A model spaghetti bridge thus demonstrates the use of a truss structure to produce a usefully strong complete structure from individually weak elements. In the United States , because wood was in abundance, early truss bridges would typically use carefully fitted timbers for members taking compression and iron rods for tension members , usually constructed as
1155-704: A new span using the Pegram truss design. This design also facilitated reassembly and permitted a bridge to be adjusted to fit different span lengths. There are twelve known remaining Pegram span bridges in the United States with seven in Idaho , two in Kansas , and one each in California , Washington , and Utah . The Pennsylvania (Petit) truss is a variation on the Pratt truss . The Pratt truss includes braced diagonal members in all panels;
1232-445: A strike; before the collapse, similar incidents had been common and had necessitated frequent repairs. Truss bridges consisting of more than one span may be either a continuous truss or a series of simple trusses. In the simple truss design, each span is supported only at the ends and is fully independent of any adjacent spans. Each span must fully support the weight of any vehicles traveling over it (the live load ). In contrast,
1309-483: A temporary wooden footbridge stood alongside the crossing. After a 13-month delay, the new bridge was finally completed under the direction of city engineers. In a stroke of irony, it opened on December 26, 1902, the very same day that its predecessor re -opened to the public, just downstream, in a second life as a temporary crossing supporting construction of the Vernon Avenue Bridge . While Newtown Creek (and
1386-500: A total span of around 230 feet (70 m). Only two construction bids were received, and local contractor Bernard Rolf was awarded the project on July 23. Work began in August with a projected timeline of 15 months, but the project became plagued with labor strikes, material delays, and accusations by the Department of Bridges of contractor incompetence. During construction, trolleys were detoured along Flushing and Metropolitan Avenues, and
1463-532: A variant of the lenticular truss, "with the top chord carefully shaped so that it has a constant force along the entire length of the truss." It is named after Friedrich Augustus von Pauli [ de ] , whose 1857 railway bridge (the Großhesseloher Brücke [ de ] ) spanned the Isar near Munich . ( See also Grosshesselohe Isartal station .) The term Pauli truss is not interchangeable with
1540-677: Is a Pratt truss design with a polygonal upper chord. A "camelback" is a subset of the Parker type, where the upper chord consists of exactly five segments. An example of a Parker truss is the Traffic Bridge in Saskatoon , Canada. An example of a camelback truss is the Woolsey Bridge near Woolsey, Arkansas . Designed and patented in 1872 by Reuben Partridge , after local bridge designs proved ineffective against road traffic and heavy rains. It became
1617-507: Is a hybrid between a Warren truss and a double-intersection Pratt truss. Invented in 1863 by Simeon S. Post, it is occasionally referred to as a Post patent truss although he never received a patent for it. The Ponakin Bridge and the Bell Ford Bridge are two examples of this truss. A Pratt truss includes vertical members and diagonals that slope down towards the center, the opposite of
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#17328633230591694-403: Is an unreasonable obstruction to the free navigation of the said Newtown Creek, on account of the location of its piers and abutments and the narrowness of the draw opening, it is proposed to require the following changes to be made in the said bridge by April 1, 1900 to wit: The reconstruction of the bridge, with a width of forty feet, so as to make the west abutment not more than five feet beyond
1771-486: Is maintained by Kings County and the Town of Newtown jointly, is almost in a useless condition. The machinery is so badly broken that the bridge can barely be turned by it. A Newtown paper, calling attention to this fact, says that it is about useless as a public convenience." By 1889 the bridge was so deteriorated that on July 14, half of it "fell with a crash into the creek." A year later, residents appeared to be questioning even
1848-798: Is named after the K formed in each panel by the vertical member and two oblique members. Examples include the Südbrücke rail bridge over the River Rhine, Mainz, Germany, the bridge on I-895 (Baltimore Harbor Tunnel Thruway) in Baltimore, Maryland, the Long–Allen Bridge in Morgan City, Louisiana (Morgan City Bridge) with three 600-foot-long spans, and the Wax Lake Outlet bridge in Calumet, Louisiana One of
1925-671: Is practical for use with spans up to 250 feet (76 m) and was a common configuration for railroad bridges as truss bridges moved from wood to metal. They are statically determinate bridges, which lend themselves well to long spans. They were common in the United States between 1844 and the early 20th century. Examples of Pratt truss bridges are the Governor's Bridge in Maryland ; the Hayden RR Bridge in Springfield, Oregon , built in 1882;
2002-513: Is the Victoria Bridge on Prince Street, Picton, New South Wales . Also constructed of ironbark, the bridge is still in use today for pedestrian and light traffic. The Bailey truss was designed by the British in 1940–1941 for military uses during World War II. A short selection of prefabricated modular components could be easily and speedily combined on land in various configurations to adapt to
2079-424: Is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and is also used for calculating the cost of a marina berth (for example, £2.50 per metre LOA). LOA is usually measured on the hull alone. For sailing ships , this may exclude the bowsprit and other fittings added to
2156-597: The Dearborn River High Bridge near Augusta, Montana, built in 1897; and the Fair Oaks Bridge in Fair Oaks, California , built 1907–09. The Scenic Bridge near Tarkio, Montana , is an example of a Pratt deck truss bridge, where the roadway is on top of the truss. The queenpost truss , sometimes called "queen post" or queenspost, is similar to a king post truss in that the outer supports are angled towards
2233-1224: The Fort Wayne Street Bridge in Goshen, Indiana , the Schell Bridge in Northfield, Massachusetts , the Inclined Plane Bridge in Johnstown, Pennsylvania , the Easton–Phillipsburg Toll Bridge in Easton, Pennsylvania , the Connecticut River Bridge in Brattleboro, Vermont , the Metropolis Bridge in Metropolis, Illinois , and the Healdsburg Memorial Bridge in Healdsburg, California . A Post truss
2310-491: The Howe truss . The interior diagonals are under tension under balanced loading and vertical elements under compression. If pure tension elements (such as eyebars ) are used in the diagonals, then crossing elements may be needed near the center to accept concentrated live loads as they traverse the span. It can be subdivided, creating Y- and K-shaped patterns. The Pratt truss was invented in 1844 by Thomas and Caleb Pratt. This truss
2387-475: The River Tamar between Devon and Cornwall uses a single tubular upper chord. As the horizontal tension and compression forces are balanced these horizontal forces are not transferred to the supporting pylons (as is the case with most arch types). This in turn enables the truss to be fabricated on the ground and then to be raised by jacking as supporting masonry pylons are constructed. This truss has been used in
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2464-685: The United States Department of War became involved in the dispute. The agency, which would soon gain federal authority over all domestic waterway navigability with Congress' passage of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 , notified the City of its position in a letter: "Whereas the Secretary of War has good reason to believe that the bridge over the East Branch of Newtown Creek, as Grand Street, Brooklyn,
2541-412: The 1920s and 1930s, Pennsylvania and several states continued to build steel truss bridges, using massive steel through-truss bridges for long spans. Other states, such as Michigan , used standard plan concrete girder and beam bridges, and only a limited number of truss bridges were built. The truss may carry its roadbed on top, in the middle, or at the bottom of the truss. Bridges with the roadbed at
2618-656: The Pennsylvania truss adds to this design half-length struts or ties in the top, bottom, or both parts of the panels. It is named after the Pennsylvania Railroad , which pioneered this design. It was once used for hundreds of bridges in the United States, but fell out of favor in the 1930s and very few examples of this design remain. Examples of this truss type include the Lower Trenton Bridge in Trenton, New Jersey ,
2695-526: The US started being built on a large scale in the 1870s. Bowstring truss bridges were a common truss design during this time, with their arched top chords. Companies like the Massillon Bridge Company of Massillon, Ohio , and the King Bridge Company of Cleveland , became well-known, as they marketed their designs to cities and townships. The bowstring truss design fell out of favor due to
2772-512: The basic viability of bridges over Newtown Creek, with one Supervisor of Jamaica, Queens suggesting that the quadruple of Newtown's bridges be replaced with tunnels modeled after contemporary examples in Chicago. An editorial highlighted the claim that the initial cost of a "decently designed" drawbridge was no less than that of a tunnel, but a bridge would incur significantly higher maintenance, operation, and tending costs throughout its lifetime. In
2849-414: The branch of physics known as statics . For purposes of analysis, trusses are assumed to be pin jointed where the straight components meet, meaning that taken alone, every joint on the structure is functionally considered to be a flexible joint as opposed to a rigid joint with the strength to maintain its shape, and the resulting shape and strength of the structure are only maintained by the interlocking of
2926-456: The bridge's rebuilt approaches. Shortly after construction, an additional $ 850 (equivalent to $ 28,824 in 2023) was approved (controversially) to add a bridge-keeper's shelter. On March 24, 1984, the bridge was electrified to enable trolley service. Installed some time later, electrical machinery which could open and close the span in around "half a minute" was far more advanced than most of Brooklyn's other man-operated moveable bridges. While
3003-423: The bridge, they reportedly injured the horses drawing the railroad's wagons across the span. Local constables of the Town of Newtown, sympathetic to the railroad, then arrested the deputies under the charge of animal abuse, after which a town judge held them to a bail bond of $ 300 (equivalent to $ 10,565 in 2023). The trolley wires were ultimately completed, and the bridge continuously hosted rail service until
3080-497: The center of the structure. The primary difference is the horizontal extension at the center which relies on beam action to provide mechanical stability. This truss style is only suitable for relatively short spans. The Smith truss , patented by Robert W Smith on July 16, 1867, has mostly diagonal criss-crossed supports. Smith's company used many variations of this pattern in the wooden covered bridges it built. Length overall Length overall ( LOA , o/a , o.a. or oa )
3157-707: The center, the opposite of the Pratt truss . In contrast to the Pratt truss, the diagonal web members are in compression and the vertical web members are in tension. Few of these bridges remain standing. Examples include Jay Bridge in Jay, New York ; McConnell's Mill Covered Bridge in Slippery Rock Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania ; Sandy Creek Covered Bridge in Jefferson County, Missouri ; and Westham Island Bridge in Delta, British Columbia , Canada. The K-truss
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3234-402: The changing price of steel relative to that of labor have significantly influenced the design of modern bridges. A pure truss can be represented as a pin-jointed structure, one where the only forces on the truss members are tension or compression, not bending. This is used in the teaching of statics, by the building of model bridges from spaghetti . Spaghetti is brittle and although it can carry
3311-482: The components. This assumption means that members of the truss (chords, verticals, and diagonals) will act only in tension or compression. A more complex analysis is required where rigid joints impose significant bending loads upon the elements, as in a Vierendeel truss . In the bridge illustrated in the infobox at the top, vertical members are in tension, lower horizontal members in tension, shear , and bending, outer diagonal and top members are in compression, while
3388-414: The compression members and to control deflection. It is mainly used for rail bridges, showing off a simple and very strong design. In the Pratt truss the intersection of the verticals and the lower horizontal tension members are used to anchor the supports for the short-span girders under the tracks (among other things). With the Baltimore truss, there are almost twice as many points for this to happen because
3465-576: The construction of a stadium, with the upper chords of parallel trusses supporting a roof that may be rolled back. The Smithfield Street Bridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania , is another example of this type. An example of a lenticular pony truss bridge that uses regular spans of iron is the Turn-of-River Bridge designed and manufactured by the Berlin Iron Bridge Co. The Pauli truss is
3542-475: The earliest examples is the Old Blenheim Bridge , which with a span of 210 feet (64 m) and a total length of 232 feet (71 m) long was the second-longest covered bridge in the United States, until its destruction from flooding in 2011. The Busching bridge, often erroneously used as an example of a Long truss, is an example of a Howe truss, as the verticals are metal rods. A Parker truss bridge
3619-505: The existing structure was better than no bridge at all. According to the department's Chief Engineer, "at any rate, they can only condemn the bridge. They cannot make us build another." Eventually, the weight of the federal government overpowered the city's resistance in a letter from the Secretary of War dated February 15, 1899. It mandated the previous proposal, effectively condemning the existing crossing. City Comptroller Bird Sim Coler
3696-579: The fall of 1888, the Bridge Committee of the Supervisors of Kings and Queens Counties announced the exploration of replacement options for the original bridge. After a request for proposal process which specified an iron bridge with either a stone or wooden substructure, a construction contract was awarded in July of the following year. The winner, Charles A. Cregin (employing a Dean & Westbrook design),
3773-436: The forces in various ways has led to a large variety of truss bridge types. Some types may be more advantageous when the wood is employed for compression elements while other types may be easier to erect in particular site conditions, or when the balance between labor, machinery, and material costs has certain favorable proportions. The inclusion of the elements shown is largely an engineering decision based upon economics, being
3850-630: The harbor line, with a clear width of draw opening of not less than seventy-five feet, measured on the line of the bridge, and with the west abutment as far north and the east abutment as far south as the limits of the width of Grand Street will permit." Citing a lack of funding for a replacement, the city's Department of Bridges desired to keep the crossing in place. At a hearing before the United States Army Corps of Engineers on January 17, 1889, Bridge Commissioner John L. Shea argued that his department had received no formal complaints, and that
3927-504: The hull. This is how some racing boats and tall ships use the term LOA. However, other sources may include bowsprits in LOA. Confusingly, LOA has different meanings. "Sparred length", "Total length including bowsprit", "Mooring length" and "LOA including bowsprit" are other expressions that might indicate the full length of a sailing ship. Often used to distinguish between the length of a vessel including projections (e.g. bow sprits, etc.) from
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#17328633230594004-463: The inner diagonals are in tension. The central vertical member stabilizes the upper compression member, preventing it from buckling . If the top member is sufficiently stiff then this vertical element may be eliminated. If the lower chord (a horizontal member of a truss) is sufficiently resistant to bending and shear, the outer vertical elements may be eliminated, but with additional strength added to other members in compensation. The ability to distribute
4081-475: The introduction of the B59 (now Q59) bus line in 1949. On December 9, 1902, three weeks before the current bridge officially opened, a tugboat captain was arrested for attempting to force open the structure using a hawser attached to his vessel. Through-truss The nature of a truss allows the analysis of its structure using a few assumptions and the application of Newton's laws of motion according to
4158-475: The length of the hull itself, the Length on Deck or LOD is often reported. This is especially useful for smaller sailing vessels, as their LOA can be significantly different from their LOD. In ISO 8666 for small boats, there is a definition of LOH , or length of hull . This may be shorter than a vessel's LOA, because it excludes other parts attached to the hull, such as bowsprits . Another measure of length
4235-477: The local Board of Aldermen's provision of $ 4,000 (equivalent to $ 77,923 in 2023) for the construction of a moveable bridge. Based on sparse details, the first structure apparently featured a deck made of wooden planks and a single-track railroad. It opened in 1875. Throughout the bridge's life, it was often found to be in a poor state of upkeep, and local newspapers repeatedly wrote of its dangerous condition: The Grand street bridge, over Newtown Creek, which
4312-554: The location between Grand St. and Grand Avenue. Up until the mid-20th century, the crossing also carried horse-drawn (and later, electrified) streetcars of the Grand Street and Newtown Railroad , which was later leased by Brooklyn City Railroad and eventually became the Brooklyn and Queens Transit Corporation . One of the earliest references to a permanent crossing is found in an 1864 article from The Brooklyn Daily Times , reporting on
4389-504: The more common designs. The Allan truss , designed by Percy Allan , is partly based on the Howe truss . The first Allan truss was completed on 13 August 1894 over Glennies Creek at Camberwell, New South Wales and the last Allan truss bridge was built over Mill Creek near Wisemans Ferry in 1929. Completed in March 1895, the Tharwa Bridge located at Tharwa, Australian Capital Territory ,
4466-412: The needs at the site and allow rapid deployment of completed trusses. In the image, note the use of pairs of doubled trusses to adapt to the span and load requirements. In other applications the trusses may be stacked vertically, and doubled as necessary. The Baltimore truss is a subclass of the Pratt truss. A Baltimore truss has additional bracing in the lower section of the truss to prevent buckling in
4543-513: The new bridge) saw heavy use by maritime traffic through the early and middle decades of the 20th century, a greater trend toward highway and rail transportation in the postwar era also correlated to fewer drawbridge openings as time progressed. According to NYCDOT data, Grand Street Bridge's opening frequency had fallen to fewer than 100 instances per year by 1997. Due to minimal usage, the Coast Guard amended federal regulations in 2000 to require
4620-407: The new span was an improvement on its predecessor, the warm welcome would be short-lived. A significant controversy developed just eight years after its opening when local businessmen, represented by Congressman Charles G. Bennett , secured federal funding for dredging Newtown Creek to the tune of $ 275,000 (equivalent to $ 9,325,556 in 2023). While the new channel depth of 18 feet (5.5 m)
4697-681: The railroad dispatched three work wagons and at least 60 men. The workmen swiftly overpowered the few sheriff's deputies who had been warned in advance, resulting in one officer injury and one worker being arrested in the tussle. While some of the installation was carried out later that night after the deputies retreated, the situation escalated severely on the morning of March 24. When the railroad workers returned that Saturday, they were met with more sheriff's deputies from both Kings and Queens counties, who had been keeping watch all night. A news article, paraphrased below, detailed what happened next: Anticipating that an attempt would be made to stop them,
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#17328633230594774-474: The roadbed but are not connected, a pony truss or half-through truss. Sometimes both the upper and lower chords support roadbeds, forming a double-decked truss . This can be used to separate rail from road traffic or to separate the two directions of road traffic. Since through truss bridges have supports located over the bridge deck, they are susceptible to being hit by overheight loads when used on highways. The I-5 Skagit River bridge collapsed after such
4851-559: The short verticals will also be used to anchor the supports. Thus the short-span girders can be made lighter because their span is shorter. A good example of the Baltimore truss is the Amtrak Old Saybrook – Old Lyme Bridge in Connecticut , United States. The Bollman Truss Railroad Bridge at Savage, Maryland , United States is the only surviving example of a revolutionary design in the history of American bridge engineering. The type
4928-451: The simplest truss styles to implement, the king post consists of two angled supports leaning into a common vertical support. This type of bridge uses a substantial number of lightweight elements, easing the task of construction. Truss elements are usually of wood, iron, or steel. A lenticular truss bridge includes a lens-shape truss, with trusses between an upper chord functioning as an arch that curves up and then down to end points, and
5005-401: The standard for covered bridges built in central Ohio in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Pegram truss is a hybrid between the Warren and Parker trusses where the upper chords are all of equal length and the lower chords are longer than the corresponding upper chord. Because of the difference in upper and lower chord length, each panel is not square. The members which would be vertical in
5082-409: The term lenticular truss and, according to Thomas Boothby, the casual use of the term has clouded the literature. The Long truss was designed by Stephen H. Long in 1830. The design resembles a Howe truss , but is entirely made of wood instead of a combination of wood and metal. The longest surviving example is the Eldean Covered Bridge north of Troy, Ohio , spanning 224 feet (68 m). One of
5159-404: The top or the bottom are the most common as this allows both the top and bottom to be stiffened, forming a box truss . When the roadbed is atop the truss, it is a deck truss; an example of this was the I-35W Mississippi River bridge . When the truss members are both above and below the roadbed it is called a through truss; an example of this is the Pulaski Skyway , and where the sides extend above
5236-428: The upper chord under compression. In a cantilever truss the situation is reversed, at least over a portion of the span. The typical cantilever truss bridge is a "balanced cantilever", which enables the construction to proceed outward from a central vertical spar in each direction. Usually these are built in pairs until the outer sections may be anchored to footings. A central gap, if present, can then be filled by lifting
5313-454: The work be stopped. As soon as he did so, the man cried out: "Here, boys, roast the ––– ––– –––!" Immediately, one of the men carrying the live wire placed a coil of it around the neck of Deputy Mayer. The unfortunate man cried out in agony as the wire burned into his flesh. The deputy sheriffs were astounded at the action of the railroad men and determined to give up the fight. When colleagues of Deputy Mayer attempted to assist his defense of
5390-441: The workers had made their preparations accordingly. The railroad men had the wires on one of the tower trucks, and they connected these wires with the live trolley wires. Some of the men, all wearing rubber gloves to protect them from the live trolley wire, walked out on the bridge, drawing the wire after them. Deputy Philip Mayer stepped out on the structure to where the foreman of the gang was standing and ordered him to direct that
5467-428: Was a boon to shipping interests, it also required reinforcement of the bridge foundation. This had the side-effect of narrowing each draw opening by 6 feet (1.8 m) and further-complicating the channel's geometry, making it unusable by vessels longer than 125 feet (38 m) LOA (i.e.– most of the freight vessels in operation on the creek at the time). After receiving complaints from the area's maritime operators,
5544-421: Was a native New Yorker who estimated a replacement cost of $ 60,750 (equivalent to $ 2,060,100 in 2023). Construction began in the summer of 1889, with expectations of the crossing being closed to road and rail traffic for nearly five months. The project's completion was formally accepted by county Supervisors on July 30, 1890 at a final cost of around $ 70,000 (equivalent to $ 2,373,778 in 2023), including
5621-414: Was also easy to assemble. Wells Creek Bollman Bridge is the only other bridge designed by Wendel Bollman still in existence, but it is a Warren truss configuration. The bowstring truss bridge was patented in 1841 by Squire Whipple . While similar in appearance to a tied-arch bridge , a bowstring truss has diagonal load-bearing members: these diagonals result in a structure that more closely matches
5698-410: Was confident that funding could be secured for a replacement, since "the city could not afford to allow important highways to come in danger of being closed to all passage." On April 21, 1899, the New York City Board of Estimate under Mayor Robert Anderson Van Wyck authorized bonds worth $ 200,000 (equivalent to $ 6,782,222 in 2023) for construction of the third Grand Street Bridge. According to
5775-405: Was named after its inventor, Wendel Bollman , a self-educated Baltimore engineer. It was the first successful all-metal bridge design (patented in 1852) to be adopted and consistently used on a railroad. The design employs wrought iron tension members and cast iron compression members. The use of multiple independent tension elements reduces the likelihood of catastrophic failure. The structure
5852-659: Was popular with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad . The Appomattox High Bridge on the Norfolk and Western Railway included 21 Fink deck truss spans from 1869 until their replacement in 1886. There are also inverted Fink truss bridges such as the Moody Pedestrian Bridge in Austin, Texas. The Howe truss , patented in 1840 by Massachusetts millwright William Howe , includes vertical members and diagonals that slope up towards
5929-814: Was the second Allan truss bridge to be built, the oldest surviving bridge in the Australian Capital Territory and the oldest, longest continuously used Allan truss bridge. Completed in November 1895, the Hampden Bridge in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales , Australia, the first of the Allan truss bridges with overhead bracing, was originally designed as a steel bridge but was constructed with timber to reduce cost. In his design, Allan used Australian ironbark for its strength. A similar bridge also designed by Percy Allen
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