A continuous truss bridge is a truss bridge that extends without hinges or joints across three or more supports. A continuous truss bridge may use less material than a series of simple trusses because a continuous truss distributes live loads across all the spans; in a series of simple trusses, each truss must be capable of supporting the entire load.
7-625: The Platte Purchase Bridge was a continuous truss bridge over the Missouri River that handled northbound U.S. Route 69 , connecting the Seventh Street Trafficway in Fairfax, Kansas with Interstate 635 (Kansas–Missouri) in Riverside, Missouri . Its biggest span was 465.96 feet and it is 2552.19 feet long and had a deck width of 28.31 feet and vertical clearance of 15.02 feet. The bridge
14-607: A continuous truss. For example, the northern approach to the Golden Gate Bridge was initially constructed as a series of five simple truss spans. In 2001, a seismic retrofit project connected the five spans into a single continuous truss bridge. Continuous truss bridges started to be constructed in Europe during the second half of the 19th century. Although the advantages of continuous bridges were known, three main engineering challenges slowed their widespread adoption: However, it
21-476: The structure for stability. Severing a continuous truss mid-span endangers the structure, as exemplified by the collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge in March 2024. However, continuous truss bridges do not experience the tipping forces that a cantilever bridge must resist because the main span of a continuous truss bridge is supported at both ends. It is possible to convert a series of simple truss spans into
28-418: The two forms. Cantilever bridges need not connect rigidly mid-span, as the cantilever arms are self-supporting. Although some cantilever bridges appear continuous due to decorative trusswork at the joints, these bridges will remain standing if the connections between the cantilevers are broken or the suspended span (if any) is removed. Conversely, continuous truss bridges rely on rigid truss connections throughout
35-646: Was named for the Platte Purchase . The bridge was opened in 1957 to alleviate traffic concerns on the older Fairfax Bridge . The Platte Purchase Bridge carries northbound traffic, while the older span carries southbound traffic. In 2013 plans were announced for replacement of both the Platte Purchase Bridge and the Fairfax Bridge. When the latter closed on October 31, 2014, the Platte Purchase span
42-835: Was possible to avoid these issues to a certain extent through careful design. The early European bridges were usually lattice trusses with three to five spans. An example was the Boyne Viaduct , built in 1855 in Drogheda , Ireland . The first continuous truss bridge in North America was the Lachine Bridge in Montreal , built in 1888, followed by the Sciotoville Bridge in 1916 and the Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad Bridge in 1918. Since
49-649: Was restriped to handle two-way traffic. The Platte Purchase bridge was set for demolition in late 2016 when the new bridge opened. The first detonation occurred on the morning of Friday, December 9, 2016, and the rest of the bridge was demolished on Thursday, January 12, 2017. The replacement bridge was formally opened by the Missouri Department of Transportation on March 16, 2017. Continuous truss bridge Although some continuous truss bridges resemble cantilever bridges and may be constructed using cantilever techniques, there are essential differences between
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