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18-576: Before the current bridges crossing the Rouge River at West Jefferson and Fort Streets were built, the two crossings were served by narrow swing bridges . By the late 1910s, these spans urgently needed replacing, in large part because they interfered with the Federal government's plans to dredge the Rouge River to provide freighter access to the Ford River Rouge Complex . Both the city of Detroit (who

36-456: A Multiple Property Submission of historic highway bridges in the state of Michigan. The West Jefferson Avenue bridge was hit by the lake freighter Herbert C. Jackson in the early morning of May 12, 2013, causing significant damage to the bridge. The bridge operator on duty was heavily intoxicated, and rapidly closed the bridge after opening it and signalling for the freighter to proceed. The Herbert C. Jackson , loaded with iron ore bound for

54-486: A $ 1,000 fine, but was not otherwise criminally charged. The bridge was closed to road traffic for over three years while repairs were made, to the displeasure of city leaders in River Rouge, who criticized Wayne County officials for inaction. The bridge reopened on August 12, 2016, at a cost of over $ 20 million, the majority of which was covered by insurance. Swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge )

72-597: A few hundred feet. There are often traffic lights for the road and water traffic, and moving barriers for the road traffic. In the United States , regulations governing the operation of moveable bridges (referred to as drawbridges )  – for example, hours of operation and how much advance notice must be given by water traffic – are listed in Title 33 of the Code of Federal Regulations ; temporary deviations are published in

90-400: A location 200 yards north of Jefferson. The old Jefferson Avenue bridge was closed and the detour opened on November 13, 1920. Construction on the bridge commenced immediately. Each leaf was to be supported by four 12-foot-square concrete footings, sunk to the bedrock 70 feet (21 m) below the water line. The footings supported a concrete pit measuring 50 by 80 feet (24 m) which housed

108-480: A river or canal , 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

126-411: Is a bridge that moves to allow passage for boats or barges. In American English, the term is synonymous with drawbridge , and the latter is the common term, but drawbridge can be limited to the narrower, historical definition used in some other forms of English, in which drawbridge refers to only a specific type of moveable bridge often found in castles. An advantage of making bridges moveable

144-406: Is a movable bridge 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

162-546: Is optimized for tight spaces, and features a hidden counterweight that descends into a pit when the bridge opens. The cost for the pair of bridges was estimated at $ 2 million. A bond issue to fund construction was approved by Wayne County voters, and an alternate route onto which Jefferson Avenue traffic could be shunted was devised. Wayne County obtained an old truss, originally used by the Michigan Central Railroad upstream of Jefferson, and floated it downstream to

180-435: 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 of traffic on the waterway. For seldom-used railroad bridges over busy channels, the bridge may be left open and then closed for train passages. For small bridges, bridge movement may be enabled without the need for an engine. Some bridges are operated by

198-535: The Rouge Steel plant, dropped its anchors and reversed its engines, but could not stop in time. The bridge was damaged severely in the 2013 incident, which was technically an allision . The Herbert C. Jackson suffered only minor damage, and there were no injuries aboard the freighter or on shore. The bridge operator, a 17-year employee of the Wayne County Road Commission, was fired and ordered to pay

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216-546: The Rouge River. In the early 1980s, the county spent $ 2.2 million to repair portions of the West Jefferson Bridge (as well as doing similar work to the crossing at Dix Avenue). These repairs have somewhat altered the West Jefferson Bridge, but it retains its integrity as a significant example of early twentieth-century engineering. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000, as part of

234-634: The UK, there is a legal definition in current statute as to what is, or is not a 'swing bridge' The largest double swing-span bridge in the United States is the 3,250 feet (990 m) long, 450 feet (140 m) navigable span, 60 feet (18 m) clearance George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge . 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 Movable bridge A moveable bridge , or movable bridge ,

252-411: The approaches. On August 21, 1922, the two bascule leaves were lowered simultaneously for the first time. The bridge was opened to traffic on October 17; at the time, work on the approaches was still ongoing, but operating machinery on the detour bridge failed, necessitating the bridge's removal to allow free passage of river traffic. The next year, the federal government completed its planned dredging of

270-467: 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. Many inner cities have swing bridges, since these require less street space than other types of bridges. (A "swing bridge" in New Zealand refers to a flexible walking track bridge which "swings" as you walk across.) In

288-632: The counterweights and machinery. Wayne County contracted with the Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Company of Leavenworth, Kansas, to build the substructure for $ 408,280; with the Strobel Steel Construction Company of Chicago to build the superstructure for $ 378,005; Cooper-Widenmann Construction Company of Detroit to build the operators' houses for $ 78,700; and Fowler Electrical Supply Company of Toledo, Ohio, to supply electrical equipment for $ 34,809. County crews graded and paved

306-418: The users, especially those with a boat, others by a bridgeman (or bridge tender ); a few are remotely controlled using video-cameras and loudspeakers. Generally, the bridges are powered by electric motors, whether operating winches, gearing, or hydraulic pistons. While moveable bridges in their entirety may be quite long, the length of the moveable portion is restricted by engineering and cost considerations to

324-436: Was responsible for maintaining the bridges) and Wayne County agreed that the county could better oversee the construction, but legal restrictions prohibited county involvement until state law was changed in 1919. With the new legislation in place, plans were drawn up in 1920 for a "Chicago city type of single trunnion, double-leaf bascule bridge" for each bridge. This design, prototyped by the 1902 Cortland Street Drawbridge ,

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