Transporter bridge

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The Vizcaya Bridge in Portugalete is a World Heritage Site.

A transporter bridge (also ferry bridge or aerial transfer bridge) is a type of movable bridge that carries a segment of roadway across a river. The gondola is slung from a tall span by wires or a metal frame. The design has been used to cross navigable rivers or other bodies of water, where there is a requirement for ship traffic to be able to pass. This has been a rare type of bridge, with fewer than two dozen built. Just eight, plus one converted into a lift bridge, continue to be used today.

The first transporter bridge, Puente Colgante was built in Portugalete, Spain in 1893. The design from Alberto Palacio^[1] inspired others to attempt similar structures. The idea found use where it was seen as impractical to build the long approach ramps that would be required to reach a high span, and in places where ferries are not easily able to cross. Because transporter bridges can carry only a limited load, the idea was little used with the rise of the automobile.

The first French bridge was destroyed by the French army to slow down German troops in World War II.

Transporter bridges were most popular in France, where five were erected and another was partially completed. However, the United Kingdom has the largest number of transporter bridges today with four, though one is not currently in use.

The Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge The car can carry 200 people, 9 cars or 6 cars and one minibus.

The Newport Transporter Bridge can carry 6 cars and 120 passengers

The Newport Transporter Bridge was built in 1906 across the River Usk in Newport. Because the river banks are very low at the crossing point (a few miles south of the city centre) a traditional bridge would need a very long approach ramp and a ferry could not be used at low tide. The Newport bridge was a Ferdinand Arnodin design. The only other such bridge in the UK is the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge. When the latter featured in the 2002 series of the popular British TV show Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, people flocked to the area to check that the bridge was still there.

In the United States, two such bridges were built. The first was the Aerial Bridge built in Duluth, Minnesota in 1905, although the city had originally planned to build a vertical lift bridge at the site. The transporter design was used for about 25 years before the structure was reconfigured to lift a central span in 1930.

The second American transporter bridge was different from other designs and partially resembled gondola lifts used in mountainous regions. The Sky Ride was part of the 1933–34 World's Fair ("Century of Progress"), it was taken down after standing for just two years. However, it was the longest bridge of this type ever built at the time.

Two transporter bridges exist in Germany, in Rendsburg and Osten (Oste). One unique example is the bridge at Rendsburg, which is actually two bridges in one. A railroad link crosses high above on the top span, and the suspended ferry carries traffic on the valley floor.

The Soviets built the longest recorded transporter bridge, two decades later, in Stalingrad (now Volgograd).

1 Known transporter bridges
2 References
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Known transporter bridges

Bridge	Location	Completed	Span	Notes
Aerial Lift Bridge	Duluth, Minnesota, USA	1905	120 m	converted into a lift bridge in 1929, in use
Bizerta/Brest Transporter Bridge	Bizerta, Tunisia	1898	109 m	moved to Brest, France in 1909, damaged 1944, demolished 1947
Bordeaux Transporter Bridge	Bordeaux, France	—	400 m (total)	started 1910 but never completed, demolished 1942
Kiel Transporter Bridge	Kiel, Germany	1910	128 m	demolished 1923
Marseille Transporter Bridge	Marseille, France	1905	165 m	destroyed 1944
Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge	Middlesbrough, United Kingdom	1911	177 m	in use
Nantes Transporter Bridge	Nantes, France	1903	141 m	demolished 1958
Newport Transporter Bridge	Newport, United Kingdom	1906	181 m	in use
Osten Transporter Bridge	Osten, Germany	1909	80 m	in use
Portugalete Transporter Bridge	Portugalete, Spain	1893	164 m	in use
Puente Transbordador	Buenos Aires, Argentina	1914	?	Still in place but disused
Rendsburg High Bridge	Rendsburg, Germany	1913	140 m	in use, combo railroad/transporter bridge
Rio de Janeiro Transporter Bridge	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	1915	171 m	demolished 1935
Rochefort-Martrou Transporter Bridge	Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, France	1900	140 m	in use
Rouen Transporter Bridge	Rouen, France	1898	142 m	destroyed 1940
Royal Victoria Dock Bridge	London, United Kingdom	1998	128 m	in use, but not yet a transporter bridge.
Sky Ride	Chicago, Illinois, USA	1933	564 m	demolished 1934
Stalingrad Transporter Bridge	Volgograd, Russia	1955	874 m	demolished
Warrington Transporter Bridge	Warrington, United Kingdom	1916	57 m	disused, listed as an "ancient monument", but still at risk
Widnes-Runcorn Transporter Bridge	Widnes-Runcorn, United Kingdom	1905	304 m	demolished 1961