A retractable bridge is a type of moveable bridge in which the deck can be rolled or slid backwards to open a gap while traffic crosses, usually a ship on a waterway. This type is sometimes referred to as a thrust bridge .
6-615: The Borden Avenue Bridge is a retractable bridge in New York City , in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens . It carries vehicular and pedestrian traffic across Dutch Kills, a tidal waterway that is a tributary of Newtown Creek . The main span is 84 feet (26 metres) long, and it retracts by sliding on rails. It was last retracted to allow marine traffic to pass in 2005. It was designed by Edward Abraham Byrne and opened on March 25, 1908. The Borden Avenue bridge
12-476: Is a more unusual example of the type, consisting of a glass shell supported in a helical steel frame, which rotates as it retracts. The Summer Street Bridge over Fort Point Channel in Boston is a variant type called a retractile bridge . This bridge is oriented northwest–southeast, with the northwest-bound lanes of traffic retracting diagonally to the north, and the southeast-bound lanes retracting diagonally to
18-891: Is not common. A retractable design may be considered when the maximum horizontal clearance is required (for example, over a canal). Two remaining examples exist in New York City: the Carroll Street Bridge (built 1889) in Brooklyn , and the Borden Avenue Bridge in Queens . A recent example can be found at Queen Alexandra Dock in Cardiff , Wales , where the bridge is jacked upwards before being rolled on wheels. Helix Bridge at Paddington Basin in London
24-593: Is one of four remaining retractable bridges in the United States , and one of two remaining in New York City, the other being the Carroll Street Bridge . This article about a bridge in New York is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Retractable bridge Retractable bridges date back to medieval times. Due to the large dedicated area required for this type of bridge, this design
30-670: Is popular in Guyana , which has the Demerara Harbour Bridge and the Berbice Bridge . Historical examples of designs for retractable bridges include those by Leonardo da Vinci and Agostino Ramelli . In the Netherlands , especially in the province of North Holland , a vlotbrug is a design of retractable bridge across a canal in which the roadway floats and can be retracted under fixed structures on
36-614: The west. Some retractable bridges are also floating bridges , such as the Hood Canal Bridge . Two other floating bridges in Washington state used to have retractable spans but were replaced with new floating bridges without retractable spans: the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge (replaced in 2016) and Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge (replaced after it accidentally sank in 1990). This design
#627372