A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge ) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span , or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- or double-leafed.
4-534: Queenie Bridge is a toll-free bascule bridge in Peterhead , Aberdeenshire , Scotland. Opened in 1954, it connects Bridge Street and Greenhill Road in the town's harbour area . It replaced a swing bridge which had stood on the site since 1850 and was built at a cost of £8,000. There has been a crossing at this point in the harbour since at least 1739. The bridge's name is a play on Quinzie (the Scots version of
8-411: The counterweights to the span may be located above or below the bridge deck. The fixed- trunnion (sometimes a "Chicago" bascule) rotates around a large axle that raises the span(s). The Chicago bascule name derives from the location where it is widely used, and is a refinement by Joseph Strauss of the fixed-trunnion. The rolling lift trunnion (sometimes a "Scherzer" rolling lift), raises
12-478: The French word coin , which signifies a corner), the historic name of the area of town to the south of Port Henry , which was constructed in 1593. Quinzie was a causeway of boulders, covered only by spring tides, which linked the islands of Keith Inch and Greenhill to the mainland. Bascule bridge The name comes from the French term for balance scale , which employs the same principle. Bascule bridges are
16-439: The most common type of movable span because they open quickly and require relatively little energy to operate, while providing the possibility for unlimited vertical clearance for marine traffic. Bascule bridges have been in use since ancient times, but until the adoption of steam power in the 1850s, very long, heavy spans could not be moved quickly enough for practical application. There are three types of bascule bridge and
#227772