A brace of concrete in addition to steel that floats may look highly odd , if non impossible , but in that place are 20 such bridges some the globe , 5 inward the USA acre of Washington lonely , of which iv are the longest floating bridges inward the world.
Floating bridges , also known equally pontoon bridges , are ordinarily temporary structures built out of forest during times of emergencies such equally war. Wooden floats in addition to sometimes boats are lashed together in addition to apartment planks are pose over creating a roadway , allowing men in addition to materials to cross bodies of water. Pontoon bridges direct keep been used to bully wages inward many battles throughout history , including the Second World War in addition to during the Iran–Iraq War.
Homer Hadley Floating Bridge in addition to Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge. Photo credit: Atmoc Taco/Flickr
The longest permanent floating brace , Evergreen Point , commonly called the SR 520 Bridge , lies across Lake Washington , inward Seattle. It carries the traffic of State Route 520 in addition to is 4 ,750 meters long. The Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge , the instant longest brace inward the globe , lies across the same lake simply a few miles to the southward , in addition to is ii ,020 meters long.
But why floating bridges? The respond lies inward Lake Washington’s tricky geographical location. The lake bed is likewise soft for piers of a conventional bridge. The other alternative , a intermission brace , would ask brace towers the summit of Seattle’s Space Needle , which would direct keep been likewise expensive.
The thought of a floating brace across Lake Washington was outset proposed past times engineer Homer Hadley inward the 1930s. Hadley had worked for a theatre designing concrete barges during World War I in addition to he proposed the thought of connecting hollow concrete barges end-to-end to Lacey V. Murrow , the state's in addition to therefore manager of highways. Hadley’s floating brace was such a success that Washington State adopted the concept for futurity bridges. The instant brace , Evergreen Point , the longest inward the globe , was opened inward 1963. In award of the human being who outset spearheaded the thought , the tertiary brace was named later Homer Hadley. Today , Lake Washington is abode to 3 , in addition to all order with the 5 longest floating bridges inward the world.
The master Lake Washington floating brace , opened on July 3 , 1940. Photo credit: seattlepi.com
The Lacey V. Murrow brace (right) is the world's third-longest floating brace at half dozen ,603 feet. The electrical current brace was built inward 1993 , replacing a construction that sank during a severe storm. Photo credit: Joshua Trujillo/seattlepi.com
Homer Hadley Bridge (left) in addition to Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge (right). Photo credit: Joshua Trujillo/seattlepi.com
Photo credit: Anna/Flickr
Evergreen Point Floating Bridge. Photo credit: Atomic Taco/Flickr
Aerial persuasion of Evergreen Point Road , Eastside staging expanse in addition to floating brace construction barges. Photo credit: Washington State Dept of Transportation/Flickr
A photograph taken on June , 2012 , shows the newly gear upward girders with the SR 520 floating bridge. Photo credit: Washington State Dept of Transportation/Flickr
Evergreen Point Floating Bridge. Photo credit: SounderBruce/Flickr
Evergreen Point Floating Bridge. Photo credit: Ramanathan Kathiresan/Flickr
Evergreen Point Floating Bridge. Photo credit: Peter Svensk/Flickr
Sources: Seattle Pi / The Engines of Our Ingenuity / Wikipedia