List of longest continuous truss bridge spans

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The Braga Bridge is a continuous truss bridge. It was the fourth longest span of this type when it was completed in 1966.

This list of continuous bridge spans ranks the world's continuous truss bridges in two listings: The first is ranked by the length of main span (the longest length of unsupported roadway) and the second by the total length of continuous truss spans.

Both lists include bridges that act primarily as a continuous truss. These bridges may appear to be—or may incorporate elements of—a different design. For example, the now destroyed Francis Scott Key Bridge incorporated an arch shape into the design, but was continuous across multiple spans. The Key Bridge acted first as a continuous truss bridge and secondarily as an arch bridge. This list does not include cantilever bridges.

Only bridges that are currently in use are included in the rankings. Bridges currently being planned, designed, or constructed and bridges that have been destroyed or demolished are noted separately.

List ranked by length of main span[edit]

The length of main span is the most common method of comparing the size of bridges. The length of the main span will often correlate with the depth of the truss (height the truss from bottom to top) and the engineering complexity involved in designing and constructing the bridge.

For bridges that have the same span length, the older bridge is listed first.

Note: Click on each bridge's rank to go to the bridge's official Web site. Ranks with a red asterisk (*) do not have official Web sites (or they do not have an English-language version) and are linked instead to a reference entry.
    Rank Name Location Main
span
metres
Main
span
feet
Year
opened
[1]* Ikitsuki Bridge
(The longest span from 1991 to the present)
Japan Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan 400 1,312   1991
[2] * Astoria-Megler Bridge
(The longest span from 1966 to 1991)
United States Astoria, Oregon, USA 376 1,232   1966
[3] Francis Scott Key Bridge (destroyed in 2024) United States Baltimore, Maryland, USA 366 1,200   1977
[4] Hart Bridge United States Jacksonville, Florida, USA 331 1,088   1967
[5] * Oshima Bridge Japan Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan 325 1,066   1976
[6] * Tenmon Bridge Japan Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan 300 984   1966
[7] Kuronoseto Bridge Japan Kuronoseto, Japan 300 984   1974
[8] * Taylor-Southgate Bridge United States Cincinnati, Ohio / Newport, Kentucky, USA 259 850   1995
[9] * Julien Dubuque Bridge United States Dubuque, Iowa / East Dubuque, Illinois, USA 258 845   1943
[10] Braga Bridge United States Somerset / Fall River, Massachusetts, USA 256 840   1966
[11] * Kamakari bridge Japan Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan 255 837   1979
Linked image [12] * Earle C. Clements (Shawneetown) Bridge United States Old Shawneetown, Illinois / Union County, Kentucky, USA 251.5 826   1955
[13] * Cairo I-57 Bridge United States Charleston, Missouri / Cairo, Illinois, USA 250 821   1978
[14] Yoshima Bridge Japan Seto Inland Sea, Japan 245 804   1988
[15] Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge United States Dahlgren, Virginia and Newburg, Maryland, USA 244 800   1940
[16] Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge United States Kingston, New York, USA 244 800   1957
[17] * Don N. Holt Bridge United States Charleston, South Carolina, USA 244 800   1992
Linked image [18] * Phil G McDonald Bridge United States Beckley, West Virginia, USA 239 785   1988
Linked image [19] * Rochester-Monaca Bridge United States Rochester, Pennsylvania, USA 238 780   1986
[20] * Sciotoville Bridge (2 spans) United States Sciotodale, Ohio / Limeville, Kentucky, USA 236 775   1916
[21] * Warm Springs Creek Bridge[1] United States Sonoma County, California, USA 230 753   1978
[22] * Sewickley Bridge United States Sewickley, Pennsylvania, USA 229 750   1981
[23] Betsy Ross Bridge United States Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA 222 729   1976
[24] * Matthew E. Welsh Bridge United States Mauckport, Indiana, USA 221 725   1966



List ranked by total length[edit]

It is also possible to rank continuous truss bridges by the sum of the continuous spans.

Note that if the bridge has an expansion joint (a discontinuity), the sections of the bridge would be considered separate (by the definition of a continuous bridge) for the purposes of this ranking. The Yoshima Bridge is an example of this. It consists of two continuous-truss sections that together have five total spans. The first section (or unit) is 2-span continuous, 125 m + 137 m; the second section is a 3-span unit, 165 m + 245 m + 165 m.[2]

Rank Name Location Individual span lengths
in meters or feet
Total length in
meters (feet)
1 Dashengguan Bridge China Nanjing, China 108 + 192 + 336 + 336 + 192 + 108 meters [3] 1,272 metres (4,173 ft)
2 Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge China Jiujiang, China 3*162 + 180 + 216 + 180 + 2*126 m[4] 1,314 m (4,311 ft)
3 Francis Scott Key Bridge (destroyed in 2024) United States Baltimore, Maryland, USA 219.6 + 366 + 219.6 meters [5] 2,640 feet (800 m)
4 Ikitsuki Bridge Japan Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan 200 + 400 + 200 m[5] 800.0 m (2,624.7 ft)
5 Astoria-Megler Bridge United States Astoria, Oregon, USA 616 + 1,232 + 616 ft[5] 751 m (2,464 ft)

History of the record span[edit]

Name Location Main span
in meters (feet)
Longest
from
Longest
to
Ikitsuki Bridge Japan Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan 400 m (1,300 ft) 1991 present
Astoria-Megler Bridge United States Astoria, Oregon, USA 375.6 m (1,232 ft) 1966 1991
Duisburg-Rheinhausen Bridge Germany Duisburg, Germany 254.5 meters (835 ft) 1945 1966
Sciotoville Bridge United States Sciotodale, Ohio, USA 236 meters (774 ft) 1916 1945

References[edit]

  • Durkee, Jackson, "World's Longest Bridge Spans", National Steel Bridge Alliance, May 24, 1999
  • Garrison, Ervan G. (1998). A History of Engineering and Technology: Artful Methods. New York: CRC Press. p. 296. ISBN 0-8493-9810-X. Retrieved 2008-07-09. Table 13.4 The leading continuous truss bridges
  • Theroux, Stephane (2005-01-17). "Top Continuous Truss Bridges". Blackdog Media. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  • Lewis, Scott (2016-01-05). "The World's Ten Longest Continuous Truss Bridges". New York: Engineering News-Record.
  • Janberg, Nicolas, Truss bridges, Structurae.de (an extensive database of structures)

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ "Warm Springs Creek Bridge". HighestBridges.com.
  2. ^ Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Authority. "Yoshima Bridge". Archived from the original on 2008-02-14. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
  3. ^ "Dashengguan Bridge (Nanjing, 2010)".
  4. ^ (Chinese) 有关“九江长江大桥”的图片 Archived 2015-01-28 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ a b c Ewert, Sven (2003). Brücken (Bridges) (in German). Ernst & Sohn. p. 43. ISBN 3-433-01612-7. Retrieved 2008-07-11.