George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge
The George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge is a double swing bridge that spans the York River between Yorktown and Gloucester Point, in the United States state of Virginia. It connects the Peninsula and Middle Peninsula regions of Tidewater, Virginia. The bridge is the only public crossing of the York River, though State Route 33 crosses both of its tributaries just upriver of their confluence at West Point.
The Coleman Bridge as seen from Yorktown as it connects with Gloucester Point.
Bridge swung open as seen from Yorktown side, Summer 2011
One of the two swing spans while fully turned (open for river traffic)
Opened bridge as seen from aboard a Navy ship
A swing bridge is a movable bridge that can be rotated horizontally around a vertical axis. It has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right.
I Street swing Bridge span turned to allow a boat to pass Sacramento California
BNSF Railroad Bridge 9.6 across the Columbia River in Portland, Oregon, showing the swing-span section turning.
An example of how small swing bridges like this one may be pivoted only at one end, but that does require substantial underground structure to support the pivot. Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, Cape Town.
El Ferdan Railway Bridge in Egypt; the longest swing bridge in the world, runs from the east of the Suez Canal to the west into Sinai. It is left open most of the time to allow sailing ships to pass in the canal, only closing during the passage of trains.
