These pontoon bridges are semi-permanent floating bridges located throughout the world. Four of the five longest floating bridges in the world are in Washington state.
Longest
The former Albert D. Rosellini Evergreen Point Bridge, at 7,578 feet (2,310 m), built in 1963, was the longest floating bridge in the world until the replacement bridge opened in 2016.
List
Australia
Belarus
Canada
China
Curaçao
- Queen Emma Bridge
- A pontoon bridge from Punda to Otrabanda across the harbor of Willemstad on the island of Curaçao. Notable because this permanent bridge is hinged and opens regularly to enable the passage of oceangoing vessels.
- Span
Egypt
Guyana
India
- Howrah Bridge
- Completed 1874.
- Decommissioned 1943
- This bridge, connected Howrah and Calcutta on opposite banks of Hooghly River, was built using timber on pontoon and was opened to let river traffic through.
Norway
Spain
- Puente de Barcas (Boat bridge), Seville
- Completed 1171, Spans 149 meters (488,8 ft).
- Moved 1845 for construct Puente de Isabel II
- Scrapped 1852
Turkey
- Galata Bridge
- Completed 1875. Spans .
- Decommissioned 1992.
- This floating bridge crossed the Golden Horn in Turkey. After it was damaged by a 1992 fire, it was towed up the Golden Horn to make way for the fifth and current Galata Bridge, a bascule bridge.
United Arab Emirates
United States
- Admiral Clarey Bridge, a moveable pontoon bridge that connects Ford Island with Oahu in Pearl Harbor.
- The Dardanelle pontoon bridge over the Arkansas River connecting Pope and Yell counties at Dardanelle, Arkansas.
- Replacing a private ferry when it opened in 1891, the movable structure operated as a toll bridge. It was used until January 1929, when a toll-free bridge of concrete and steel replaced it at a cost of $600,000.
- Once considered the longest pontoon bridge in the world at 2,150 feet, its original construction cost $35,000.
- The original reason for the bridge was the hauling of cotton bales considered vital to the railroad that owned it.
- Over the years, it was washed away, in parts or completely, many times.
- Governor Albert D. Rosellini Bridge â Evergreen Point
- Completed 1963. Spans .
- Formerly spanned Lake Washington in Washington State, carrying State Route 520 from Seattle to Medina. A toll bridge until 1979, its common name is the 520 bridge or Evergreen Point Floating Bridge. It was the longest floating bridge in the world until 2016.
- This bridge was removed in Spring, 2017.
- SR 520 Albert D. Rosellini Evergreen Point Floating Bridge (2016 bridge)
- Completed 2016. Spans .
- World's longest and widest floating bridge. Built to replace the 1963 bridge of the same name.
- Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge
- Original bridge completed in 1940 but sank in 1990 because of weather and mishaps in maintenance.
- Second bridge completed 1993. Spans .
- Spans Lake Washington in Washington State, carrying Interstate 90 traffic eastbound from Seattle to Mercer Island. A toll bridge until 1946, its common name is the I-90 bridge or Lake Washington Floating Bridge. It was the first floating bridge longer than a mile, and at the time was the longest floating structure in the world. It is now the second longest floating bridge in the world.
- Hood Canal Bridge
- Completed 1961. Spans .
- Carries State Route 104 across Hood Canal in Washington state. It is the third longest floating bridge in the world.
- This bridge broke apart in the February 13, 1979 windstorm. It was rebuilt 3 years later.
- Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge
- Completed 1989. Spans .
- Spans Lake Washington in Washington state, carrying Interstate 90 traffic westbound from Mercer Island to Seattle. It runs parallel to the Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge, which carries eastbound Interstate 90 Traffic, and is also commonly referred to as the I-90 bridge or Lake Washington Floating Bridge. It is the fifth longest floating bridge in the world.
- Eastbank Esplanade
- Completed 2001. Spans .
- Located in Portland, Oregon, it is the longest floating pedestrian bridge in the United States.
- Sunset Lake Floating Bridge
- Located in Brookfield, Vermont
- Built on logs in 1820, then upon tarred barrels in 1884, rebuilt using plastic barrels filled with styrofoam in 1978, carries light automobile traffic. This bridge was closed for replacement spring of 2008, and the current iteration makes use of fiber-reinforced polymer pontoons.
References