List of longest continuous truss bridge spans

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 ways. First by the length of main span (the longest length of unsupported roadway) and second by the total length of continuous truss spans.

This list includes 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 list includes the Francis Scott Key Bridge which incorporates an arch shape into the design, but is continuous across multiple spans. The Key Bridge acts 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 demolished are noted separately.

List ranked by length of main span

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 of 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)	Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan	400	1312	1991
	[2] *	Astoria-Megler Bridge (The longest span from 1966 to 1991)	Astoria, Oregon, USA	376	1,232	1966
	[3]	Francis Scott Key Bridge	Baltimore, Maryland, USA	366	1,200	1977
Linked image	[4] *	Oshima Bridge	Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan	325	1,066	1976
Linked image	[5] *	Tenmon Bridge	Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan	300	984	1966
	[6]	Kuronoseto Bridge	Kuronoseto, Japan	300	984	1974
	[7]	Ravenswood Bridge	Ravenswood, West Virginia, USA	274	900	1980
	[8] *	Taylor-Southgate Bridge	Cincinnati, Ohio, USA	259	850	1995
	[9] *	Julien Dubuque Bridge	Dubuque, Iowa, USA	258	845	1943
	[10]	Braga Bridge	Somerset, Massachusetts, USA	256	840	1966
Linked image	[11] *	Kamakari bridge	Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan	255	837	1979
Linked image	[12] *	Earle C. Clements (Shawneetown) Bridge	Shawneetown, Kentucky, USA	252	826	1956
	[13] *	Bob Cummings - Lincoln Trail Bridge	Cannelton, Indiana, USA	251	825	1966
	[14] *	Cairo I-57 Bridge	Cairo, Illinois, USA	250	821	1978
Linked image	[15]	Yoshima Bridge	Seto Inland Sea, Japan	245	804	1988
	[16]	Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge	Kingston, New York, USA	244	800	1957
	[17] *	Don N. Holt Bridge	Charleston, South Carolina, USA	244	800	1992
Linked image	[18] *	Glade Creek Bridge	Beckley, West Virginia, USA	239	785	1988
Linked image	[19] *	Rochester-Monaca Bridge	Rochester, Pennsylvania, USA	238	780	1987
Linked image	[20] *	Rockpile Road Bridge	Sonoma County, California, USA	230	753	1978
	[21] *	Sewickley Bridge	Sewickley, Pennsylvania, USA	229	750	1981
	[22]	Betsy Ross Bridge	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA	222	729	1976
	[23] *	Matthew E. Welsh Bridge	Mauckport, Indiana, USA	221	725	1966

List ranked by total length

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.^[1]

	Rank	Name	Location	Individual span lengths in feet or meters	Total length in feet and meters
	1	Francis Scott Key Bridge	Baltimore, Maryland, USA	219.6 + 366 + 219.6 meters [2]	2,640 feet (800 m)
	2	Ikitsuki OHashi Bridge	Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan	200 + 400 + 200 meters [2]	2,625 feet (800 m)
	3	Astoria-Megler Bridge	Astoria, Oregon, USA	616 + 1,232 + 616 feet [2]	2,464 feet (751 m)

History of the record span

	Name	Location	Main span in feet (meters)	Longest from	Longest to
	Ikitsuki OHashi Bridge	Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan	400 m (1,312 ft)	1991	present
	Astoria-Megler Bridge	Astoria, Oregon, USA	375.6 m (1,232 ft)	1966	1991
Linked image	Duisburg-Rheinhausen Bridge	Duisburg, Germany	254.5 meters (835 ft)	1945	1966
	Sciotoville Bridge	Sciotodale, Ohio, USA	236 meters (774 ft)	1917	1945

See also

v • d • e Bridge-related articles Types of bridges Moveable bridge · Beam bridge · Cantilever bridge · Arch bridge · Suspension bridge · Cable-stayed bridge · Truss bridge · Visual index to various types Lists of Bridges Notable bridges · By length · Longest suspension bridge spans · Largest cable-stayed bridges · Longest cantilever bridges · Longest continuous truss bridges · Arch bridges · Tallest · Bridge disasters

References

• 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. pp. 296. ISBN 084939810X. http://books.google.com/books?id=5mvVElGudyYC. Retrieved 2008-07-09. "Table 13.4 The leading continuous truss bridges" 
• Theroux, Stephane (2005-01-17). "Top Continuous Truss Bridges". Blackdog Media. http://www.factophile.com/show.content?action=view&pageid=577. Retrieved 2008-07-10. 
• Janberg, Nicolas, Truss bridges, Structurae.de (an extensive database of structures)

Footnotes