Movable bridges are unique type of structures that address both states of stability and moveability. They carry the traffic between the sides of a navigation stream, e.g. railway, vehicular and pedestrian, and move occasionally for navigation purposes. The design and construction of movable bridges require intensive coordination between various engineering disciplines along with consideration to the bridge aesthetics and surrounding landscape. Swing bridges are one of the most common types of movable bridges where the bridge superstructure rotates within the horizontal plane about a vertical axis through the bridge centre pier. Herein, a swing bridge is proposed to reduce the transportation time between the sides of a navigation stream significantly. The structural analysis of the bridge accounts for the major differences of the superstructure statical system between the bridge opened and closed positions in addition to the cases of loading for the carried traffic. Moreover, the analysis results are not only influencing the structural design but also the design of the associated mechanical systems required to rotate the superstructure and to support it for specific cases of loading. In order to optimize the bridge design, two superstructure options are investigated along with two alternatives for the top bracing system. The first option represents deep truss girders with horizontal bracing between the top chords of the trusses while the second option eliminates this bracing to allow for shallower trusses. The conducted structural analysis, design and cost comparison between the investigated options are discussed through the present paper.
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