Industrial History: FEC/SCXF/SCFE Bridge over St. Luce Canal near Port Mayaca

(Bridge Hunter, no Historic Bridges, Satellite)

FEC = Florida East Coast
SCXF = South Central Florida Express
SCF = South Central Florida

The spindly nature of the towers for a railroad bridge caught my eye. Bridge Hunter indicates it was built by Waddell & Harrington. They are the ones that pioneered the lift bridge design, so they know how to build big lift bridges, for example Pennsy's bridge over the Chicago River. I guess this canal has just recreational boats so the span is a lot shorter than what is needed for commercial navigation. Since the span is shorter, they can use a plate girder span, which I assume is lighter than a truss span. Consequently, the counterweights and sheaves can be smaller. The truss across the top that ties the towers together helps hold them vertical. Thus the towers can be lighter than what I'm used to seeing.