1898,1994 Glimmer Glass Bridge near Manasquan Inlet at Brielle, NJ

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite)

I classified this as a trunnion bridge because the span does pivot on a trunnion. But I added the label "bridgeRare" because it doesn't use the usual counterweight design.

Metrotrails posted

The Glimmer Glass Drawbridge is one of the only counterweight draw bridges of it's kind, located near the Manasquan Inlet, a section known as the "Glimmer Glass" at the Jersey Shore.

The cable lift Bascule bridge featuring rolling counterweight design was built in 1898, and may be the only surviving bridge of its kind in the eastern US.

The Glimmer Glass is a navigable, tidal channel of the Manasquan River between Manasquan and Brielle, Monmouth County NJ.

Metrotrails shared

Street View, Feb 2022

Street View, Aug 2017

Street View, Feb 2022

2009 Ben Eriksen Flickr via Bridge Hunter, License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 
"A VERY Tight Fit"

HistoricBridges, Photo credit: Elaine Deutsch, 2016
"Bridge Status: At risk for demolition and replacement."
The 279' (85m) long bridge has a movable span of 34' (10.4m).
"This is the last known surviving example of a Belidor type bascule bridge in the country. Despite never being common here, this bascule type was also built in Australia where they called it the 'American' type of bascule bridge which is ironic since the type is nearly extinct in the United States today."

He doesn't fly the drone on the other side where we would have a clear view of the curved ramp.

Photography By Gregory Coraggio 5:29 drone video via HistoricBridges

The 17-span bridge is composed of 16 timber stringer spans supported on braced timber pile bents and a 31'-long cable lift bascule rolling counterweight movable span. The single-leaf movable span is a deck girder with an open steel grid deck installed in 1962. A cable attached to each side of the toe end of the movable leaf passes over a single-track sheave atop the braced timber tower columns with braced curved tracks on the side opposite the movable leaf. The opposite end of the cable is attached to a connecting hanger that joins the shafts of the rolling counterweights positioned in series on the track. The two topmost metal counterweights have a solid center guide while the last one has disk guides. The track has built up wood end stops. The tower columns are braced with wood struts on the sides and wire rope stays on the back. The toe lock is manual. The bridge is controlled from an operators house on the upstream side. An electric motor mounted atop the upstream tower column brace engages the drive shaft to turn the sheaves which cause the counterweights to start moving down the track. The motor reverses the action to close the bridge. The operators house, like many elements of the bridge, has been upgraded over the years, but its function and profile are original.

History: Bascule span installed 1938; bridge modified in 1949-50, 1957-58, 1963, and 1971

[ArchivedBridgeHunter]

Hylebos (11th Street) (SOC) Bridges over Hylebos Creek in Tacoma, WA

Swing: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges)

1925: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter)

1939: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Satellite) closed to traffic in 2001; repaired and reopened June 1, 2012

Street View, Mar 2025

Bridges Now and Then posted
"The Hylebos Bridge (Tacoma, Washington) was still under construction in 1939 when it was hit by the steamer Point San Pablo. The span was knocked four to five feet out of alignment but bounced back all but 10 inches. No one was hurt and construction remained on schedule."  (Photo courtesy: Tacoma Public Library)

The 1925 was built by Strauss Bascule Bridge Co. [ArchivedBridgeHunter_1925]

BridgeHunter_1925
[It looks like a Strauss Overhead Counterweight Bridge (SOC).]

In 1925, a single-leaf bridge replaced a wooden drawbridge. But the Department of War declared the 84' (25.6m) horizontal clearance to be a hazard to navigation, and after some legal battle, the bridge was removed starting in Dec 1935. Funding a new bridge during the depression was a challenge, but the new one, which had a 150' [45.7m] horizontal clearance, started construction in 1937. [SouthSoundTalk]

The bridge was locked in the upright position in 2001 because a drive shaft broke. "The city could have replaced the broken part for about $50,000, says Breivik. But after examining the timber, steel, and concrete apparatus, the council members decided the bridge should either be abandoned or overhauled. In 2004 an arson fire on the east side damaged the bridge’s motors and steel. And scavengers have since made off with a lot of the machinery and metal parts for scrap." Repairs were finished in Oct 2011. [wsu]

wje
"Constructed in 1939, the Hylebos Waterway Bridge is a 217-foot [66m] long double leaf trunnion bascule bridge spanning the Hylebos Creek. The bridge was originally designed for an H15 load rating.
"A failed bascule leaf drive shaft left both bridge leafs permanently open....Three years later, the bridge sustained electrical and mechanical damage from a fire. Concerned about having too few evacuation routes in the event of an emergency, the City sought to repair and re-open the bridge. To do so, WJE was retained to assess the bridge’s current capacity and design strengthening repairs needed to achieve an HS20 load rating.

On Oct 12, 2023, a tugboat assisting an ATB allided with the bridge's already deteriorated fender system. The fender system had to be replaced with a cost of $2.43m, but the bridge evidently stayed open. [gcaptain, ProfessionalMariner]

NTSB_press_release
ATB Montlake/Sodo

NTSB_report
Olympic Scout

The bridge closed in Nov 2023 because of a "motor failure." The cost to replace the motor was $50,000. [TheNewsTribune]

The bridge closed on Jan 12, 2024, because of "cold temperatures." [CityOfTacoma]

The bridge closed Aug 21, 2024 because of "an equipment issue." [nwseaportalliance]

tacoma
Again, because of cold weather, the bridge closed Jan 17, 2025.

The bridge closed Aug 19, 2025, because of a "technical malfunction." [TheNewsTribune]

It reopened on Aug 25, 2025. [tacoma]

Has this one bridge had more closures in a few years than Chicago's several bridges have had in a few decades? Chicago probably has colder temperatures.

1913+2013+2026 Salem Turnpike Bridges over Saugus River at Lynn, MA

1913: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter) Belden G Bly Fox Hill Bridge

2013: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter) Acrow Bridge

Under Construction: (Satellite)

The 1913 bridge was a Scherzer rolling lift bridge. In 2013, it was replaced by a temporary Bailey bridge and cable lift movable span so that a replacement Dutch-style bascule bridge could be built. As I write this (Oct 2025) the "temporary" bridge has been used for a dozen years and counting.

The temporary bridge is on the left and the new Dutch-style bridge is on the right.

Street View, Jul 2025

The oldest available street view is 2017. Normally, they go back to 2008, and I could get a street view of the rolling bridge. But not in this case.

This is the rolling bridge.

Photo by Mike Gaffney via BridgeHunter_1913

This is the cable lift span of the temporary bridge.

Photo by Bella Digrazia via BridgeHunter_2013

Douglas Butler posted
From Wikipedia The new Belden G Bly Fox Hill Dutch Bascule Bridge replaced a temporary Acrow drawbridge built in 2013 after the Scherzer Bascule Bridge built in 1912 was replaced. This bridge was constructed in 2023 and carry MA Route 107 Salem Turnpike Western Avenue crossing the Saugus River in Lynn, MA.

The new bridge did not open in 2023. The "temporary" bridge was closed on Oct 15, 2025, because "a field inspection revealed cracking on bridge deck panel assemblies." [cbsnews]

The temporary bridge reopened two days later on Oct 17, 2025. "During the closure, crews worked around the clock to replace or repair 16 affected deck panel assemblies." [MassDOT]

I tried to find why they had to use the Bailey bridge for so long. Part of the reason is that construction did not start until 2020. [BostonHerald, MassDOT_project]

One lane in each direction is supposed to open in Fall of 2025, and the project is supposed to be done in Summer of 2026.

1:21 video @ 0:54

Lost Stone Bridges over Sakonnet River at Tiverton, RI

Old: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter)

1907: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Satellite)

BridgeHunter_Old

The swing span was a pony truss with a superstructure added.

BridgeHunter_Old

BridgeHunter_Old

1907 Bridge

"Built 1907; Damaged by Hurricane Carol 1954; Closed 1955; Replaced 1956" [BridgeHunter_1907]

The movable spans on this bridge are worthy of the "bridgeRare" label. The travellers on top of the rails are connected to the end of the spans so that when the travellers go down the rails they pull the spans up.

BridgeHunter_1907

BridgeHunter_1907

Here is a good view of the rails on top of the framework.

BridgeHunter_1907

In this view of the raised spans, the traveller is at the other end of the rails.

BridgeHunter_1907

Another view of the raised position.

BridgeHunter_1907

And here is a view of the traveller part way down.

BridgeHunter_1907

Bridges Now and Then posted
The Stone Bridge, Tiverton-Portsmouth, Rhode Island, 1951. (Providence, Journal)

Zack Lewis: That's the Tiverton side of the bridge, because that's the Doughboy Statue in the foreground

Street View, Oct 2019

1905(Page Design!)+1933 3rd Street (Lefty O'Doul) Bridges over China Basin in San Francisco, CA

1905: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter)

1933:  (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite)

Boat View, Nov 2014

1905 Page Design Bridge

BridgeHunter_1905
"A bascule bridge is a Page type designed by John W Page he worked with Shnable and Strauss on Trunnion bascule bridges, few of the types were constructed."

The Page design was indeed rare. Because the Monon Bridge was illegally scrapped, the GM&O Bridge is the only one left in the USA.

BridgeHunter_1905 and Bridges Now and Then posted
Looking south at San Francisco's Third Street Bridge, September 17, 1921. (Horace Chaffee, photographer/SF Department of Public Works)

1938 Straus Heel Trunnion Bridge

Street View, Mar 2025

lll

Bridges Now and Then posted
San Francisco's Third Street Bridge, May 6, 1933. (OpenSFHistory)

Kenneth Dotson commented on the above post
Working great for 92 years and counting. Not even affected by the '89 quake.

Kenneth Dotson commented on the above post

2018 Photo by Geoff Hubbs from AT&T Park via BridgeHunter_1933

HistoricBridges
"This particular example is unusual because it has a roadway that not only occupies the space between truss lines, but also has a roadway that is cantilevered out from the western truss line."

sfpublicworks

When I saw the Santa Fe sign, I checked out the railroad activity in this area. SP was on the northwest side, and Santa Fe was on the southeast side.

1950/50 San Francisco North @ 24,000

But when this bridge was built, it did accommodate steam locomotives. Note that the cantilevered road was added later.

 BridgeHunter_1933, Credit San Francisco History Center, SF Public Library
Bridge opening May 12, 1933

Transporter Bridge in Marseille, France

(Satellite?, I did not try to find a lost bridge in a foreign country.)

This bridge is like the Tees Transporter Bridge in that it uses tie-down cables rather than counterweights to offset the weight of the cantilever arms.

Heritage Unlocked posted
The long-lost transporter bridge at Marseille

Bridges Now and Then posted
The Marseilles Transporter Bridge, Marseilles, France, 1905. (Structurae)

1893-1976 Geddes Road Bridge over Huron River in Ann Arbor, MI

(Satellite)

I've seen truss rods under wood boxcars, but this is the first time I have seen them under a bridge. The truss rods are the reason I added the "bridgeRare" label to these notes.

Bridges Now and Then posted
Geddes Bridge, Ann Arbor, Michigan, June, 1976. (Ann Arbor District Library)

Steve William Lindsey: Sad how this played out.

It is a model, but this is the best photo I found showing truss rods on a boxcar.

printables

This bridge connected Geddes Avenue with Geddes Road before the Huron Parkway was built.

1965/67 Ann Arbor East Quad @ 24,000

The Huron Parkway was built by 1973.

1973/74 Ann Arbor East Quad @ 24,000

The replacement bridge:

Street View, Sep 2022

The Ann Arbor Council approved $94,000 to replace the bridge. Of that, $4,815 was for destroying the existing bridge, and $4,345 was for contingencies. Even though the Parks Supt. George Owers recommended saving the old bridge for use as a pedestrian bridge, the council would not approve an additional $4,686 to dismantle the bridge instead of destroying it. [AAnews_May_1976]

Some citizens tried to raise the $4,686, but they obviously failed. [AAnews_Jun_1976]

Salisbury Street Bollman Bridge over C&O Canal in Williamsport, MD

(Satellite)

C&O Canal Overview

I added the label "bridgeRare" because it is a Bollman bridge.

The Western Maryland Lift Bridge is in the left background.

Street View, Apr 2016

Metrotrails posted, doubled the size

Historic NPS image of Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in Williamsport Maryland approaching the pony-Pratt iron truss bridge carrying Salisbury Street to River Bottom Park. The bridge was built in 1879 by Baltimore engineer Wendell Bollman's Patapsco Bridge and Ironworks. 

There are very few remaining Bollman bridges today. Another is in Savage, Maryland, and another is on Great Allegheny Passage near Meyersdale Pennsylvania.

The Western Maryland Lift Bridge is across the top of this photo. The truss is obstructed by a pedestrian bridge on this side.

Seimen Burum, Sep 2024

Metrotrails posted

Approaching the pony-Pratt iron truss bridge carrying Salisbury Street to River Bottom Park across the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. The bridge was built in 1879 by Baltimore engineer Wendell Bollman's Patapsco Bridge and Ironworks. 

There are very few remaining Bollman bridges today. Another is in Savage, Maryland, and another is on Great Allegheny Passage near Meyersdale Pennsylvania.

Metrotrails shared