Gibraltar Road – Waterway Canal Bridge
Encyclopedia
The Gibraltar Road – Waterway Canal Bridge is a bridge located on Gibraltar Road over the Waterway Canal in Gibraltar, Michigan
. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 2000.
The bridge itself is of a rare cantilevered
concrete arch design. The traditional arch bridge
design requires a complete arch; in contrast, the cantilevered arch design is divided into two structurally independent half-arches which are each cantilevered from one side. A slab is suspended between the two cantilevered sections; in the Gibraltar Road Bridge, this section is 9 feet long. Close inspection of side walls of the bridge reveals two seams marking the end of the cantilevered arms.
After construction, the Wayne County Road Commissioners noted that "this low sweeping arch bridge is in keeping with its surroundings and is one of the features which make Gibraltar Road so attractive."
Gibraltar, Michigan
Gibraltar is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,656 at the 2010 census. It is located on the Detroit River directly south of, and adjacent to, Trenton.-Geography:...
. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 2000.
History
The Wayne County Road Commission paved a section of Gibralter Road in the early 1930s, and constructed a number of new bridges, including this one, during the project.Description
The Gibraltar Road Bridge is a reinforced-concrete cantilevered-arch bridge measuring 98 feet (29.9 m) long and 38 feet (11.6 m) wide, with a span length of 52 feet (15.8 m) and a roadway width of 53 feet (16.2 m). A concrete balustrade with urn-shaped spindles flanks the roadway.The bridge itself is of a rare cantilevered
Cantilever bridge
A cantilever bridge is a bridge built using cantilevers, structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end. For small footbridges, the cantilevers may be simple beams; however, large cantilever bridges designed to handle road or rail traffic use trusses built from...
concrete arch design. The traditional arch bridge
Arch bridge
An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side...
design requires a complete arch; in contrast, the cantilevered arch design is divided into two structurally independent half-arches which are each cantilevered from one side. A slab is suspended between the two cantilevered sections; in the Gibraltar Road Bridge, this section is 9 feet long. Close inspection of side walls of the bridge reveals two seams marking the end of the cantilevered arms.
After construction, the Wayne County Road Commissioners noted that "this low sweeping arch bridge is in keeping with its surroundings and is one of the features which make Gibraltar Road so attractive."
External links
- Middle Gibraltar Road Bridge from HistoricBridges.org: Multiple photographs of the bridge