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Twinning

Started by Jardine, December 18, 2017, 11:19:29 AM

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Jardine

To my eye, some of the more visually appealing highway bridges are ones that have been 'twinned'.



The illustration above is the twin Mississippi spans in the Quad Cities (slated for replacement, IIRC)

So, do others here have favorites?  How about 'mismatched' twins?  Or 'inadvertant' twins, that is, adjacent spans that are similar but from the get go have always carried different route numbers?

We have a nearby example of 'twinning' here, the I-680 Missouri River spans at Omaha Nebraska.  While they are similar, the westbound bridge is considerably wider than the east bound side.  Still, considerable effort was made to match the structures visually as close as possible.  (note the approach spans are much less symmetrical in length and construction)




So, any interesting facts and/or details?  Particularly scenic (or unscenic) examples?  And lets not have 500 pictures of dual interstate interchange overpasses, LOL !




Max Rockatansky

I do like the differences in the Tacoma Narrows Bridges on WA 16:

1 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

IMG_9264 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

jeffandnicole

Definitely the Delaware Memorial Bridges for me.

Hurricane Rex

These two on I-82 are significant for different reasons

Umitilla Bridges: Different in a good way. I mark it as the point where I leave home behind and know Glacier National Park is ahead.


Yakima bridge (don't know exact name): A great bridge bridging the Yakima Valley, and desolate hills over a nearly nonexistent stream.

ODOT, raise the speed limit and fix our traffic problems.

Road and weather geek for life.

Running till I die.

US 89

Quote from: Hurricane Rex on December 19, 2017, 12:37:00 AM
Yakima bridge (don't know exact name): A great bridge bridging the Yakima Valley, and desolate hills over a nearly nonexistent stream.



That's the Selah Creek Bridge, officially known as the Fred G. Redmon bridge.

froggie

QuoteHow about 'mismatched' twins?

One good example of this would be the "Big Blue Bridges" of La Crosse, WI that cross the main channel of the Mississippi and carry US 14/US 61:



I took this photo in 2004, as the eastbound span (the tied arch bridge to the right) was under construction...it opened later that year.


The Natchez-Vidalia Bridge(s) across the Mississippi River at Natchez, MS is an example of similar designs several decades apart.  The original bridge, now carrying westbound traffic and which I'm about to cross in the below New Years Eve 2005 photo, dates to 1940, while the newer eastbound span to the left was built in the 1980s:



Jardine

Fred Redmon bridge, WOW !

Love that pair!!!


Man they look sharp, might have to 'bucket list' going there some day.

SteveG1988



Delaware memorial bridge, 1951/1968
Roads Clinched

I55,I82,I84(E&W)I88(W),I87(N),I81,I64,I74(W),I72,I57,I24,I65,I59,I12,I71,I77,I76(E&W),I70,I79,I85,I86(W),I27,I16,I97,I96,I43,I41,

Bitmapped

In Charleston, West Virginia, the 1952 Chuck Yeager Bridge that carries the West Virginia Turnpike (I-64/I-77) was twinned in 1983. There are some minor differences between the two steel through arch structures, but the new bridge pretty closely matches the appearance of the original bridge. See https://bridgehunter.com/wv/kanawha/bh72473/ for photos.

WVDOH plans to start construction on a new I-64 span over the Kanawha River at Nitro as part of a widening project. The new bridge is supposed to match the visual appearance of the existing 1962 through truss bridge (https://bridgehunter.com/wv/putnam/40A076/), which will be converted to one-way traffic.

GaryV

In the "close but no cigar" category, I submit the Blue Water Bridge between Port Huron and Sarnia.  (Yes, the name is singular, even though there are 2 bridges.)

7/8

Quote from: GaryV on December 20, 2017, 06:20:30 PM
In the "close but no cigar" category, I submit the Blue Water Bridge between Port Huron and Sarnia.  (Yes, the name is singular, even though there are 2 bridges.)

Why doesn't it count? It looks twinned to me... :hmmm:

Here's a photo I took heading west toward Michigan.

Revive 755

There's a few examples of this around St. Louis:

* The I-70/Blanchette Bridges over the Missouri River (Streetview).  This one is interesting due to the original WB superstructure being completely replaced, but with a structure similar.

* MO 370/Discovery Bridges (built as twins)

* MO 364/Page Avenue Extension Missouri River Crossing/Veterans Memorial Bridge (built as twins)

* I-255/Jefferson Barracks Bridges across the Mississippi.  The westbound bridge was completed first while the eastbound had to wait until demolition of the original bridge.

* US 40/Daniel Boone Bridges across the Missouri River.  Another crossing on its third iteration.  The current westbound bridge is the second structure, while the plain bridge is third one at the site.  If not for funding (the current eastbound bridge is shown with a truss structure on the cover of the original EIS) and the deterioration of the original bridge, this one could have been a triplet.

Illinois has a good number of bridges that were originally built as twins:

* https://www.google.com/maps/@41.4201161,-88.1943508,3a,75y,330.8h,86.88t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s7orNNVpBBs7pCL3YlfOgfQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=enI-55 across the Des Plaines River

* I-80 across the Des Plaines River

* I-474 across the Illinois River

* I-94 across the Little Calumet River

* I-270 over the Chain of Rocks Canal used to be one

US 150 over the Illinois River at Peoria is one where one bridge was built later than the other, and could get a third iteration when the current eastbound structure is replaced.

vdeane

Quote from: 7/8 on December 20, 2017, 08:24:57 PM
Quote from: GaryV on December 20, 2017, 06:20:30 PM
In the "close but no cigar" category, I submit the Blue Water Bridge between Port Huron and Sarnia.  (Yes, the name is singular, even though there are 2 bridges.)

Why doesn't it count? It looks twinned to me... :hmmm:

Here's a photo I took heading west toward Michigan.

The two bridges are not of the same design.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

Big John

General Wilson, aka Dolly Parton bridge carring I-65 near Mobile AL. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_W.K._Wilson_Jr._Bridge

7/8

Quote from: vdeane on December 20, 2017, 08:44:36 PM
Quote from: 7/8 on December 20, 2017, 08:24:57 PM
Quote from: GaryV on December 20, 2017, 06:20:30 PM
In the "close but no cigar" category, I submit the Blue Water Bridge between Port Huron and Sarnia.  (Yes, the name is singular, even though there are 2 bridges.)

Why doesn't it count? It looks twinned to me... :hmmm:

The two bridges are not of the same design.

Some of the examples upthread don't match, so I thought it would still count.

froggie

Quote from: vdeaneThe two bridges are not of the same design.

The OP called it "mismatched twins".  One of my examples upthread was such.

brownpelican

Crescent City Connection, New Orleans. 1956 and 1988, respectively.

jwolfer

Quote from: GaryV on December 20, 2017, 06:20:30 PM
In the "close but no cigar" category, I submit the Blue Water Bridge between Port Huron and Sarnia.  (Yes, the name is singular, even though there are 2 bridges.)
That's pretty common if not almost universal..
Delaware Memorial Bridge, Chesapeake Bay Bridge, Buckman Bridge (295 West beltway over St Johns River) all are two separate bridges known in the singular

Z981


US 89

I don't think this one has been mentioned yet: the Carquinez bridge on I-80 northeast of San Francisco. The northbound bridge is a 1958 truss, and the southbound side is a 2003 suspension bridge.

Rothman

What about the bridges across the reservoir on the Taconic State Parkway?
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

sparker

The I-680 Benicia-Martinez bridge was built as a 4-lane facility back in 1963; 40+ years later it was twinned (to the east) by a 2nd bridge; the original bridge is now SB, with the newer bridge NB.  The unusual thing about these bridges is that the UP (formerly SP) railroad lift-span drawbridge (dating to 1930) is situated between the old and new I-680 structures (and well below their decks!). 

mrose

Another good Missouri example - US 63/54 at Jefferson City. I crossed it in the 80s when it was still the single bridge (southbound), crossed it again around 1990-91 while the twin (northbound) was being built, and then crossed the twin a year or so later when it was finished.





Bruce

The I-90 floating bridges, built in 1989 and 1940 (but rebuilt from 1990 to 1993 after sinking in a windstorm).


Stephane Dumas

The Honoré-Mercier bridge got a twinned bridge just after the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway in the early 1960s.
http://www.montrealroads.com/crossings/mercier/




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