About Us
The advent of the internet has brought about a wealth of resources to people interested in almost any field imaginable. Unfortunately, as someone who maintains and repairs drawbridges, I found very few places where I could ask questions or learn new information relevant to my industry. What I was looking for was drawbridge related news, articles, resources and links of interest.
Drawbridge Specific was born out of that frustration. With a smattering of basic information and data, we offer helpful links to industry related websites, highlights of drawbridges in the news, and blog posts on wide ranging topics all relevant to the world of drawbridges.
Stop by often to check out the topics, read a new story and discover a new link. Always feel free to post a comment or ask a question. And if you want to share a story that may be of interest concerning drawbridges, please contact us and let us know. We would welcome working with you to post a guest article.
New! Ask A Question Section
Have a question about drawbridge maintenance, repair or just a general question concerning drawbridges? Send your questions to: questions@drawbridgespecific.com and I’ll give you the best answer I’ve got and post them here. Since most of the inquiries we’ve received have been about drawbridges in general, we’ll start with some of these. Check back to see more answers as they post!
Question – C.J. asks – I drive every day over the [redacted] Bridge in [redacted]. Whenever I cross over the metal part, I hear a loud bang. I reported this over a year ago and apparently nothing has been done to address it. Is this kind of noise common or could something be damaged. Could it be dangerous?
Answer – Hey C.J,
The bridge you asked about is called a double leaf bascule bridge. After some checking, it appears that this is a state owned bridge and would fall under the Department of Transportation for your state.
The noise you are describing could be a number of things. It could be that the lock bars and receivers, which act to lock the two spans together when the bridge is seated, are in need of shimming. This is required from time to time as constant traffic causes wear in even the biggest pieces of metal.
It could also be that the live load bearings are in need of shimming. These support the weight of the spans and any traffic on them when the bridge is seated. These also need attention from time to time and when not shimmed properly can actually cause excess forces at the lock bars and exacerbate any issues there.
Finally, it could also be something in the span decking or structure itself that is causing the loud noise. Sometimes decking welds can break allowing movement where there should not be any movement. This can sound horrific when driving over them.
The good news is that while this is definitely a problem that should be addressed, it is most likely not going to make the bridge less safe to travel over. If left unaddressed, it could lead to higher repair costs and longer downtime in the long run for the bridge owner. I will send you the correct contact information to report this issue and let me know what kind of response you get.
Thanks for your question!
History Of Drawbridges
Some basic background information to get you started.
Types Of Drawbridges
The Principles Of A Drawbridge
Most drawbridges today operate on the exact same principles as the ones from 100 years ago.
Drawbridges In The News
When we discover them, we highlight news stories featuring notable drawbridge incidents. While some of these are fairly old, they all illustrate the incredible things that can happen at any time and hopefully provide a warning we can heed or a lesson we can learn.
Global warming, or something often overlooked?
This story is all too common in the summer months. A bridge opens and due to high temperatures, cannot successfully close thereby holding up traffic. But you have to wonder about the condition of the roadway and bridge structure expansion joints in cases like this. Expansion joints that are allowed to fill with dirt and debris can eventually cease to act as expansion joints at all and lead to incidents just like this one.
Drawbridge Related Links
This week's link of interest
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Blog Posts
Every week we try to post a drawbridge related blog post, article or story. To see past postings, visit our Blog Archive. And as always, feel free to contact us for questions or comments.
Hi, I’m John Lange. For 27 years, I was an electrician for the North Carolina Department of Transportation. I was responsible for maintaining three of the state’s most critical drawbridges. Now I am contracting electrical work for private and non-governmental drawbridges…at least I was when I wrote this. Who knows what future-me is up to now?
I’ve trained many bridge operators over the years, and like parents with more than one child…I’ve had a favorite (I’ll admit it even if they won’t). My favorite was John Bannor. Before becoming a bridge operator, Mr. Bannor had been a fighter pilot flying missions in Korea. He was an impressive individual. He was in his early seventies when I trained him, and he continued to be one of our best well into his eighties…
Click “The Latest Blog” below for the complete article
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