Continuous truss bridge

Severing a continuous truss mid-span endangers the structure, as exemplified by the collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge in March 2024.

For example, the northern approach to the Golden Gate Bridge was initially constructed as a series of five simple truss spans.

In 2001, a seismic retrofit project connected the five spans into a single continuous truss bridge.

Continuous truss bridges started to be constructed in Europe during the second half of the 19th century.

Although the advantages of continuous bridges were known, three main engineering challenges slowed their widespread adoption: However, it was possible to avoid these issues to a certain extent through careful design.

The Astoria–Megler Bridge is North America's longest continuous truss bridge.
Smaller continuous truss bridge over the Illinois River at Lacon, Illinois
The Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge
The Sciotoville Bridge (1916), the first continuous truss bridge in the United States.
The result of collapse of a continuous truss bridge (the Francis Scott Key Bridge).
The Hart Bridge is a continuous, cantilevered truss bridge with an unusual design that includes a suspended road deck on the 332-metre (1,088 ft) main span and a through truss deck on the adjacent approach spans.