A tilt bridge is a type of

moveable bridge A moveable bridge, or movable bridge, is a bridge that moves to allow passage for boats or barges. In American English, the term is synonymous with , and the latter is the common term, but drawbridge can be limited to the narrower, historical ...

which rotates about fixed endpoints rather than lifting or bending, as with a

drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable b ...

. The tilting

Gateshead Millennium Bridge The Gateshead Millennium Bridge is a pedestrian and cyclist tilt bridge spanning the River Tyne between Gateshead arts quarter on the south bank and Newcastle upon Tyne's Quayside area on the north bank. It was the first tilting bridge ever ...

spanning the

River Tyne The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden, Northumberland, Warden near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The ...

between

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

on the south bank and

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

, England, on the north is a pedestrian bridge with two large

hydraulic rams A hydraulic ram pump, ram pump, or hydram is a cyclic pump, cyclic water pump powered by hydropower. It takes in water at one "hydraulic head" (pressure) and flow rate, and outputs water at a higher hydraulic head and lower flow rate. The device ...

at each side that tilt the structure back allowing small watercraft to pass under. The pedestrian and cycle pathway is an almost-horizontal curve, suspended above the river from a just-beyond-the-vertical

parabolic arch A parabolic arch is an arch in the shape of a parabola.Article about parabolic arch by The Free DictionaryParabolic arch , Article about parabolic arch by The Free Dictionary accessdate: March 2, 2017 In structures, their curve represents an effi ...

. To raise the bridge, this whole assembly rotates as a single, rigid structure. As the arch tilts lower, the pathway rises, each counterbalancing the other so that a minimum of energy is needed. The resultant appearance in motion leads to it sometimes being called the "eyelid bridge", since its shape is akin to the blinking of an eye if seen from along the river. Nieuwe_Scheepsdalebrug

Two further tilt bridges are known to exist in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, both constructed in 2011: the (Scheepsdalebridge) in

Brugge Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

and the over the river

Dender The Dender () or Dendre () is a long river in Belgium, the right tributary of the river Scheldt. The confluence of the two rivers is in the Belgian town of Dendermonde. The Western or Little Dender is long and begins in Barry near Leuze-en-Hain ...

in Aalst. The former combines the working mechanisms of a rolling lift bascule bridge and a tilt bridge: the bridge is mounted on two lifting arms which roll along racks, positioned parallel to the navigable way, tilting up the bridge leaf providing a clearance for passing ships. The latter is mounted on two lifting arms which are connected to fixed pivot points a few feet downstream from the bridge leaf.

Gallery

File:Sint_Annabrug.png, Sint-Annabrug in Aalst, Belgium File:Sint_Annabrug_Open.png, Sint-Annabrug raised to allow a vessel to pass through File:Sint_Annabrug_Open_Voor_01.png, Frontal view of the Sint-Annabrug in raised position

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tilt Bridge Bridges by structural type Footbridges Moveable bridges English inventions