A lattice

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

is a form of truss bridge that uses many small, closely spaced diagonal elements forming a lattice. The lattice Truss Bridge was patented in 1820 by architect Ithiel Town. Originally a design to allow a substantial bridge to be made from planks employing lower–skilled labor, rather than heavy timbers and more expensive carpenters, this type of bridge has also been constructed using many relatively light iron or steel members. The individual elements are more easily handled by the construction workers, but the bridge also requires substantial support during construction. A simple lattice truss will transform the applied loads into a thrust, as the bridge will tend to change length under load. This is resisted by pinning the lattice members to the top and bottom chords, which are more substantial than the lattice members, but which may also be fabricated from relatively small elements rather than large beams.

Belfast truss

The ''Belfast truss'' is a cross between Town's lattice truss and the

bowstring truss A bowstring joins the two ends of the bow stave and launches the arrow. Desirable properties include light weight, strength, resistance to abrasion, and resistance to water. Mass has most effect at the center of the string; of extra mass in t ...

. It was developed in Ireland as a wide-span shallow rise roof truss for industrial structures. McTear & Co of

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

, Ireland began fabricating these trusses in wood starting around 1866. By 1899, spans of had been achieved, and in the 20th century, shipyards and airplane hangars demanded ever greater clear spans.

Wood lattice truss bridges

Astabula Cty (Root Road) townsend latice1982

Bartonsville Covered Bridge The Bartonsville Covered Bridge is a wooden covered bridge in the village of Bartonsville, in Rockingham, Vermont, United States. The bridge is a lattice truss style with a 151-foot span, carrying Lower Bartonsville Road over the Williams River ...

Brown Covered Bridge The Brown Covered Bridge is a wooden covered bridge in Shrewsbury, Vermont. Located in the northwestern part of the town, it carries Upper Cold River Road over the Cold River. It was closed to vehicular traffic in 2011 due to damage from Hurrican ...

Burt Henry Covered Bridge The Burt Henry Covered Bridge, also known as the Henry Covered Bridge or just the Henry Bridge, is a covered bridge that spans the Walloomsac River near Bennington, Vermont. A Town lattice truss bridge, it carries River Road, just south of the v ...

* Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge * Euharlee Covered Bridge *

Kingsley Covered Bridge The Kingsley Covered Bridge (also called the Mill River Bridge) is a wooden covered bridge carrying East Street across the Mill River in Clarendon, Vermont. Built about 1870, it is the town's only surviving 19th-century covered bridge. The bri ...

Newton Falls Covered Bridge

Newton Falls, Ohio Newton Falls is a village in southwestern Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. The population was 4,557 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area. The city takes its name from the two sets of waterfalls withi ...

Poole's Mill Covered Bridge Poole's Mill Bridge is a historic wooden covered bridge crossing over Settendown Creek (tributary of the Etowah River) in Forsyth County, Georgia, United States, built in 1901. It is 96 feet long. Circa 1820, Cherokee Chief George Welch constr ...

Root Road Covered Bridge Root Road Bridge is a covered bridge spanning the west branch of the Ashtabula River in Monroe Township, Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. The bridge, one of currently 16 drivable bridges in the county, is a single span Town truss design. Du ...

Waterford Covered Bridge The Waterford Covered Bridge is a Town lattice truss covered bridge spanning LeBoeuf Creek in Waterford Township, Erie County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The bridge was built in 1875, and is in length. The Waterford Covered Bridge is on ...

*Watson Mill Covered

Bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

Windsor Mills Covered Bridge Windsor Mills Bridge, also known as Wiswell Road Bridge or Warner Hollow Road Bridge, is a covered bridge that carries Covered Bridge Lane, formerly Wiswell Road, across Phelps Creek in Windsor Township, Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. Th ...

Worrall Covered Bridge The Worrall Covered Bridge, also known as the Woralls Bridge is a wooden covered bridge carrying Williams Road across the Williams River in Rockingham, Vermont, United States. Built about 1870, it is the only surviving 19th-century covered bri ...

Frankenfield Covered Bridge The Frankenfield Covered Bridge is a wooden covered bridge that spans Tinicum Creek in Point Pleasant, Pennsylvania, United States. The bridge is located in Bucks County on Cafferty Road about southeast of Headquarters Road, near Vansant Airpo ...

* Uhlerstown Covered Bridge, Pennsylvania * Van Tran Flat Bridge * Zehnder's Holz Brucke

Iron or steel lattice truss bridges

Howard Carroll built the first completely wrought-iron lattice truss bridge. This was built for the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mi ...

in 1859.J. A. L. Waddell
Bridge Engineering Vol. 1
Wiley, New York, 1916; page 23. * Bennerley Viaduct * Bridge in Brown Township *

Dowery Dell Dowery Dell, between Rubery and Halesowen in Worcestershire, was a , nine span lattice steel, single-track railway viaduct that carried the Halesowen to Longbridge railway. A 10 mph speed limit was in operation. The line opened in 1883. Trai ...

Viaduct, also known as Hunnington or Frankley Viaduct *

Kew Railway Bridge Kew Railway Bridge spans the River Thames in London, England, between Kew and Strand-on-the-Green, Chiswick. The bridge was opened in 1869. History The bridge, which was given Grade II listed structure protection in 1983, was designed by ...

Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge The Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge (also known as the Northampton Lattice Truss Bridge) is a former crossing of Boston and Maine Railroad over the Connecticut River in western Massachusetts, connecting the towns of Northampton and Hadley, by the ...

* Willow Creek Bridge (1913), in Pierce County, Nebraska * Upper Slate Run Bridge (1890), a 'quintangular' lattice truss in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania

References

{{Reflist

External links

Picture and description of Town's lattice trussWatson Mill Bridge, Georgia, US
Truss bridges by type

Belfast truss

Wood lattice truss bridges

Iron or steel lattice truss bridges

See also

References

External links