Swinging bridges

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Though Clay County is bent on looking forward and progressing toward a bright new future, Clay Countians everywhere keep in their heart romantic images of their past. Nothing evokes such notions as do the county's numerous swinging bridges across Goose Creek, Red Bird and the South Fork rivers. The brooding colors of the old bridges are the very stuff of soulful memories, and are worth seeking out as you drive around the county.

Overwashed and impassible in flood times, it was often supplemented by a swinging bridge—a narrow, spindly structure high above the water which, as the name implies, moved beneath the feet of its users. Rural swinging bridges were and still are vernacular architecture based on local knowledge and materials, but technically, they are suspension bridges just like the Golden Gate. Thanks to their flexibility, they can withstand forces that more rigid structures cannot unless supported by far greater mass.

We stopped to visit the bridges. The made my heart skip a beat when we drove on them but walking As most of the other reviewers mention, this is down a gravel road, dodging potholes.

A swing bridge is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the turning span can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right. Small swing bridges as found over canals may be pivoted only at one end, opening as would a gate, but require substantial underground structure to support the pivot. In its closed position, a swing bridge carrying a road or railway over a river or canalfor example, allows traffic to cross.

Print Article. Workers on the far bank of the Kootenai River downstream from Kootenai Falls drill holes in rock Thursday as part of the construction of a new swinging bridge just upstream. A sign points visitors to the swinging bridge that has spanned a stretch of the Kootenai River nearly continuously since the s.

Create an Account - Increase your productivity, customize your experience, and engage in information you care about. Skip to Main Content. Sign In. All three bridges cross the Vermilion River.