Snow-Reed Swing Bridge West Elevation Perspective View Looking North

Snow-Reed Bridge (1925) is the oldest bridge in Fort Lauderdale, and the last operational swing span bridge surviving in South Florida. In 1989, 64 years after construction, it was designated a historic landmark and renamed from the Southwest 11th Avenue Bridge to Snow-Reed Bridge, for the two mayors whose terms spanned its 1924-5 construction. The bridge spans the North Fork of the New River and was constructed on the north-south alignment of SW 11th Avenue, connecting the neighborhoods of Riverside and Sailboat Bend. The structure is a Warren Pony Swing Metal Truss – the Pony part being simply a through truss that lacks overhead cross-bracing between the top chords. Nice cantilevered sidewalks appear to have been added at some point. The bridge has no practical vertical clearance, while it obstructs a navigable river, so an on-site bridge operator is required 24/7. A one-year major renovation ending in 2010 added a new octagonal-shaped bridge tender control house while retaining and restoring the original bridge tender’s house. Notable also is this old bridge’s vulnerability to sea-level rise; its swing mechanics are set just inches above sea water tide levels, so the mechanics are repeatedly submerged in salt water. Broward County, Florida, USA.

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Image Size: 4256x2832 / 11.2MB; https://www.photoshelter.com/support/license; https://www.andrewhaliburton.com/contact; Bridge Bridge Architecture Bridge Engineering Broward County Champion Bridge Company Florida Fort Lauderdale Historic Bridges Historic Landmark Infrastructure Reuse Low Clearance Bridge Marine Channel Navigable River New River Bridge North Fork New River Sea Level Rise Snow-Reed Swing Bridge Southwest 11th Avenue Bridge Steel Bridge Structural Engineering Swing Bridge Swing Span Bridge Transportation Infrastructure USA Warren Pony Truss Warren Truss
Contained in galleries: Snow-Reed Bridge 1925 Broward County Florida

Snow-Reed Bridge (1925) is the oldest bridge in Fort Lauderdale, and the last operational swing span bridge surviving in South Florida. In 1989, 64 years after construction, it was designated a historic landmark and renamed from the Southwest 11th Avenue Bridge to Snow-Reed Bridge, for the two mayors whose terms spanned its 1924-5 construction. The bridge spans the North Fork of the New River and was constructed on the north-south alignment of SW 11th Avenue, connecting the neighborhoods of Riverside and Sailboat Bend. The structure is a Warren Pony Swing Metal Truss – the Pony part being simply a through truss that lacks overhead cross-bracing between the top chords. Nice cantilevered sidewalks appear to have been added at some point. The bridge has no practical vertical clearance, while it obstructs a navigable river, so an on-site bridge operator is required 24/7. A one-year major renovation ending in 2010 added a new octagonal-shaped bridge tender control house while retaining and restoring the original bridge tender’s house. Notable also is this old bridge’s vulnerability to sea-level rise; its swing mechanics are set just inches above sea water tide levels, so the mechanics are repeatedly submerged in salt water. Broward County, Florida, USA.