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Pontoon bridge facts for kids

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Pontoon bridge
U.S. Army troops cross the Rhine on a heavy pontoon bridge, March 1945
U.S. Army troops cross the Rhine on a heavy pontoon bridge, March 1945
Carries Pedestrian, automobile, truck
Span range Short to long
Material Various: steel, concrete, boats, barrels, plastic floats, appropriate decking material
Movable Generally not, but may have movable sections for watercraft passage
Design effort low
Falsework required No

A pontoon bridge is a bridge that floats on water. It is a floating bridge with barges or boats ('pontoons') to support the bridge deck.

Pontoon bridges are usually temporary structures, but some are used for long periods. Permanent floating bridges are useful for sheltered (quiet) water-crossings. It may be too expensive to suspend a bridge from anchored piers. Pontoon bridges may need a section that is elevated, or can be raised or removed, to allow ships to pass.

Pontoon bridges are often used in wartime as river crossings. They are usually temporary, and are sometimes destroyed after crossing (to keep the enemy from using them), or collapsed and carried (if on a long march). They were used to great advantage in many battles. Pontoon bridges have been in use since ancient times. It is thought that the first London Bridge was a Roman pontoon bridge. Roman legions had men and equipment to build pontoon bridges, and often made them. The first pontoon bridge was made by the Zhou Dynasty.

Images for kids

  • Bergsøysundbrua

    The Bergsøysund Bridge uses concrete pontoons

  • 1561-Akbar riding the elephant Hawa'I pursuing another elephant across a collapsing bridge of boats (left)

    Mughal emperor Akbar the Great riding the ferocious elephant Hawa'i, pursuing another elephant across a collapsing bridge of boats (left), in Basawan and Chetar Munti's "Akbar's Adventure with the Elephant Hawa’i", dated 1561

  • Puente Barcas Sevilla 1851

    The old Puente de barcas, connected Seville and Triana from 1171 to 1851

  • Parma's bridge over the Scheldt, built of ships - Schipbrug van Parma over de Schelde

    Parma's bridge over the Scheldt in 1584, built of ships. 1616 illustration.

  • Pontoon bridge 1865

    Pontoon bridge across the James River at Richmond, Virginia, 1865

  • Bridge of Boats on the Ravi River, Pakistan, 1895

    A bridge of boats over the Ravi River in British India, 1895

  • 3e régiment du génie

    3e régiment du génie (French Wikipedia), The 3rd French Regiment of Pioneers are building a Pontoon Bridge over the river Ourthe in Chênée, Belgium in the 1930s.

  • Omaha Mulberry Harbour

    A Whale floating roadway leading to a Spud pier at Mulberry A off Omaha Beach

  • M4T6 pontoon bridge 1983

    M4T6 pontoon bridge 1983

  • Timsach-Gillois-latrun-1

    EWK-Gillois amphibious bridging vehicle

  • German M3 amphibious bridging vehicles 2015

    German M3 amphibious bridging vehicles 2015

  • Mobile Floating Assault Bridge-Ferry 1980

    Mobile floating assault bridge–ferry 1980

  • Mobile Floating Assault Bridge 1982

    Mobile Floating Assault Bridge 1982

  • PMP Folding Float Brisge 1996

    PMP folding float bridge 1996

  • Standard Ribbon Bridge 2004

    Standard ribbon bridge 2004

  • Evergreen Point Floating Bridge - looking east from bike trail at west high-rise

    The Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, the world's longest permanent floating bridge, crosses Lake Washington east of Seattle

  • Heavy and pneumatic pontons loaded for transport to Remagen

    Smaller, lighter pneumatic pontons piggy-backed upon large aluminum heavy pontons for combined transport

  • 3rd Armored Division vehicles cross the Seine River

    Pneumatic pontons support a treadway bridge

  • Inflatable pontons headed for the Danube in Germany, April 1945

    Pneumatic pontons being carried by heavy 6×6 transports

  • Rhine River pontoon bridge wwii

    Heavy ponton bridge supported by large aluminum pontons

  • Engineers bridging the wide but placid Po

    Treadway bridge atop pneumatic pontons

  • Infantry support bridge over Saar River erected by 289th Engineers at Volklingen

    Infantry support bridge supported by light aluminum pontoons

  • Bridge-construction-korea

    Treadway being installed using truck mounted crane

  • Footbridge on the Roer

    Infantry footbridge supported by pontons

  • Infantry support bridge built by 549th Light Ponton Company

    Treadway style infantry support bridge built on light aluminum pontons

  • M2 Treadway Bridge on the Rhine at Boppard near Koblenz, Germany, March 1945

    M2 Treadway bridge supported by pneumatic floats

  • The British Army in Normandy 1944 B9743

    British troops crossing the Seine at Vernon, France on 28 August 1944

  • Pontonbruecke

    Heavy ponton bridge

  • Bailey Bridge over the River Maas

    Bailey bridge supported by pontoons

  • Bundesarchiv Bild 183-L20392, Kiew, Pioniere errichten Pontonbrücke

    German pioneers construct a pontoon bridge across the Dnieper during the battle of Kiev, September 1941

  • Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F016198-0033, Rumänien, Brückenbau über den Pruth

    German engineers building a pontoon bridge across the Prut River during the advance towards Uman, July 1941

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Puente de barcas para niños

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