Wada Swing Bridge, Railway bridge in Hyogo, Japan
The Wada Swing Bridge is a railway bridge crossing the Hyogo Canal with a steel plate girder design. It connects to the Wadamisaki Line and features a two-span structure that exemplifies early engineering methods from its construction period.
Built in 1899, this structure was Japan's first and oldest movable railway bridge, originally created by the Sanyo Railway Company. It served the purpose of moving construction materials across the waterway in its early years.
The bridge received recognition as a Selected Civil Engineering Heritage Site by the Japan Society of Civil Engineers in September 2021 for its technological significance.
The structure is accessible via the Wadamisaki Line of JR West and serves an important transportation link in Kobe's Hyogo district. Visit during daytime hours when you can observe the regular train traffic passing over it.
Although its rotating mechanism has been removed, the bridge retains its distinctive British-style plate girder design with curved stiffening ribs. This feature makes it easily recognizable among other bridges from the Meiji era.
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