P167 - Russia - The Palace Bridge

The Palace Bridge, View of the Peter and Paul Fortress, St. Petersburg, Russia (UNESCO WHS)

Palace Bridge is a road traffic and foot bascule bridge spanning the Neva River in Saint Petersburg between Palace Square and Vasilievsky Island. Like every other Neva bridge (except for Big Obukhovsky Bridge), it is drawn by night, making foot travel between various parts of the city virtually impossible.

The total length of Palace Bridge is 260.1 meters, width is 27.8 meters. It is actually composed of five spans, the southernmost joining Palace Embankment between Winter Palace and Admiralty and leading to Palace Square.

冬宫桥顾名思义,是指将冬宫和其对面交易所大楼连接的桥。桥长200多米,桥下的河水幽深。桥中央的拱孔带着双翼和平衡器,可以随时打开桥板。这种开阉式的桥也叫断桥。白天为了方便南来北往的车辆和行人,桥是闭阉的,只有凌晨2点至5点,桥才会开启。此时,便会有精彩的“开桥”拉开帷幕:随着黎明的步步临近,机械和马达的轰隆声一阵高过一阵,只见桥的中间部分慢慢隆起,桥板像粗壮的手臂缓缓舒展,最后凌空开启,桥面顿时一分为二。接着,在下游守候多时的大型船只列成长队,鱼贯而过,并拉响汽笛致意。开桥的整个过程,大约持续两个小时,场景宏阔,气势浩荡,蔚为壮观。像这样能开能阉的桥,圣彼得堡共有13座。

References sources : Wikipedia, 海外文摘