Vertical-lift bridge
![](/Images/godic/202502/19/MovableBridge_lift2852.gif")
![The Bridgewater Bridge is one of the last remaining operational vertical-lift bridges in Australia](/Images/godic/202502/19/Bridgewater_Causeway_Crop2852.jpg")
![The Pont Jacques Chaban-Delmas's approx. 110-metre (360 ft) lift span is likely the longest in Europe,[4] but that of the Pont Gustave-Flaubert is very nearly as long.](/Images/godic/202502/19/Pont_Jacques-Chaban-Delmas_levé_022853.JPG")
![Kattwyk Bridge, in Hamburg, Germany, with its lift span raised](/Images/godic/202502/19/Kattwyk-P10107722853.JPG")
A vertical-lift bridge or just lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck.
The vertical lift offers several benefits over other movable bridges such as the bascule and swing-span bridge. Generally speaking they cost less to build for longer moveable spans. The counterweights in a vertical lift are only required to be equal to the weight of the deck, whereas bascule bridge counterweights must weigh several times as much as the span being lifted. As a result, heavier materials can be used in the deck, and so this type of bridge is especially suited for heavy railroad use.