The Cody Dock Rolling Bridge

Designed by architect Thomas Randall-Page, the Cody Dock rolling footbridge opens with a “surprising and playful motion” to let boats pass through by simply rolling out of the way.

The bridge rolls on undulating rails cast into the concrete abutments on either bank. Ballast fills the top of each square portal, countering the weight of the bridge deck that connects them. This symmetry allows the whole bridge structure to smoothly role through 180 degrees to a fully inverted position facilitating movement of boats from the river to the dock. This finely balanced is this system allows the 13 tonne bridge to be operated via hand winches only.

Here’s a video about the then-proposed bridge from 2019 that shows the unique rolling mechanism:

And here’s a video from earlier this year that shows the design process and how the finished bridge works:

• architecture
• Thomas Randall-Page