Parrotts Ferry Bridge: Pioneer in Lightweight, Pumped Concrete

Spanning the Stanislaus River in Northern California, this bridge includes a 640-ft center span that is the world’s longest span in lightweight concrete and the longest bridge span ever built in the U.S. using the segmental cantilever construction method. Its use of economical lightweight concrete in the bridge superstructure is a unique design feature. The extraordinarily tall and graceful bridge rests on piers rising 350 feet above the stream bed. The height and length of the spans required long distance concrete pumping on a scale rarely attempted. The bridge is the best example in this country of a cast-in-place, segmentally constructed concrete box girder bridge.