Pontoon bridge the pontoons, increasing the drag from river current and potentially damaging the bridge. See below for floating pontoon failures and disasters. In ancient China, the Zhou Dynasty Chinese text of the "Shi Jing" ("Book of Odes") records that King Wen of Zhou was the first to create a pontoon bridge in the 11th century BC. However, the historian Joseph Needham has pointed out that in all likely scenarios, the temporary pontoon bridge was invented during the 9th or 8th century BC in China, as this part was perhaps a later addition to the book (considering how the book had been
Navy lighterage pontoon wedge pins. The flotation blocks came in two types: The principal type of unit was a rectangular prism; the majority of NLPs were constructed using these. The second type was similar but curved upward on one side, and these boxes were used to make bows on the front of NLP barges when required. Navy lighterage pontoon The Navy Lighterage pontoon (NLP) was a type of pontoon developed in World War II by the US Navy and used by naval construction teams (Seabees) and specialized US Army combat engineers, on invasion beaches and shallow harbors or harbors where the facilities had