Pontoon bridge Pontoon bridge A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, uses floats or shallow-draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the supports limits the maximum load they can carry. Most pontoon bridges are temporary, used in wartime and civil emergencies. Permanent floating bridges are useful for sheltered water-crossings where it is not considered economically feasible to suspend a bridge from anchored piers. Such bridges can require a section that is elevated, or can be raised or removed, to allow waterborne traffic to pass. Pontoon bridges have been in
Trimaran by Austal. The DARPA is experimenting with the trimaran design, and in 2012 awarded SAIC a contract to perform Phases 2 through 4 of the ACTUV Program. The contract is expected to be completed by August 2015. According to American usage, there are three terms that describe the main components of catamarans and trimarans, namely: “vaka”, “aka” and “ama”. These terms come from the Malay and Polynesian language group terms for parts of the outrigger canoe (The above terminologies reflects only American usage. In the UK the main hull of a trimaran is called simply the "main hull" or "centre