PURPOSE: To permit the passage of steel strips by switching paths simply without the mutual contact of steel strips running in two lines at intersections by bending backwards one of mutually crossing steel strips at intersections.

CONSTITUTION: In a combination continuous annealing furnace for cold rolled steel plate and galvanized steel plate, where continuous annealing is made in two combined strip paths, the path P2 from the zinc pot 7 to the cooling zone 6 and the path P1 through which cold rolled steel strip is horizontally passed are crossed in the tunnel portion 9 in the middle of the cooling zones 3 and 4. Then, the arm raising and lowering device 11 is provided inside the furnace in the intersection portion, whereby part of pass steel strip is raised for its one side edge at its other side edge as the center point in order to produce a given path. The raising of the steel strip by uprising the arm is limited by the hearth rolls 10 provided at both ends of the tunnel 9, so that no bad influence exerts on the whole of pass steel strip.