Capetillo 1

Victor Capetillo
Mr.Gonzalez
Tech
February 4, 2015
Bridges were invented to help the locals overcome obstacles like lakes, rivers, or
giant holes. Bridges were built to help people get from one spot to another by
simply walking or riding over a bridge. At first bridges were made of natural
resources like wooden logs, stone, and dirt. Because of this the bridges only lasted
for a little while because the rain would wash and dissolve away the dirt used for
the bridge. This problem soon found a solution when engineers from Ancient Rome
discovered that grinded volcanic rocks make great mortar. The discovery helped
make sturdier, powerful, and stronger bridges than anyone else. Before bridges
were invented people used boats or a ferry to cross rivers that could not be walked
over or crossed by walking. At that time people would much rather be on a ferry,
but those who would want privacy would use a boat for themselves or a group. A
ferry would be used to carry more than just a group of people more like a crowd.

There are many types of bridges, based on my research I found that the first 4
bridges were: a stone masonry bridge, a steel bridge, a timber bridge, and a bow
string bridge. A stone masonry bridge is a bridge made out of natural stone, brick
or concrete block. Modern day steel bridges were made out of steel. A timber bridge

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is made out of timber or wood. A bridge formed of an arch of timber or iron. I did
some research on those four bridges and found some advantages and
disadvantages, the first bridge I will explore is a beam bridge. Two advantages of a
beam bridge is that a beam bridge will help with short spans. Long distances will be
covered with a beam bridge over a pier. Two disadvantages of a beam bridge are
beam bridges may be expensive since steel is a required construction material.
When long spans need to be required, beam bridges are expensive because of the
piers needed to hold up the bridge. The next bridge I will explore is a truss bridge.
Two advantages of a truss bridge are a truss bridge is strong, light and utilizes little
or no timber. Also a truss bridge can be developed in a suitable place. A
disadvantage of a truss bridge is that it takes up a lot of space and is the main
cause of accidents. The truss bridge is time consuming and expensive. The next
bridge I will explore is the arch bridge. One advantage is that they are structurally
sound for short distances. Arch bridges are uncostly of building materials. A
disadvantage is the amount of building materials needed for the arch bridge.
Another disadvantage is that the arch bridge needs more support from the sides
unlike other bridges. The next bridge I will explore is a suspension bridge. Built over
waterways the bridge is built high allowing boats to go under. Also during
construction access into the bridge does not need to be from under so roadways
and waterways do not need to be disrupted. One disadvantage is when built in soft
ground, suspension bridges require extensive and expensive foundation work to
combat the effects of the heavy load on foundation towers.
I found two real life bridges that I found in my research. In my research I have found
a bridge in Belgrade/Serbia called the Gazela. It is the most important road bridge
across the Sava River. The bridge is also part of the European route E75. The bridge

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is 332 meters long and 27.5 meters wide with three lanes in each direction with a
road width of 21.8 meters. It is a combination of a beam and arch bridge, with
shallow-frame beam and diagonal steel concrete abutments. The bridge took four
years to complete from 1966 1977. Today about 160,000 people cross it even if it
was meant for 40,000. The bridge was recently reconstructed from 2010 2011.
The next bridge I found is in Oakland bay, San Francisco. The bridge is a
combination of a suspension, cantilever, tunnel, and a truss bridge. It is 23,000 feet
(4.5 miles). The water separating the cities was too deep and wide. In fact, in 1921
a trans-bay underwater tube crossing was recommended as the best way of
crossing the bay. However this idea was soon deemed inappropriate for automobile
traffic. In 1926, the California Legislature created the Toll Bridge Authority, a policymaking body charged with the responsibility for bridging San Francisco and
Alameda County. Yet spanning the 1.78 miles between the San Francisco and Yerba
Buena Island required ingenuity on a grand scale. The water, 100 feet deep at some
points, and the underlying soil conditions required new techniques for placing
bridge foundations. The solution: build two suspension bridges. The crossing from
the Oakland shoreline to Yerba Buena Island was an immense feat of engineering,
although less difficult than the deep water crossing on the other side. It was
spanned by a 10,176 foot cantilever bridge, the longest bridge of its kind at the
time. This bridge employs the world's deepest bridge pier, sunk 242 feet below the
water level.

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I found some interesting facts about the bridges . An interesting fact about each of
the 4 types of bridges. The first one I found was about the Gazela Bridge. The
Gazela Bridge is one of the main bridges in the city connecting the old part of
Belgrade with the New Belgrade. Besides being used for intra-city traffic, it is also
part of two major highways crossing Europe (E70 and E75) and so besides Belgrade
traffic, there is lots of foreign cars cruising through. The bridge has more cars
crossing it than it was designed for. I also found another interesting fact about the
other bridge I found. A section of the bridge was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta
earthquake which measured 7.1 on the Richter scale. Bolts holding a section of the
upper deck on the truss section sheared causing a portion of the deck to unhinge
and fall onto the lower deck. The earthquake demonstrated that despite the Bay
Bridge's behemoth stature and deep piers, it was vulnerable to damage during
strong quakes. Retrofit work to prevent any future failures has begun.
I have to find three poorly constructed bridges and get information on those
bridges. The first bridge I found was the Stirling Bridge. The Stirling Bridge was
located in Stirling, Scotland. The Stirling Bridge participated in the Battle of Stirling

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Bridge which was also the reason for its destruction. The Sterling Bridge was a
trestle and beam ridge over the River Forth. The next bridge I found was the Eitai
Bridge. The Eitai Bridge was a wooden beam bridge over River Sumida. The bridge
was located in Tokyo, Japan. The cause of destruction a festival overload and killed
500 1500. The next bridge was the Broughton Suspension Bridge which was
located in Broughton Great Manchester, England. It was a suspension over the Irwell
River. The bridge Collapsed at one end, and the bridge quickly rebuilt and
strengthened. The final bridge was the Yarmouth Bridge located in Great Yarmouth,
England. The bridge was a suspension bridge. The cause of destruction was that
people crowded around a clown to see him roll in a barrel in the river, their weight
was too much causing them to tip over. 79 people died, mainly children.

The first bridge I want to talk about is the Great Yarmouth Bridge. I think the
story of destruction of the bridge is a rare one. One afternoon, Nelson the
clown had undertaken to swim in a tub drawn by four geese. It was a foolish
exhibition but it was an attention grabber. When the clown swam away the
rods were giving away, an instant alarm was but it was too late. The chains
broke and one entire side fell taking down an estimated three to four
hundred. The next bridge was the Broughton Bridge. On April 12th the 60th rifle
corps were returning, when the bridge began to vibrate. Then one of the

suspension supports tore loose and toppled toward the bridge. The
unsupported bridge hurled toward the river along with the troops. The other
bridge I found was the Stirling Bridge. The Stirling Bridge participated in the
Stirling bridge battle and the cause of the collapse was similar to the
Yarmouth Bridge, a weight overload.

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I have chosen a truss bridge for the toothpick project. I am doing my project
with a partner, Jennifer Duarte. I chose this design because there are many
truss bridges that are magnificent and they look pretty sturdy. One bridge
historian describes a truss bridge in this manner: "A truss is simply an
interconnected framework of beams that holds something up. The beams are
usually arranged in a repeated triangular pattern, since a triangle cannot be
distorted by stress. In a truss bridge, two long - usually straight members
known as chords - form the top and bottom; they are connected by a web of
vertical posts and diagonals. The bridge is supported at the ends by
abutments and sometimes in the middle by piers. A properly designed and
built truss will distribute stresses throughout its structure, allowing the
bridge to safely support its own weight, the weight of vehicles crossing it,
and wind loads. The truss does not support the roadway from above, like a
suspension bridge, and like an arch bridge; rather, it makes the roadway
stiffer and stronger, helping it hold together against the various loads it
encounters." (Eric DeLony, The Golden Age, Invention and Technology,
1994).

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Bibliography:
http://www.answers.com/Q/Why_were_bridges_invented
http://www.historyofbridges.com/
http://railroad.lindahall.org/essays/tunnels-bridges.html
http://www.brighthubengineering.com/structural-engineering/65074-characteristicsof-beam-bridges/
http://healthresearchfunding.org/truss-bridges-pros-cons/
http://ask.com/art-literature/advantages-disadvantages-using-arch-bridgesb9cd3e0758f8c5c0
http://ehow.com/facts_5517162_advantages-disadvantages-suspension-bridge.html
http://www.sika.com/en/solutions_products/projectreferences/transp_infra/automotive-road-bridges/gazela-bridge--serbia.html
http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/esc/tollbridge/SFOBB/Sfobbfacts.html
http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/esc/tollbridge/SFOBB/Sfobbfacts.html
http://billkralovec.com/2011/11/15/freedom-the-gazela-bridge-completesconstruction/
http://www.madamegilflurt.com/2014/04/on-this-day-collapse-of-broughton.html
http://www.broadlandmemories.co.uk/documents/news/news_pre1900/gy_suspensio
nbridge_1845.pdf
http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/bridges/trussbridges.htm

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