A  bridge is a structure built to span a valley, road, body of water, or other physical obstacle, 

for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle. Designs of  bridges vary  depending on 

the  function  of  the  bridge,  the  nature  of  the  terrain  where  the  bridge  is  constructed,  the 
material used to make it and the funds available to build it. 

History
The first bridges were made by nature itself — as simple as a log fallen across a stream or stones 
in the river. The first bridges made by humans were probably spans of cut wooden logs or planks 
and  eventually  stones,  using  a  simple  support  and  crossbeam  arrangement.  Some  early 
Americans used trees or bamboo poles to cross small caverns or wells to get from one place to 
another. A common form of lashing sticks, logs, and deciduous branches together involved the 
use of long reeds or other harvested fibers woven together to form a connective rope which was 
capable of binding and holding in place materials used in early bridges. 

The Arkadiko Bridge is one of four Mycenaean corbel arch bridges part of a former network of 
roads, designed to accommodate chariots, between Tiryns to Epidauros in the Peloponnese, in 
Greece. Dating to the Greek Bronze Age (13th century BC), it is one of the oldest arch bridges 
still  in  existence  and  use.  Several  intact  arched  stone  bridges  from  the  Hellenistic  era  can  be 
found in the Peloponnese in southern Greece 

The  greatest  bridge  builders  of  antiquity  were  the  ancient  Romans.  The  Romans  built  arch 
bridges  and  aqueducts  that  could  stand  in  conditions  that  would  damage  or  destroy  earlier 
designs.  Some  stand  today.  An  example  is  the  Alcántara  Bridge,  built  over  the  river  Tagus,  in 
Spain. The Romans also used cement, which reduced the variation of strength found in natural 
stone. One type of cement, called pozzolana, consisted of water, lime, sand, and volcanic rock. 
Brick and mortar bridges were built after the Roman era, as the technology for cement was lost 
then later rediscovered. 

The Arthashastra of Kautilya mentions the construction of dams and bridges. A Mauryan bridge 
near Girnar was surveyed by James Princep. The bridge was swept away during a flood, and later 
repaired  by  Puspagupta,  the  chief  architect  of  emperor  Chandragupta  I.    The  bridge  also  fell 
under  the  care  of  the  Yavana  Tushaspa,  and  the  Satrap  Rudra  Daman.  The  use  of  stronger 
bridges  using  plaited  bamboo  and  iron  chain  was  visible  in  India  by  about  the  4th  century.  A 
number of bridges, both for military and commercial purposes, were constructed by the Mughal 
administration in India. 

Although  large  Chinese  bridges  of  wooden  construction  existed  at  the  time  of  the  Warring 
States, the oldest surviving stone bridge in China is the Zhaozhou Bridge, built from 595 to 605 
AD  during  the  Sui  Dynasty.  This  bridge  is  also  historically  significant  as  it  is  the  world's  oldest 
open‐spandrel stone segmental arch  bridge.  European segmental arch  bridges date back to at 
least  the  Alconétar  Bridge  (approximately  2nd  century  AD),  while  the  enormous  Roman  era 
Trajan's Bridge (105 AD) featured open‐spandrel segmental arches in wooden construction. 

During the 18th century there were many innovations in the design of timber bridges by Hans 
Ulrich, Johannes Grubenmann, and others. The first book on bridge engineering was written by 
Hubert Gautier in 1716. A major breakthrough in bridge technology came with the erection of 
the Iron Bridge in Coalbrookdale, England in 1779. It used cast iron for the first time as arches to 
cross the river Severn. 

With  the  Industrial  Revolution  in  the  19th  century,  truss  systems  of  wrought  iron  were 
developed for larger bridges, but iron did not have the tensile strength to support large loads. 
With the advent of steel, which has a high tensile strength, much larger bridges were built, many 
using the ideas of Gustave Eiffel. 

In 1927 welding pioneer Stefan Bryła designed the first welded road bridge in the world which 
was  later  built  across  the  river  Słudwia  Maurzyce  near  Łowicz,  Poland  in  1929.  In  1995,  the 
American  Welding  Society  presented  the  Historic  Welded  Structure  Award  for  the  bridge  to 
Poland. 

 
Types of bridges 

 ARCH BRIDGE

Arch bridges are one of the oldest types of bridges and have great natural
strength. Instead of pushing straight down, the weight of an arch bridge is carried
outward along the curve of the arch to the supports at each end. These supports,
called the abutments, carry the load and keep the ends of the bridge from
spreading out.

When supporting its own weight and the weight of crossing traffic, every part of
the arch is under compression. For this reason, arch bridges must be made of
materials that are strong under compression.

The Romans used stones. One of the most famous examples of their handiwork
is the Pont du Gard aqueduct near Nîmes, France. Built before the birth of Christ,
the bridge is held together by mortar only in its top tier; the stones in the rest of
the structure stay together by the sheer force of their own weight. Today
materials like steel and pre-stressed concrete have made it possible to build
longer and more elegant arches, including a spectacular 1700 foot span in New
River Gorge, West Virginia. (More typically, modern arch bridges span between
200-800 feet.)Constructing an arch bridge can be tricky, since the structure is
completely unstable until the two spans meet in the middle.

One technique is to build elaborate scaffolding, or "centering," below the spans to

support them until they meet. A newer method supports the spans using cables
anchored to the ground on either side of the bridge. In situations where there is
an active water or road way below, this method allows contractors to build
without disrupting traffic.One of the most revolutionary arch bridges in recent
years is the Natchez TraceBridge in Franklin, Tennessee, which was opened to
traffic in 1994.

It's the first American arch bridge to be constructed from segments of pre-cast
concrete, a highly economical material. Two graceful arches support the roadway
above. Usually arch bridges employ vertical supports called "spandrels" to
distribute the weight of the roadway to the arch below, but the Natchez Trace
Bridge was designed without spandrels to create a more open and aesthetically
pleasing appearance. As a result, most of the live load is resting on the crowns of
the two arches, which have been slightly flattened to better carry it. Already the
winner of many awards, the bridge is expected to influence bridge design for
years to come.
 BEAM BRIDGE

A beam or "girder" bridge is the simplest and most inexpensive kind of

bridge. According to Craig Finley of Finley/McNary Engineering, "they're
basically the vanillas of the bridge world." In its most basic form, a beam
bridge consists of a horizontal beam that is supported at each end by piers.
The weight of the beam pushes straight down on the piers. The beam
itself must be strong so that it doesn't bend under its own weight and the
added weight of crossing traffic. When a load pushes down on the beam,
the beam's top edge is pushed together (compression) while the bottom
edge is stretched (tension).

Pre-stressed concrete is an ideal material for beam bridge construction;

the concrete withstands the forces of compression well and the steel rods
imbedded within resist the forces of tension. Pre-stressed concrete also
tends to be one of the least expensive materials in construction. But even
the best materials can't compensate for the beam bridge's biggest
limitation: its length.The farther apart its supports, the weaker a beam
bridge gets. As a result, beam bridges rarely span more than 250 feet.

This doesn't mean beam bridges aren't used to cross great distances -- it
only means that they must be daisy-chained together, creating what's
known in the bridge world as a "continuous span." In fact, the world's
longest bridge is a continuous span beam bridge. Almost 24 miles long,
the Lake Ponchartrain Causeway consists of two, two-lane sections that
run parallel to one another. The Southbound Lane, completed in 1956, is
made up of 2243 separate spans, while the Northbound Lane, completed
in 1969, is pieced together from 1500 longer spans. Seven cross-over
lanes connect the two main sections and function as pull-over bays in
emergencies. Although impressive, the Lake Ponchartrain Causeway
bridge underscores the drawback of continuous spans: they are not well
suited for locations that require unobstructed clearance below.
 SUSPENSION BRIDGE

Aesthetic, light, and strong, suspension bridges can span distances from 2,000 to
7,000 feet—far longer than any other kind of bridge. They also tend to be the
most expensive to build. True to its name, a suspension bridge suspends the
roadway from huge main cables, which extend from one end of the bridge to the
other. These cables rest on top of high towers and are secured at each end by
anchorages. The towers enable the main cables to be draped over long
distances. Most of the weight of the bridge is carried by the cables to the
anchorages, which are imbedded in either solid rock or massive concrete blocks.

Inside the anchorages, the cables are spread over a large area to evenly
distribute the load and to prevent the cables from breaking free. Some of the
earliest suspension bridge cables were made from twisted grass. In the early
nineteenth century, suspension bridges used iron chains for cables.
Today, the cables are made of thousands of individual steel wires bound tightly
together. Steel, which is very strong under tension, is an ideal material for cables;
a single steel wire, only 0.1 inch thick, can support over half a ton without
breaking Currently, the Humber bridge in England has world's longest center
span— measuring 4,624 feet. But this record won't stand for long. In 1998, the
Japanese will unveil the $7.6 billion Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, linking the islands of
Honshu and Shikoku.

The bridge's center section stretches a staggering 6,527 feet. To keep the
structure stable, engineers have added pendulum-like devices on the towers to
keep them from swaying and a stabilizing fin beneath the center deck to resist
typhoonstrength winds. Because suspension bridges are light and flexible, wind
is always a serious concern—as the residents of Tacoma, Washington can surely
attest

 THE HUMBER BRIDGE : MORE FACTS

The Humber Bridge is a suspension bridge with the north tower sited on the high water
line and the south tower founded in shallow water 500m from the shore. On the north
bank, a hard well-jointed bed of chalk comes close to the surface and is covered by a
tough layer of glacially deposited chalky boulder clay. The chalk has provided good
foundations for both the anchorage and tower on this bank, on the south side, soft
alluvium is underlain by beds of boulder clay, sand and gravel.

Below these beds, at a depth of 30m, there is a deep bed of stiff,heavily fissured
kimmeridge clay, on which the tower and anchorage have been founded. Designed to
cross the last major unbridged estuary in Britain, the bridge comprises reinforced
concrete towers aerial-spun catenary cables and a continuously-welded, closed – box
road deck supported by inclined hanger cables.
 CABLE-STAYED BRIDGE

Cable-stayed bridges may look similar to suspensions bridges—both have

roadways that hang from cables and both have towers. But the two
bridges support the load of the roadway in very different ways. The
difference lies in how the cables are connected to the towers. In
suspension bridges, the cables ride freely across the towers, transmitting
the load to the anchorages at either end. In cable-stayed bridges,the
cables are attached to the towers, which alone bear the load.The cables
can be attached to the roadway in a variety of ways. In a radial pattern,
cables extend from several points on the road to a single point at the top
of the tower. In a parallel pattern, cables are attached at different heights
along the tower, running parallel to one other.

Even though cable-stayed bridges look futuristic, the idea for them goes
back a long way. The first known sketch of a cable-stayed bridge appears
in a book called Machinae Novae published in 1595, but it wasn't until this
century that engineers began to use them. In post-World War II Europe,
where steel was scarce, the design was perfect for rebuilding bombed out
bridges that still had standing foundations. Cable stay bridges have begun
to be erected in the United States only recently, but the response has
been passionate

For medium length spans (those between 500 and 2,800 feet), cable-
stayeds are fast becoming the bridge of choice. Compared to suspension
bridges, cable-stayeds require less cable, can be constructed out of
identical pre-cast concrete sections, and are faster to build. The result is a
cost-effective bridge that is undeniably beautiful.

In 1988, the Sunshine Skyway bridge in Tampa, Florida won the

prestigious Presidential Design Award from the National Endowment for
the Arts. Painted yellow to contrast with its marine surroundings, the
Sunshine Skyway is one of the first cable-stayed bridges to attach cables
to the center of its roadway as opposed to the outer edges, allowing
commuters an unobstructed view of the magnificent bay.Recently, in
Boston, Massachusetts, a cable-stayed design was selected for a new
bridge across the Charles River—even though cheaper options were
proposed. City officials simply liked the way it looked.
Construction of Bridges
It is one thing to design a bridge. It is another thing to build
it. Planning and executing the construction of a bridge is often very
complicated, and in fact may be the most ingenious (ingénieur -
engineer) parts of the entire enterprise. An incomplete structure is
often subjected to stresses and oscillations that would not arise after
completion. The construction work is potentially a grave hindrance to
existing traffic and to normal life in the area, especially when large
local fabrication works have to be installed.

Even before any actual construction is done, substantial work may

needed in the form of tests. Boreholes will be made to check the
condition of the ground, in conjunction with any available geological
maps. Records of wind speed and direction will be consulted, and new
measurements made if necessary. In the case of a river or sea
crossing, records of water levels and velocities will be needed. Models
of the bridge or of parts may be tested aerodynamically and
hydrodynamically, and of course mechanical tests will be
made. Computer simulations will supplement these tests, enabling a
great variety of applied forces to be investigated. There may also be
investigations into the effects on people and on the natural
environment. It may even be necessary to overcome opposition to the
construction, from a variety of objectors. There was much opposition,
for example, to the construction of the Skye bridge. In older times,
ferry operators could be extremely vociferous about a bridge proposal.

This website includes very little material about bridge construction,

because the subject is so varied and so specialist. As soon as possible,
some useful links will be provided, and if possible, some simple
explanations as well.

Meanwhile, let's look at the living world, to see how things are done
there. Starting at the beginning, an immature form is likely to be
vulnerable. A half built medieval castle must have been hard to
defend. In modern times, a half built tank or aircraft is vulnerable if
bombs can be dropped on the factory. In the animal world, there are
many solutions.

One is to produce so many offspring that an enormous mortality rate is

acceptable. All that matters is that on average, enough survive to
produce an equally large next generation.
Another way is to nourish and protect young until their probability of
survival is sufficiently high. From eagle chicks to tiger cubs to baby
crocodiles, even the fiercest animals can be vulnerable when
young. Many animals, from earwigs to apes, protect their
young. Nevertheless, mortality can be very high once the young leave
their parents. In the mammals, this method is taken furthest, by
retaining the young inside until they are quite large. Question, why
are baby mammals more round and cuddly looking than adults?

If the young have already some defence, as in vipers, they can be left
alone from the start. But even there, some species retain the eggs
inside until they have developed into little versions of the adult.

A common strategy to cope with immaturity is to undergo

metamorphosis. By adopting very different forms, behaviours and
habitats at different stages of growth, animals can inhabit ecological
niches that are optimal at each stage. This is most easily seen in
many insect orders, though prevalent in other classes which are less
commonly seen. Sometimes there is a passive pupal stage, during
which the tissues are so radically reorganized that the adult, or imago,
is almost unrecognizably different from the larva. The larval stages,
which are devoted mainly to eating and growing, are very often not
very mobile, whereas the adult stage, or imago, is very frequently
mobile, because males and females have to meet. Mating with nearby
examples from the same brood is deleterious genetically, so the
emerging adults make at least some attempt to move. There are
species in which the females are wingless, leaving the males to do the
travelling.

The bridge builder, like the mammals, has to nurse the embryo
structure through difficult stages. Very often, the stresses differ
considerably from those of the complete structure, and can be more
concentrated. The collapse of several box girder bridges in the 1960s
damaged the reputation of this type for a period, until the stresses
were better understood. Note the paradox that an apparently simple
structure, a set of boxes, can be hard to understand, while a
complicated looking truss can be solved, at least in principle, using a
set of equations. The variation in stresses during construction may be
so severe that jacking must be provided. The four legs of the Tour
Eiffel were provided with jack which were adjusted from time to time
as the structure grew. Even after completion, a concrete structure
may be subject to creep, and the ground may settle; jacks are
therefore provided for later adjustment when this behaviour is
foreseen.
The pillars of the towers of big suspension bridges may have to be
stabilized by temporary cables until they are completed and joined at
the top.

Arches generally need to be supported on falsework until they are

complete. Perhaps this is the origin of the word "keystone", the last
block without which the structure cannot hold up, though in the
finished arch, the keystone is no more important than any other
voussoir. So the value of the word keystone is to remind us that until
the structure is complete, we have to keep thinking.

Completeness includes completeness of communication. The chain of

command and communication must be designed to cope with every
foreseeable situation, and it must include rules for dealing with
emergencies and unforeseen problems. Designers and builders have
ranged from those who have overly interfered in small details that
should have been delegated, I K Brunel, for example, and those in
which day to day disconnection has contributed to eventual failure,
and indeed total disaster, as in the first attempt at the Quebec bridge.

Some very large arches have been built by treating the halves as
cantilevers until they meet in the middle. Whether or not this method
is used, joining the parts of any big structure is a very serious
matter. The stresses in the separate parts are different from those
that will apply in the complete system. If the parts are just left to rest
against each other, or joined as they meet, the resulting stresses may
be far from those that are required. Some form of jacking will often
be required.

Furthermore, the temperature and wind may make life difficult for the
builders. There have been occasions when heaters or ice-packs have
been used. Spinning the cables of the Forth road bridge was not
possible on many days because of high winds.
 Construction of Arches

This pictures show the corbels upon which

the centring was erected. When the
centring has been removed, or struck, the
arch will inevitably settle slightly. This is
inevitable, because it can only generate the
required compressive forces by undergoing
some strain. All structures, in fact, must
deflect when temporary support is removed.
Bridge, which sank about ten inches (25 cm)
at the crown. Telford had wanted to build
one of his standard 150 foot cast iron arches,
which would have been a very economical
solution, but some important people in Gloucester decided that they
did not want iron, even though Over is not in the city, and not even
visible from it. These people should have known better, because the
fact that Gloucester is built entirely on the east side of the river Severn
is a constant reminder that the ground on the west side is soft and
unsuitable for construction work. Apparently the information that
Telford was given about the soil conditions were faulty. Nevertheless,
the bridge was in use until the second half of the 20th century, and
still stands as one of many testimonies to Telford's skill, and also as
one of many testimonies to the results of powerful people making
decisions on matters of which they know little or nothing. In this case
the result was a very heavy and very expensive bridge.

Concrete bridges may be supported in a similar way, except that the

centring will support the formwork in which the concrete is
poured. For large bridges, the centring will be a substantial structure
in its own right, and will be expensive. For a multi-arch bridge, it is
desirable to re-use the centring for each span. In the case of a bridge
across a river, the centring may be floated from one arch to the next,
and will be in the form of a tied arch to maintain it integrity. The
centring for the illustrated arch would have been impressive.
The stresses in the arch during construction would be different from
those expected after completion, and the tensions in the temporary
stays need to be adjusted as new sections are added. An advanced
version of this method was used for the Tilos bridge on la Palma,
which is based on a concrete arch. The verticals used during the
construction were the same ones that form spandrel piers in the
completed bridge. These were connected at the top by horizontal
members during construction. Unlike the deck of the completed bridge,
these members were clearly in tension, illustrating very clearly how
stresses in completed and uncompleted structures may differ greatly.

Change of stress of course implies change in strain, and this influenced

the design of the formwork for the concrte arch. Over the months
following completion of construction, any concrete element in
compression will be slightly reduced in size. Because the Tilos arch
has no hinges, the change in length would induce bending
moments. Massive jacks were provided to allow fro
adjustments. Because of the differing stresses in the various phases,
this bridge was designed to be very light.

The bowstring or tied arch is

exceptional in that it can be treated
as a unit which creates no outward
thrust. In principle such an arch can
be built away from the final site and
then lifted or slid into place. The
arch illustrated here was built close
to the M42 motorway and slid into
place during a single night, with minimal disruption of traffic.
 Construction of Beam Bridges
Beam bridges are generally in the form of plate girders, box girders or
trusses. In all cases, a common construction method is to build the
beam away from the final position and slide it or lift it into place as a
complete unit. Bowstring or tied arches may be built in the same way.

There is nothing especially complicated about the lifting process, and

the stresses in the beam are more or less as they will be in the final
position. Nevertheless, a heavy object suspended in space is
potentially dangerous, and accidents do happen. During the lifting of
the suspended span of the Quebec bridge, something broke, and the
span fell into the river and was destroyed. During the lifting of one
span of the Britannia bridge, a jack burst, and the end of the span
fell. Fortunately, Stephenson had given strict orders to insert packing
after every few inches of lifting. Nevertheless, a slight distortion of the
beam did occur. The incident shows the importance, not only of
correct instructions, but of good communications. Accidents have
happened because instructions were not received, or if received,
modified or ignored.

An exception to the method of lifting may be adopted in the case of

the suspended span of a cantilever bridge, as in the case of the Forth
railway bridge. Here, the beams were built out from the ends of the
cantilever arms until they could be joined in the middle. Only then
were the temporary rigid connections removed. Such an operation has
to be done with great care, because large stresses are released and
created. The bending moment at the join completely disappears, for
example, while the stress in the top chord of the beam changes from
tension to compression. The faked picture shows the general idea.

Some continuous box girder beams and concrete beams are

constructed as cantilevers until they are joined up. New parts may be
taken along the existing part of the bridge, or they may be lifted up
from below. Sections of a segmented prestressed concrete bridge may
be lifted by a crane which rests on previously attached segments, or
they may be manipulated by means of a launching girder which is
slowly advanced along the already built part of the span. Another
method is to use moving formwork which progresses with the
construction. Because the cantilevered part span is subject to stresses
for which the complete span is not designed, temporary stays are
sometimes attached between the segments and a temporary tower,
turning the span into a cable-stayed one until closure is complete.

Yet another technique, when the lower surface of the span is

horizontal, is to rest the formwork on a steel girder which reaches to
the next pier.

The casting of each segment is often done using the previous segment
as part of the formwork. This technique, called match-casting,
ensures an almost perfect fit at assembly time, and greatly reduces
the tendency for misalignments to occur during erection. A film of
epoxy may be spread between segments.
 Construction of Cantilever Bridges

A great advantage of a cantilever is that it can be built out from a

support without hindrance to traffic or navigation below. The
technique varies according to the type of bridge. It will also depend
on whether the cantilever is attached rigidly to a free standing
tower. Some towers are hinged at the base, in which case falsework
will be needed. Even with fixed piers or towers the span may be
attached only on a pivot rather than a fixed connection - falsework will
be needed here too.

New parts may be taken along the existing part of the bridge, or they
may be lifted up from below. Sections of a segmented prestressed
concrete bridge may be lifted by crane, or they may be manipulated
by means of a launching girder which is slowly advanced along the
span. An alternative may be moving formwork which progresses with
the construction. The idea is explained in more detail in the section
about beam construction.
 Construction of Cable-Stayed Bridges

One advantage of cable-stayed bridges over suspension bridges is that

they can be built out symmetrically from the towers, though long
spans are rather flexible until the time of closure.
Summary

A bridge is a structure built to span a valley, road, body of water, or other physical obstacle, for 
the purpose of providing passage over the  obstacle.  At first, bridge  are made by nature itself. 
After  that  humans  started  to  build  a  bridge  by  themselves  using  trees  or  bamboo  poles,  and 
then evolution to stone, cement, steal and so on. 

There  are  5  types  of  bridge  which  are  arch  bridge,  beam  bridge,  suspension  bridge,  humber 
bridge and cable‐stayed bridge. First of all, arch bridges are one of the oldest types of bridges 
and have great natural strength. The weight of an arch bridge is carried outward along the curve 
of  the  arch  to  the  supports  at  each  end.  When  supporting  its  own  weight  and  the  weight  of 
crossing traffic, every part of the arch is under compression. For this reason, arch bridges must 
be made of materials that are strong under compression. Second, a beam or "girder" bridge is 
the simplest and most inexpensive kind of bridge. A beam bridge consists of a horizontal beam 
that  is  supported  at  each  end  by  piers.  The  weight  of  the  beam  pushes  straight  down  on  the 
piers.  When  a  load  pushes  down  on  the  beam,  the  beam's  top  edge  is  pushed  together 
(compression) while the bottom edge is stretched (tension). So pre‐stressed concrete is an ideal 
material for beam bridge construction. Thirdly a suspension bridge suspends the roadway from 
huge  main  cables.  It  is  also  tend  to  be  the  most  expensive  to  build.  Next  is  humber  bridge. 
Humber bridge is a suspension bridge with the north tower sited on the high water line and the 
south tower founded in shallow water 500m from the shore. Last but not least, is cable‐stayed 
bridge. Cable‐stayed bridges may look similar to suspensions bridges but the difference lies in 
how the cables are connected to the towers.  

To  design  a  bridge  n  build  a  bridge  is  two  different  things.  Planning  and  executing  the 
construction  of  a  bridge  is  often  very  complicated,  and  in  fact  may  be  the  most  ingenious 
(ingénieur ‐ engineer) parts of the entire enterprise.  An incomplete structure is often subjected 
to  stresses  and  oscillations  that  would  not  arise  after  completion.   The  construction  work  is 
potentially a grave hindrance to existing traffic and to normal life in the area, especially when 
large local fabrication works have to be installed.