Bridges
Brad Ferguson
Types of Bridges
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Beam
Cantilever
Arch
Suspension
Cable-stayed
Truss
Beam Bridge
• Simplest form of bridges
• Horizontal beams with vertical supports
• Commonly used for overpasses and
pedestrians
Cantilever Bridge
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Two cantilevers held up by horizontal beams
A suspended piece in between the cantilevers
Easier than most bridges to construct
Used for long distances where it is hard to
construct bridges
Arch Bridge
• Supported by a series of arches
• The more weight on the structure, the
stronger it is
Suspension Bridge
• Supported bridge is hung from suspension
cables
• Suspension cables are anchored at each end
of the bridge
Cable-Stayed Bridge
• Columns support cables that hold up the
bridge
• The cables fan out, opposed to vertical of
suspension
• More stable than suspension
Truss Bridge
• (Usually straight), connected elements that
are stressed from tension and compression
Bridge in Literature
• A Bridge Too Far by Ryan
Cornelius
• Story of Operation Market
Garden
• Allies tried to break
through the German lines
at Arnhem
Bridge in Film
• Bridge Over the River Kwai
• War movie about Japanese
prison camp commander and a
British colonel overseeing
prisoners constructing a bridge
• Allies are attempting to
destroy the bridge
Bridge Disasters
• Yarmouth Bridge
• Angers Bridge
• Silver Bridge
Yarmouth Bridge Disaster
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Great Yarmouth, United Kingdom
May 2, 1845
Suspension Bridge
People were crowded on bridge watching a
clown in a barrel. When the clown passed
under the bridge, weight shifted and the
cables snapped
• 79 people drowned, mostly children
Angers Bridge Disaster
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Angers, France
April 16, 1850
Suspension bridge
Marching of soldiers led to collapse
226 died
Silver Bridge Disaster
• Point Pleasant, WV and
Kanauga, OH, USA
• December 15, 1967
• Chain link suspension
• Material fault and corrosion led
to collapse
• 46 died, 9 injured
• Inspired the book Mothman
Prophecies
Famous Bridges
• Xupu Bridge
• Sutong Bridge
• Huey P. Long Bridge
Xupu Bridge
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Completed in 1997
Shanghai, China
Cable-stayed bridge
Road bridge
Main span is 590 meters
Sutong Bridge
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Completed June, 2007
Over Yangtze River in China
Cable-stayed bridge
Main span is 1,088 meters, longest main span
of a cable-stayed bridge in the world
Huey P. Long Bridge
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Completed in December, 1935
Over Mississippi river in New Orleans, LA
Truss-Cantilever Bridge
Road and railroad
8,076 feet long
Physics Involved
• A bridge must have compression and tension
• This provides stability as weight is transferred
across the bridge
• Takes stress off certain points and gives it to
others throughout the movement of weight