Bridges...An Old & Modern Marvel

I LOVE TO TRADE, but I'm chemical engineer by education, so I love how things work, move and they are built as well.

NOTE: there's a reason I was inspired to write about bridges, I will let you know when we get to it.

A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles without closing the way underneath such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle.

Billions of people use bridges every day. We see bridges in cities, towns and some of us was probably first exposed to bridges when playing with cars as a little kid. Bridges are important not just for traveling from place to place, but just like the cell phone and the internet, bridges connect people’s lives are an instrumental to us as social beings.

The most basic and common designs used around the globe is the truss, cable-stayed, suspension, and arch model. Each of these designs has its unique features, advantages, and drawbacks.

Beam bridges are horizontal beams supported at each end by substructure units and can be either simply supported when the beams only connect across a single span, or continuous when the beams are connected across two or more spans.

A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss. This truss is a structure of connected elements forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads.

Cantilever bridges are built using cantilevers—horizontal beams supported on only one end. Most cantilever bridges use a pair of continuous spans that extend from opposite sides of the supporting piers to meet at the center of the obstacle the bridge crosses.

Cantilever bridges are built using cantilevers—horizontal beams supported on only one end. Most cantilever bridges use a pair of continuous spans that extend from opposite sides of the supporting piers to meet at the center of the obstacle the bridge crosses.

Arch bridges have abutments at each end. The weight of the bridge is thrust into the abutments at either side. The earliest known arch bridges were built by the Greeks, and include the Arkadiko Bridge.

Suspension bridges are suspended from cables. The earliest suspension bridges were made of ropes or vines covered with pieces of bamboo. In modern bridges, the cables hang from towers that are attached to caissons or cofferdams. The caissons or cofferdams are implanted deep into the bed of the lake, river or sea.

Cable-stayed bridges, like suspension bridges, are held up by cables. However, in a cable-stayed bridge, less cable is required and the towers holding the cables are proportionately higher.

NOTE: I have been noticing these type of bridges more and more in New York City and now I know how...it's more cost effective.

Source

Regardless of the design, it all starts with the foundation. Growing up in new york city along the East River, I also wondered how they built the foundation in the water. Today I stumbled across a picture, it left me in awe and wanted to share with the Community for those who had the same question (s).

NOTE: this is the amazing picture that inspired me to write this post.

Before I end the post, I wanted to leave you with some tidbits about Bridges.

Interesting Facts On Bridges

• The highest bridge on earth was completed in 2016. The Beipanjiang Bridge, in mountainous southwestern China, was rises 1,854 feet or more than a third of a mile above a river.

• Six of the longest bridges in the world are in China and three are in the United States. All three of the U.S. bridges are located in the state of Louisiana.

• The oldest bridge in the world is the Zhaozhou Bridge in China. It is a stone-segmented arch bridge. It was built in 605 A.D. It is still standing strong and is in use today.

• The Brooklyn Bridge was built in 1883 and it connects Manhattan and Brooklyn over the East River. When it was built, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. It is one of the busiest bridges in the world with 145,000 vehicles crossing it every day.

Until next time.