Suspension Bridges

BRIDGES
Bridge is a structure that provides passage over obstacles such as valleys, rough terrain or bodies of
water by spanning those obstacles with natural or manmade materials. They first begun be used in
ancient times when first modern civilizations started rising in the Mesopotamia. From that point on,
knowledge, engineering, and manufacture of new bridge building materials spread beyond their
borders, enabling slow but steady adoption of bridges all across the world.
In the beginning bridges were very simple structures that were built from easily accessible natural
resources- wooden logs, stone and dirt. Because of that, they had ability only to span very close
distances, and their structural integrity was not high because mortar was not yet invented and rain
slowly but constantly dissolved dirt fillings of the bridge. Revolution in the bridge construction came in
Ancient Rome whose engineers found that grinded out volcanic rocks can serve as an excellent material
for making mortar. This invention enabled them to build much more sturdier, powerful and larger
structures than any civilization before them. Seeing the power of roads and connections to distant
lands, Roman architects soon spread across the Europe, Africa and Asia, building bridges and roads of
very high quality.
Types of Bridges
 Arch bridges – These bridges uses arch as a main structural component (arch is always located
below the bridge, never above it). They are made with one or more hinges, depending of what kind
of load and stress forces they must endure. Examples of arch bridge are “Old Bridge” in
Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina and The Hell Gate Bridge in New York.
 Beam bridges – Very basic type of bridges that are supported by several beams of various shapes
and sizes. They can be inclined or V shaped. Example of beam bridge is Lake Pontchartrain
Causeway in southern Louisiana.
 Truss bridges – Very popular bridge designs that uses diagonal mesh of posts above the bridge.
The two most common designs are the king posts (two diagonal posts supported by single vertical
post in the center) and queen posts (two diagonal posts, two vertical pots and horizontal post that
connect two vertical posts at the top).
 Cantilever bridges – Similar in appearance to arch bridges, but they support their load not
troughvertical bracing but trough diagonal bracing. They often use truss formation both below and
above the bridge. Example of cantilever bridge is Queensboro Bridge in New York City.
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 Tied arch bridges – Similar to arch bridges, but they transfer weight of the bridge and traffic load
to the top chord that is connected to the bottom cords in bridge foundation. They are often called
bowstring arches or bowstring bridges.
 Suspension bridges – Bridges that use ropes or cables from the vertical suspender to hold the
weight of bridge deck and traffic. Example of suspension bridge is Golden Gate Bridge in San
Francisco.
 Cable-stayed bridges – Bridge that uses deck cables that are directly connected to one or more
vertical columns. Cables are usually connected to columns in two ways – harp design (each cable
is attached to the different point of the column, creating harp like design of “strings” and fan
design (all cables connect to one point at the top of the column).
Types by use
 Car Traffic – The most common type of bridge, with two or more lanes designed to carry car and
truck traffic of various intensities.
 Pedestrian bridges – Usually made in urban environments, or in terrain where car transport is
inaccessible (rough mountainous terrain, forests, etc.).
 Double-decked bridges – Built to provide best possible flow of traffic across bodies of water or
rough terrain. Most offen they have large amount of car lanes, and sometimes have dedicated area
for train tracks.
 Train bridges – Bridges made specifically to carry one or multiple lane of train tracks.
 Pipelines – Bridges made to carry pipelines across water or inaccessible terrains. Pipelines can carry
water, air, gas and communication cables.
 Viaducts – Ancient structures created to carry water from water rich areas to dry cities.
 Commercial bridges – Modern bridges that host commercial buildings such as restaurants and
shops.
Types by materials
 Natural materials
 Wood (Wooden bridges)
 Stone
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 Concrete and Steel
SUSPENSION BRIDGES
A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (the load-bearing portion) is hung below
suspension cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built
in the early 19th century. Simple suspension bridges, which lack vertical suspenders, have a long history
in many mountainous parts of the world.
This type of bridge has cables suspended between towers, plus vertical suspender cables that carry the
weight of the deck below, upon which traffic crosses. This arrangement allows the deck to be level or
to arc upward for additional clearance. Like other suspension bridge types, this type often is
constructed without falsework.
The suspension cables must be anchored at each end of the bridge, since any load applied to the bridge
is transformed into a tension in these main cables. The main cables continue beyond the pillars to deck-
level supports, and further continue to connections with anchors in the ground.
The roadway is supported by vertical suspender cables or rods, called hangers. In some circumstances,
the towers may sit on a bluff or canyon edge where the road may proceed directly to the main span,
otherwise the bridge will usually have two smaller spans, running between either pair of pillars and the
highway, which may be supported by suspender cables or may use a truss bridge to make this
connection. In the latter case there will be very little arc in the outboard
main cables.
Types of Suspension Bridges

 “Simple suspension bridge” is a bridge that has no towers nor piers and is suspended on the cables
that are anchored at their ends and nothing else. It is also known as a rope bridge, swing bridge,
suspended bridge, hanging bridge and catenary bridge and is the oldest variant of the suspended
bridge. The deck of this bridge follows is arched downwards and upwards and has additional ropes
at a higher level which form the handrail. It is a pedestrian bridge and cannot carry modern roads
and railroads. "Simplesuspension bridge" can also be name for a suspended deck bridge that has a
deck which is not stiffened, hence - "simple".
 “Suspension bridge” is a name for a modernly designed suspension bridge – a suspended-deck
suspension bridge. It has towers and, from them, cables that hold up the road deck. These cables
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transfer the weight of the deck, by tension, to the towers and then to the ground by cables whose
ends are anchored. This type can carry heavy vehicles and light rail. The first designs of this type of
bridge appeared in 16th century but they were not built until 18th century when more materials
appeared which allowed for this type of bridge to be made. Longest suspension bridges of today
are of this design.
 “Underspanned suspension bridge” is a type of bridge that was developed in the early
19th century and which has deck that is raised on posts above the main cables which are, at their ends,
anchored. It is a very rare design in practice because its deck is not too stable. Some of the bridges built
like this are Pont des Bergues (built in 1834), are James
Smith’s Micklewood Bridge at Doune in Scotland (it was probably the first one built like this and had
chains instead of cables which also makes it chain bridge). Hammersmith
Bridge has parts of the roadway built in this manner.
 “Stressed ribbon bridge” is a modern, improved variant of a classical simple suspension bridge. It
has a rigid deck which lays on suspension cables which are in turn embedded in the deck. Deck
follows a catenary arc between supports and is stressed in traction, which adds to its stiffness and
prevents swaying and bouncing like at simple suspended bridge.
This bridge is usually made of concrete reinforced by steel tensioned cables and can carry vehicle
traffic. Concrete plates are premade and placed to form the initial structure.
Sandbags are place upon the tiles to prestress cables that hold the tiles and gaps between the tiles are
filled with concrete. When the concrete dries, sandbags are removed and cables compress, stiffening
the bridge and making it more durable.
 "Self-anchored suspension bridge" has its main cables attached to the ends of the deck
rather than ground like standard suspended bridge which allows for construction on elevated piers, or
in areas of unstable soils where anchors would be loosen over time.
This method of building appeared in mi-19th century and was designed by Austrian engineer Josef
Langer in 1859. American engineer Charles Bender patented this method in United States in 1867.
Earliest bridges built with this method in United States were
Three Sisters Bridges of Pittsburgh, built between 1924 and 1928. Suspension cables cannot be
anchored until the deck is finished with this design so a false-work is used to hold them until then.
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Suspension Bridges

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BRIDGES

Types of Suspension Bridges

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