Bridges

Development of Bridges

By Jenna Santos
  • 2000 BCE

    Fallen tree bridges

    Fallen tree bridges
    Naturally fallen trees fell over streams or rivers in order to help people get across.
  • 1523 BCE

    Plank bridges

    Plank bridges
    Planks were placed between stepping stones in order to cross wider steams and rivers. Logs tied together would have formed wider decks or pathways to cross over.
  • 1380 BCE

    Clapper bridges

    Clapper bridges
    These bridges were built with long, thin slabs of stone to make a beam-type deck and with large rocks or block-like piles of stones for piers. These bridges were used if the river was too wide. They placed a pile of rocks in the river for support and would lay a slab of stone to the pile of stones. Another piece was laid from the support to the other side.[https://www.britannica.com/technology/clapper-bridge] This was the first form of beam and cantilever bridge.
  • 1220 BCE

    Vine/creeper bridges

    Vine/creeper bridges
    Twisted Lianas acted like ropes, holding the hanging bridges. These bridges were found in many parts of India. This was an attempt at suspension bridge. The bridges were said to have been built approximately 800 years ago by members of the Heike clan to allow them to travel to horse-riding grounds for riding practice [https://discovertokushima.net/en/topics/vine-bridges-in-the-iya-valley/] They were also used by the Inca civilization in the Andes Mountains of South America
  • 312 BCE

    Viaduct bridge

    Viaduct bridge
    The Romans created a bridge composed of several supporting stone arches for crossing a valley, dry or wetland. The bridge was wide and strong enough for horseman and wagons.[https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/roman-aqueducts]
  • 400

    Arch bridge

    Arch bridge
    An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. [https://theconstructor.org/structures/history-of-bridges/5491/] The weight of an arch-shaped bridge is forced into the supports at either end. Both the Etruscans and ancient Greeks knew about arches. However, the Romans were the first to use arches for bridge construction. [https://kids.kiddle.co/Arch_bridge]
  • 700

    Beam bridges

    Beam bridges
    Beam bridges are a horizontal beam supported by an abutment or pier at each end. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beam_bridge] The construction of a beam bridge is the simplest of all the types of bridges.[The construction of a beam bridge is the simplest of all the types of bridges] The earliest known ancient Roman beam bridge was built across the Tiber River in 7th century BC and was known as “Pons Sublicius” which literally means “bridge made of wooden beams.”
  • 1570

    Truss bridges

    Truss bridges
    Truss bridges are composed of connected triangular elements (called a truss) with the help of pin joints. They have a solid deck and girders for the sides. Early truss bridges were made of wood, and later of wood with iron tensile rods, but modern truss bridges are made completely of metal. [https://theconstructor.org/structures/history-of-bridges/5491/] This was invented by an Italian architect.

  • Suspension bridge

    Suspension bridge
    A suspension bridge is a bridge in which the weight of the deck is supported by vertical cables suspended from further cables that run between towers and are anchored in abutments at each end. A suspension bridge suspends the roadway from huge main cables, which extend from one end of the bridge to the other.[https://design-technology.org/suspensionbridges.htm] Suspension bridges had been known in China as early as 206 BC. [https://theconstructor.org/structures/history-of-bridges/5491/]

  • Cantilever bridge

    Cantilever bridge
    This bridge is constructed from cantilevers built out sideways from piers. Most cantilever bridges use two cantilever arms extending from opposite sides meeting at the center. [https://theconstructor.org/structures/history-of-bridges/5491/] For small footbridges, the cantilevers may be simple beams; however, large cantilever bridges are built from structural steel, or box girders built from concrete.[https://howbridgeswork.weebly.com/cantilever-bridge.html]

  • Cable stayed bridge

    Cable stayed bridge
    A cable-stayed bridge has one or more towers, from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern or a series of parallel lines. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable-stayed_bridge] Leonhardt built the first cable stayed bridges at Stromsund, Sweden in 1955. [http://www.bridgesofdublin.ie/bridge-building/types/cable-stayed]