Development of Bridges

By KeyaMoodley
  • 2900 BCE

    Trees that had fallen naturally over streams or rivers.

  • 2700 BCE

    Instead of a tree, planks may have been used.

  • 2700 BCE

    Stones soon replaced wood due to them being stronger and lasting longer.

  • 2000 BCE

    Planks placed between stepping stones to allow wider streams or rivers to be crossed. Logs tied together would have formed wider decks to cross over.

  • 1741 BCE

    First Suspension Bridge built.

  • 870 BCE

    Romans developed a way to make stone bridges.

    Towns and cities grew more and more and bridges needed to carry bigger loads. Romans invented the viaduct, a road supported on several arches made of stone.
  • 800 BCE

    First forms of Cantilever and Beam bridges in the Stone Age.

    Stone Age people wanted to explore better grazing land and had to find safer ways to cross rivers and streams without getting wet. Placing flat slabs of stone and a pile of rocks in the center of the river as support, then laying another slab of stone to support the sides is how they experimented.
  • 1570

    Italian architect invented the Truss Bridge.

  • First big suspension bridge.

  • First Cantilever bridge.