EVOLUTION OF BRIDGES FROM STONE ARCH TO STEEL SUSPENSION

A COMPARISON BETWEEN PULTENEY BRIDGE AND BENJAMIN FRANKLIN BRIDGE Introduction

Bridges have played a crucial role in connecting and expanding societies around the world. From the beginning of time when people simply needed to cross a small stream to meet the neighboring clan, to recent decades when global commerce and communication rely heavily upon complex bridge systems to cross vast rivers and seas, the necessity of bridges has brought about a constant source of innovation. In addition to a change in the needs of society, the growth in development of bridge design and construction corresponds to an improved knowledge of engineering, material technologies, and construction skills. is essay will compare the Pulteney Bridge (shown at the bottom of this page), a radical variation of an arch bridge from the 18th century located in England, to the Benjamin Franklin Bridge (shown at the bottom of the next page), a suspension bridge across the Delaware River of a revolutionary span in the 1920s, in relation to evolution of bridge design caused by changing societal needs and new construction materials.

Functional Organization
Change in social needs is one of the factors that causes evolution in bridge design. Functionally, the oldest bridges only had to be designed to be walked over. e Pulteney Bridge expanded upon this function and added an architectural marketplace above the bridge (shown in Figure 1); but nevertheless, the sole intent of this bridge is still to hold the weight people. Inspired by one of Palladios design4, Adam (the original architect of the bridge) created a bridge lined with shops, creating a more active space for people to stop and congregate. However, with the advent of the steam engine during the Industrial Revolution, and later, the combustion engine by the late 19th century, vehicular tra c became the driving force of bridge design. e volume of automobile transportation increased exponentially and bridges had to become larger, stronger, and more stable in order to bear the weight of modern tra c1. Bridges now had to carry more than just pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages. e Benjamin Franklin Bridge needed support trains, cars, and people (shown in Figure 2). In addition, as a primary connection between the major cities of Philadelphia and southern New Jersey, the bridge had to also be durable and strong enough to move heavy tra c across the previously unbridged waters. Most bridges are now an extension of transportation networks that must be designed to carry millions of vehicles every year across valleys, bays, and even seas.

Size and Form

e discovery of new material technologies is the main factor that revolutionized the size and form of bridges. Material directly a ects the formbefore the form of the structure can be conceptualized, the availability and capacity of the construction material must be understood6. When iron and steel were not yet commercially available for construction, arch bridges were the only real bridge type in existence. is is due to the fact that an arch bridge is the perfect form for compression materials such as stone and brick2 (materials that were readily available at the time). A properly con gured arch bridge can avoid almost any tensile stress in the structure. Pulteney Bridge is one such example of an arch bridge that existed before the availability of steel. Pulteney Bridge is made of stone readily obtainable in the Bath region4. However, due to the limitations of stone, the bridge can only span a narrow distance before another pier must be built, which greatly obstructs the waters below. Also, the e ciency of the material is not ideala massive amount of material is needed just to span a small distance. However, the introduction of steel totally transformed the landscape of bridge construction and technology. New types of bridges that possessed a certain elegance of form (long span girder bridges, suspension bridges, and cable-stayed bridges) were all developed with the help of steel. Also, the development of the wire technology of which the Benjamin Franklin Bridge depends heavily upon was made possible due to steel. e long span and width that the bridge required to move large volume of tra c across previously unbridged waters demanded cables of previously unfathomable size. Each cable was spun in place and was made up of 20,000 individual steel wires5 (shown in Figure 3). Although the nished cables measured a seemingly massive 30 inches in diameter, the use of new and stronger materials in the cables, the use of a lightweight truss system, and lighter materials in the roadway reduced the overall weight of the structure. e spans that innovation of steel allowed for is incredible. e total length of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge is almost 3000 meters10 times longer than the stone arch Pulteney Bridge (shown in Figure 4)and width of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge is more than twice that of Pulteney Bridge. At a width of almost 20 meters, the Pulteney Bridge had already de ed and challenged the limits of a stone bridge. However, the advent of steel gave birth to this new type of bridge: the suspension bridge3. Steel made possible what was once thought to be impossible with stone and completely destroyed the limitations of bridge design caused by stone.

Figure 1: Pulteney Bridge had to carry little more than pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages.
[Source: Manco, Jean. "Pulteney Brdige." Architectural History 38 (1995): 129-45.]

Figure 2: Like most modern bridges, Benjamin Franklin Bridge have to now be able to bear the load and volume of millions of vehicles.
[Source: http://www. ickr.com/photos/triarch/5058347341/]

Pulteney Bridge, Bath (England), 1774

[Source: Manco, Jean. Pulteney Bridge. Architectural History 38 (1995): 406-410.]

Interior Spaces and Experience

Although the Benjamin Franklin Bridge was mainly built for cars and trains, it was also built to accommodate pedestrian tra c. A pair of pedestrian walkways are cantilevered out from the top of the bridges two trusses.5 is elevation of the walkway above the road and rail tra c provides the pedestrian with spectacular views of the river and adjacent cities uninterrupted by passing cars or trains (shown in Figure 5). In contrast to the monolithic stone structure of the Pulteney Bridge, continuous views can be observed from the Benjamin Franklin Bridge due to the porosity that the cable structure o ers. However the experience through the Pulteney Bridge was not just about a physical and visual connection to the city, but also a social connection between the residents. is bridge not only linked Bath with the land across the river, but also provided an interior area with shops for people to socialize. e bridge literally became an extension of the city; walking over the bridge was just like walking through any other street in the city (shown in Figure 6). Nevertheless, from both bridges, life in a bustling city can be experienced: either through the rushing cars and trains or the hustle of the marketplace. Both bridges create a connection to and perspective of the city that cannot be experienced elsewhere.

Figure 5: Pedestrian walkway is elevated above the on going tra c below, providing an uninterrupted view of the city and river.
[Source: http://archinect.com/people/project/ 65988366/h2l2-bridges-ben-franklin-bridge/66187044]

Figure 6: e shops above the Pulteney Bridge provide continuity from city to bridge, and thus allows the bridge to be a seamless extension of the city.
[Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/ wiki/File:Pulteney_Bridge_shops.jpg]

Figure 3: e advent of steel allowed the invention of new bridge building techniques, such as those used in suspension bridges.
[Source: Petroski, Henry. "Benjamin Franklin Bridge." American Scientist 90.5 (2002): 406-10.]

Conclusion

Sources
1. Denison, Edward, and Ian Stewart. How to Read Bridges: A Crash Course in Engineering and Architecture. New York: Rizzoli, 2012. 2. Hu, N., and G. L. Dai. "Four Signi cant Factors in Evolution of Bridge Engineering." Structures and Architecture (2010): 329-37. 3. Kemp, Emory L. " e Case of the 19th-century Suspension Bridge." e Journal of the Society for Industrial Archeology 19.1 (1993): 21-36. 4. Manco, Jean. "Pulteney Brdige." Architectural History 38 (1995): 129-45. 5. Petroski, Henry. "Benjamin Franklin Bridge." American Scientist 90.5 (2002): 406-10. 6. Tang, Man-Chung. "Evolution of Bridge Technology." IABSE Symposium Report. Vol. 93. No. 31. International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering, 2007.

e evolution of bridges concurrently signi es an evolution of mankinds advancement in technology and knowledge. Before the beginning of steel construction, the basic construction material was stone, which greatly limited the architectural and engineering design of bridges. However, with the arrival of the industrial revolution came the introduction of steel construction. Steel made new forms of bridges, such as suspension bridges and cable-stayed bridges possible. Steel greatly impacted the development of new construction methods, forms, size, and, in general, the overall design of bridges. With material technologies constantly improving and the development of new composite materials, the future potential in bridge design is in nite.

Figure 4: Pulteney Bridge had to use three massive stone arches to span a simple distance of 300 meters.
[Source: Manco, Jean. "Pulteney Brdige." Architectural History 38 (1995): 129-45.]

Benjamin Franklin Bridge, Philidelphia (USA), 1926

[Source: http://0.tqn.com/d/create/1/0/B/I/1/-/Bridge-to-Philli-2.jpg]