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Welcome to Bridge Engineering!

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COURSE OBJECTIVES
to get a general overview of bridges
to understand structural behaviour of bridge
deck systems
to analyse and design simple bridge structures
to gain some exposure to modern bridge
construction practice

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COURSE OBJECTIVES
Everything should be made as simple as
possible.
But not simpler!
(Albert Einstein)

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1. INTRODUCTION
What is a bridge?
Main components of a bridge

Brief history of bridge development

Bridge aesthetics

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BRIDGE?
A bridge is an elevated transportation
structure spanning across some obstacle (a
river, a valley, a road or a railway).

It provides a passage for transporting

pedestrians, vehicles, pipelines, etc.

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BRIDGE
Of all inventions (the alphabet and printing press
alone excepted), those inventions which abridge
distance have done the most for the civilisation of our
species. (Macaulay)
Bridges have great importance in terms of urban,
social, cultural and economic development. They also
have major military significance.

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1.1 BRIEF HISTORY OF BRIDGES

Natural bridges:
fallen trees
stepping stones
rock arches
overhanging branches, creepers

The primitive man who felled a tree deliberately so that

it fell across a stream was the first bridge builder.

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BRIEF HISTORY

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BRIEF HISTORY

90 m span natural stone arch

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BRIEF HISTORY
Primitive bridges:
timber trestle construction (Swiss)
timber platform suspended on ropes (India)
rope bridge (China, Japan)
timber cantilever bridge (India)
pontoon bridge (Persia)

The oldest bridge still surviving is a pedestrian stone slab

bridge across the Meles River in Turkey (2800 BC).

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BRIEF HISTORY

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BRIEF HISTORY

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BRIEF HISTORY

Timber Cantilever bridge over the river Jhelum, Srinagar

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BRIEF HISTORY
Early bridges:
brick masonry arch bridge (Mesopotamia)
stone masonry arch bridge (Roman, Chinese)
stone masonry segmental arch bridges
(middle ages, Renaissance period)

I have left a bridge that shall remain for eternity

(inscription in Latin on the central tower of an arch bridge at

Alcantara in Spain, built by Julius Lacer for Roman Emperor Trajan in
98 AD)

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BRIEF HISTORY
Ponte Fabricio
(Rome)
Spans between
the bank of the
River Tiber and
Tiber Island.
Built in 64 B.C.

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BRIEF HISTORY

Pont-du-Gard.
Roman aqueduct built in 19 B.C. to
carry water across the Gardon Valley
to Nimes (near Remoulins, France)

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BRIEF HISTORY
Multi-span
masonry
railway viaduct
over River
Sitter
(Switzerland)
Built 1900
years after
Pont-du-Gard,
not much
significant
advancement!

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BRIEF HISTORY
'Stari Most'
built in 1566
spanning the
Neretva River
(Turkey).

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BRIEF HISTORY
End view of 'Stari
Most'
It is recorded that the
first time the falsework
was removed, the arch
collapsed. The Sultan
ordered the builder to
be executed if he was
not successful on the
second attempt. The
builder fled before the
supporting timber was
removed, but the
bridge has stood for
over 400 years.

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BRIEF HISTORY
Pont d'Avignon
(France)
Built in 1177-1187
across Rhone River by
Benezet and the
Freres Pontiffes.
Considered the most
famous of the
medieval chapel
bridges.

There were originally

more than 20 spans
(101-110 feet) of
which only four with
chapel now remain.
Elliptical arches.

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BRIEF HISTORY
Pont Vecchio
(Florence)
Italian Renaissance
bridge built in 1340.
Its most important
feature is its
segmental arches
(segment of circle less
than a semi-circle),
first built in the West.
This design required
fewer piers, and hence
caused less
obstruction to
navigation than semicircular Roman
bridges

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BRIEF HISTORY
Rialto Bridge
(Venice)
Another example of
Renaissance bridge
design, spanning
Grand Canal. For
many years the only
bridge joining the
two halves of the
city. Built in 1587, it
replaced a timber
bridge which
collapsed when a
crowd used it to
watch a ceremony
on the canal. Result
of a design
competition.

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1.2 COMPONENTS OF A BRIDGE

Superstructure:
Deck slab
Girders / trusses / arches / cables
Handrails, guard-stones,

Bearings (for deck)

Substructure:
Abutments
Piers
Foundations for abutments and piers

Approaches, slopes, aprons,

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1.2 COMPONENTS OF A BRIDGE