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Christopher Rivas
DesignY2
2/4/15
Mr. Gonzalez

Bridges

Do you ever ask yourself why were bridges created or how did
they even come up with the idea of bridges. Well these bridges
were dated back up to the 1st-2nd century AD. The romans used
these bridges in the early ages to get across rough terrains, large
bodies of water, or even landscapes/valleys. They first began to
be used in ancient times when first modern civilization began to
rise. These bridges were often built by natural resources like logs,
stone, and dirt. These bridges started connecting to roads and
these bridges became stronger and sturdier. The stronger they
got the more they were built by other civilization like across
Europe, Africa, and Asia. Then thats when we got stronger with
our bridge building ideas like using suspension cords and even
created different types of bridges for example an arch bridge.
John A. Roebling, Washington Roebling, and Emily Roebling were
one of the few people to study the structure of these bridges and
they invented some too. The earliest type of bridge was a log that
fell over a stream and then they got the idea of bridges. For

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Christopher Rivas
DesignY2
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Mr. Gonzalez

example the Brooklyn Bridge was first completed in 1883, and it

connects Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the east river. At
the time it opened, and for several years, it was the longest
suspension bridge in the world and has become a famous and
iconic landmark of New York. The bridge has wide pedestrian

walkway open to walkers cyclists. This walkway takes on a special

importance in times of difficulty when usual means of crossing the
east river have become more unavailable as happened during
several blackouts and most famously after the September 11,
2001 attacks. But thats only one of the few famous bridges also
like Chaotianmen Bridge this bridge is a road-rail bridge over the
Yangtze River in the city of Chongqing, China. The bridge which
opened April 29, 2009, it is the largest arch bridge in the world.
The continuous steel arch bridge with tie girders has a height of
142m (466ft) from middle supports to arch top, main span of
522m (1,811ft) and a total length of 1,741m (5,712ft). It carries 6
lanes in two ways and a pedestrian lane on each side on the
upper deck, and dual lights rails in the middle and 2 traffic lanes

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Christopher Rivas
DesignY2
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Mr. Gonzalez

on each side on the lower deck. There is also types of different

idea structures and they have their advantages and
disadvantages like the advantages of an arch bridge is

Good for short spans Inexpensive, with local building materials

such as stone and brick and concreate. Wider distances can be
spanned by building more arches. Example Chaotianmen Bridge
Disadvantages are uses a lot of material, even on short spans.
The arch bridge is really famous for its structure because it is
good for short spans and its not that expensive. Another type of
structure idea is the truss bridge and it too has its advantages
and disadvantages, the advantages of a truss bridge is the truss
bridge is easy to build and could be placed in an area where it is
impossible to build a bridge. The bridge is strong and light, the
truss bridge is strong because they completed of triangles that
are ridged. In case you dont know about a truss bridge here is an
example, they call it the Eight-Track" Bascule Bridge. The EightTrack" Bascule Bridge has design and history of these four
parallel, double-track, double-leaf bridges is the most unusual of

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Christopher Rivas
DesignY2
2/4/15
Mr. Gonzalez

the bridges built in the Heritage Corridor. The Main Drainage

Channel of the Sanitary District of Chicago is crossed by 3

railroads. The Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis; Chicago

Terminal Transfer and the Chicago Junction Railways. The first
having the western four tracks and the others having the next two
each easterly tracks. Making a total of eight tracks crossing the
channel. From this is derived the name of the structure. Well
thats an example of a truss bridge heres another, but this one
was a disaster its called the Sunshine Skyway Bridge and Thirtyfive people, most of them on board a Greyhound bus bound for
Miami plunged 150 feet to their deaths in one of the worst bridge
disasters in history. Rescue crews and divers were immediately
dispatched to the scene, but of the victims who made the fall
there was only one survivor, whose good fortune had been that
his truck landed on the deck of the ship instead of plunging into
the sea. Background the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge is
a bridge spanning Tampa Bay, Florida, with a cable-stayed main
span, and a total length of 21,877 feet (4.1 miles or

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Christopher Rivas
DesignY2
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Mr. Gonzalez

approximately 6.67 km). [5] It is part of I-275 (SR 93) and US 19

(SR 55), connecting St. Petersburg in Pinellas County and Terra
Ceia in Manatee County, Florida, passing through Hillsborough

County waters. Construction of the current bridge began in 1982,

and the completed bridge was dedicated on February 7, 1987.
The new bridge cost $244 million to build, and was opened to
traffic on April 20, 1987. It replaced an older bridge constructed in
1954, which was partly destroyed in a collision in 1980. Here is
another bridge disaster and this bridge is called the Quebec
Bridge, located in Canada and Due to a design flaw the actual
weight of the bridge was heavier than its carrying capacity, which
caused it to collapse twice, first in 1907 which killed around 90
people. Background before the Quebec Bridge was built, the only
way to travel from the south shore of the St. Lawrence in Levis to
the north shore at Quebec City was to take a ferry or use the
winter-time ice bridge. As far back as 1852 a project for a bridge
over the St. Lawrence River at Quebec was considered, and again,
in 1867, 1882, and 1884. After a period of political instability,

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DesignY2
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through which Canada had four Prime Ministers in five years,

Wilfrid Laurier, Member of Parliament for the federal riding of

Quebec East, was elected on a Liberal platform in 1896, and was
to spearhead the first Quebec Bridge until he left office in 1911.
These are only some of the bridges around the world, there is still
plenty to explore

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Christopher Rivas
DesignY2
2/4/15
Mr. Gonzalez

Websites used

http://bridgehunter.com/il/cook/bh50842/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_Bridge
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_Skyway_Bridge
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaotianmen_Bridge
http://www.gandljdean.co.uk/resources/bridges/beam.html
http://www.gandljdean.co.uk/resources/bridges/beam.html
http://healthresearchfunding.org/truss-bridges-pros-cons/
http://dtzone.com/systems/br_cable.htm
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?
historyid=ab97/
www.historyofbridges.com/
http://www.jamesmaherphotography.com/articles/26-brooklynbridgeted
http://www.touropia.com/most-famous-bridges-in-the-world/