Bridge

There are various types of bridges classified based on span,

materials, types of bridge structures, functions, utility and position etc.

A bridge is structure which allows passage over an obstruction.

The obstructions may be river, valley, rail route or road way etc.

Types of Bridges
Bridges are classified into so many types based on different criteria’s. They
are explained below.

 Arch Bridge
 Truss Bridge
 Suspension Bridge
 Cable Stayed Bridge
 Moveable Bridge
 Pedestrian Bridge
 Train Bridge
 Pipeline Bridge
 Glass Bridge
 Under Sea Bridge

Arch Bridge

Arch bridge is curve shaped bridge, in which horizontal thrust is

developed and is restrained by the abutments at each end of the bridge. There are
many types of arch bridges are there. In some cases, the arch may be under the
deck slab also.
 An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end
shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of
the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the
abutments at either side.

The Romans also introduced segmental arch bridges into bridge

construction. The 330 m-long (1,080 ft) Limyra Bridge in
southwestern Turkey features 26 segmental arches with an average span-
to-rise ratio of 5.3:1,[9] giving the bridge an unusually flat profile
unsurpassed for more than a millennium. Trajan's bridge over
the Danube featured open-spandrel segmental arches made of wood
(standing on 40 m-high (130 ft) concrete piers). This was to be the longest
arch bridge for a thousand years both in terms of overall and individual
span length, while the longest extant Roman bridge is the 790 m-long
(2,590 ft) long Puente Romano at Mérida. The late Roman Karamagara
Bridge in Cappadocia may represent the earliest surviving bridge featuring
a pointed arch.[10]

Suspension Bridge
In case of Suspension bridge, deck slab is suspended with the help of cables and
suspenders. These will give good appearance. For long span bridges, this type of
suspension is suitable.
 A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (the load-
bearing portion) is hung belowsuspension cables on vertical suspenders. The first
modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s.

The suspension cables must be anchored at each end of the bridge, since
any load applied to the bridge is transformed into a tension in these main cables.
The main cables continue beyond the pillars to deck-level supports, and further
continue to connections with anchors in the ground. The roadway is supported by
vertical suspender cables or rods, called hangers. In some circumstances, the
towers may sit on a bluff or canyon edge where the road may proceed directly to
the main span, otherwise the bridge will usually have two smaller spans, running
between either pair of pillars and the highway, which may be supported by
suspender cables or may use a truss bridge to make this connection. In the latter
case there will be very little arc in the outboard main cables.

Truss Bridge
Truss is member consisting connected elements to form triangular units. In case
of truss bridge the super structure is provided with trusses. Generally, trusses
are made of steel. There are several types of trusses are available.
 The nature of a truss allows the analysis of the structure using a
few assumptions and the application of Newton's laws of motion according
to the branch of physics known as statics. For purposes of analysis, trusses
are assumed to be pin jointed where the straight components meet. This
assumption means that members of the truss (chords, verticals and
diagonals) will act only in tension or compression. A more complex analysis
is required where rigid joints impose significant bending loads upon the
elements, as in a Vierendeel truss.
In the bridge illustrated in the infobox at the top, vertical
members are in tension, lower horizontal members in tension, shear, and
bending, outer diagonal and top members are in compression, while the
inner diagonals are in tension. The central vertical member stabilizes the
upper compression member, preventing it from buckling. If the top member
is sufficiently stiff then this vertical element may be eliminated. If the lower
chord (a horizontal member of a truss) is sufficiently resistant to bending
and shear, the outer vertical elements may be eliminated, but with
additional strength added to other members in compensation. The ability to
distribute the forces in various ways has led to a large variety of truss
bridge types. Some types may be more advantageous when wood is
employed for compression elements while other types may be easier to
erect in particular site conditions, or when the balance between labor,
machinery and material costs have certain favorable proportions.
Pipeline Bridge
A pipeline bridge is a bridge for running a pipeline over
a river or another obstacle. Pipeline bridges for liquids and gases are, as a rule,
only built when it is not possible to run the pipeline on a conventional bridge or
under the river. However, as it is more common to run pipelines for centralized
heating systems overhead, for this application even small pipeline bridges are
common.

Cable Stayed Bridge

a bridge in which the weight of the deck is supported by a number of cables
running directly to one or more towers.

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
 Cable-stayed bridges have been known since the 16th
century and used widely since the 19th. Early examples often combined
features from both the cable-stayed and suspension designs, including
the Brooklyn Bridge. The design fell from favor through the 20th century as
larger gaps were bridged using pure suspension designs, and shorter ones
using various systems built of reinforced concrete. It once again rose to
prominence in the later 20th century when the combination of new
materials, larger construction machinery, and the need to replace older
bridges all lowered the relative price of these designs.

Glass Bridge
Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge is a bridge in Zhangjiajie, China, above
the Wulingyuan area. The bridge, built as an attraction for tourists, is glass-
bottomed and is transparent. When it opened it was the longest and tallest glass
bottomed bridge in the world. The bridge, opened to the public on August 20,
2016, measures 430 metres in total length and 6 metres in breadth, and is
suspended about 300 metres above the ground. The bridge spans the canyon
between two mountain cliffs in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in China's
central Hunan province. It is designed to carry up to 800 visitors at a time. The
bridge was designed by Israeli architect Haim Dotan.
To build the bridge, engineers erected 4 support pillaors on the edges of
the walls of the canyon. The bridge is made of a metal frame with more than 120
glass panels. Each of these panels is 3-layered and is a 2-inch-thick slab
of tempered glass. There are 3 long swings attached to the underside of the
bridge. Also there is a provision for making a 285 metre bungee-jump. This is
considered to be highest such jump in the world.
 According to the Management Committee of the Bridge, the bridge has
set ten world records spanning its design and construction.
The record as longest glass bridge has since passed to a glass bridge in the
Hongyagu Scenic Area hebei.

Moveable Bridge
A moveable bridge, or movable bridge, is a bridgethat moves to
allow passage for boats or barges.
An advantage of making bridges moveable is the lower cost,
due to the absence of high piers and long approaches. The principal
disadvantage is that the traffic on the bridge must be halted when it is
opened for passage of traffic on the waterway. For seldom-used railroad
bridges over busy channels, the bridge may be left open and then closed
for train passages. For small bridges, bridge movement may be enabled
without the need for an engine. Some bridges are operated by the users,
especially those with a boat, others by a bridgeman (or bridge tender); a
few are remotely controlled using video-cameras and loudspeakers.
Generally, the bridges are powered by electric motors, whether operating
winches, gearing, or hydraulic pistons. While moveable bridges in their
entirety may be quite long, the length of the moveable portion is restricted
by engineering and cost considerations to a few hundred feet.
Pedestrian Bridge
A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass,
or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians. While the
primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a height
above the ground", a footbridge can also be a lower structure, such as
a boardwalk, that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile, or mashy land. Bridges
range from stepping stones–possibly the earliest man-made structure to "bridge"
water–to elaborate steel structures. Another early bridge would have been simply
a fallen tree. In some cases a footbridge can be both functional and a beautiful
work of art.
For rural communities in the developing world, a footbridge may be a
community's only access to medical clinics, schools and markets. Simple
suspension bridge designs have been developed to be sustainable and easily
constructed in such areas using only local materials and labor.
Under Sea Bridge
Undersea tunnel. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
An undersea tunnel is a tunnel which is partly or wholly constructed under a
body of water. They are often used where building a bridge or operating a
ferry link is impossible, or to provide competition or relief for
existing bridges or ferry links.
One such advantage would be that a tunnel would still allow
shipping to pass. A low bridge would need an opening or swing bridge to
allow shipping to pass, which can cause traffic congestion. Conversely, a
higher bridge that does allow shipping may be unsightly and opposed by
the public. Higher bridges can also be more expensive than lower ones.
Bridges can also be closed due to harsh weather such as high winds.
Another possible advantage is space: the downward ramp leading to a
tunnel leaves a smaller carbon footprint compared to the upward ramps
required by most bridges.[citation needed]
Tunneling will generate soil that has been excavated and this can be used
to create new land, as was done with the soil of the Channel Tunnel.