Bridges are such a common part of everyday life, they’re often taken for granted.

Whether driving, walking, or traveling by train, they make it possible for us to

cross bodies of water, valleys, roads, and other geological and manmade barriers.
Equally important, they allow vital utility lines, including cables and pipelines,
to span these barriers as well.

Let’s take a look at some common bridge designs, how they evolved over the
centuries, and the purpose each design serves. While we’re at it, we’ll step back
and admire a few notable examples of each. It could help you and your clients view
bridges in a new light.

st beam bridge could be a log, wood plank, or stone slab laid across a narrow creek
or stream. More complicated ones are usually constructed of steel or concrete or a
combination of the two. The concrete elements may be reinforced, pre-stressed, or
post-tensioned.

Beam bridges are generally used to cross relatively short distances (usually less
than 250 feet) because unlike other types of bridges, they have no built-in
supports. The only supports are provided by piers. The farther apart the supports,
the weaker a beam bridge gets. This doesn’t mean beam bridges can’t be us
Carries: Four lanes of traffic
Crosses: Patapsco River
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Construction: Steel arch-shaped continuous through truss bridge
Length: 8,636 feet
Height: 185 feet
Completed: 1977
A truss bridge features a prominent truss, which is a structure of connected
elements that form triangular units. A truss is used because it’s a very rigid
structure that transfers the load from a single point on a bridge to a much wider
area. Truss bridges can cross longer spans than basic beam bridges.ed to cross
longer distances, it simply requires that a series of beam bridges must be joined
together, creating what’s known as a continuous span.