HOW BRIDGES ARE BUILT?


As a daily commuter, we use bridges almost every day. We see bridges not only in major cities, but also in rural areas. Bridges are important not just for traveling from point A to B, but also in connecting people’s lives, hopes, and dreams. But ever wondered how bridges are built? The finish product may look simple; however, each bridge is built with painstaking planning and tedious labor.
In this post, let us look at the basic steps on how a bridge is built.

PREPARATION:-

The preparation phase is the most important part of bridge construction. It is a must that you identify the place where the bridge will be built. After that, surveyors should determine whether a bridge is really needed or not.
Bridges can be constructed in different types of natural obstacles. Though it is commonly built over a body of water, it can also be built over valleys, roads, and even over another bridge.
Moreover, before the construction should begin, the necessary papers and documents should be submitted to the local government officials. This is to ensure that no historic structure or geological formation would be affected by the construction.
When the proposed plan is approved, then design will be the next phase.

DESIGN:-

As the need for a bridge is identified, the next step would be planning its design. Since there are different designs to choose from, engineers and architects should be able to look into the construction area and identify the best design that will fit the current and future need.
The most basic and common designs used around the globe is the truss, cable-stayed, suspension, and arch model. Each of these designs has its unique features, advantages, and drawbacks. The engineers and architects should be able to look into the construction site and collect information that will help make the right design selection. Not only that, the weather pattern of the area, along with the amount of expected traffic from vehicles and people and the availability of construction materials should be considered as well.
The arch bridge can be an ideal choice if the foundation of the earth is tough and strong enough. Thus, it needs natural rock and stone to be already in place.
The beam bridge is the most common bridge design used today; since it is relatively cheaper, easier to construct, and more functional. However, beam bridges have limited opening that can be crossed.
Suspension bridges are more expensive, delicate, and complicated. It can be built over a great distance.
Finally, the cable-stayed bridge is the newest design. The main support of the bridge is from the center sustained by the large ship-like mast. The longer the bridge, the more mast is needed.

CONSTRUCTION:-

Finally, when the preliminary design and plan have been approved, construction will proceed. Again, the construction method will be done according to the design of the bridge. Some methods of construction may involve bringing all the construction materials in the area, while others are brought in the area as pre-formed materials. A typical bridge construction may take less than a year to even a decade.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lane’s Weighted Creep Theory

Image
Bligh, in his theory, had calculated the length of the creep, by simply adding the horizontal creep length and the vertical creep length, thereby making no distinction between the two creeps. However, Lane, on the basis of his analysis carried out on about 200 dams all over the world, stipulated that the horizontal creep is less effective in reducing uplift (or in causing loss of head) than the vertical creep. He, therefore, suggested a weightage factor of 1/3 for the horizontal creep, as against 1.0 for the vertical creep. Thus in Fig–1,  the total Lane’s creep length (L l ) is given by L l = (d 1 + d 1 ) + (1/3) L 1 + (d 2 + d 2 ) + (1/3) L 2 + (d 3 + d 3 ) = (1/3) (L 1 + L 2 ) + 2(d 1 + d 2 + d 3 ) = (1/3) b + 2(d 1 + d 2 + d 3 ) To ensure safety against piping, according to this theory, the creep length Ll must no be less than C1H L , where H L is the head causing flow, and C 1 is Lane’s creep coefficient given in table –2 Table – ...
Read more

What is Soil in Geotechnical Engineering.

Image
Definition of Soil The word ‘soil’ is derived from the Latin word solium which, according to Webster’s dictionary, means the upper layer of the earth that may be dug or plowed; specifically, the loose surface material of earth in which the plants grow. The above definition of soil is used in the field of agronomy (The application of soil and plant sciences to land management and crop production) where the main concern is in the use of soil for raising crops. In geology, earth’s crust is assumed to consist of unconsolidated sediments, called mantle or regolith, overlying rocks. The top soil contains a large quantity of organic matter and is not suitable as a construction material or as a foundation for structure. The top soil is removed from the earth’s surface before the construction of structure. The term ‘ soil ’ in the soil engineering is defined as an unconsolidated material , composed of solid particles , produced by the disintegration of rocks . The void space...
Read more

What is Mill bent in Industrial Buildings?

Image
The assembly of roof truss attached to and supported on column at both the ends is known as bent, mill bent or transverse bent . An industrial buildings consists of a series of such transverse bent supporting the roof. The distance between the two adjacent transverse bents is known as bay . The space between the column lines is usually called an aisle.
Read more