The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to bridges:
Bridges – a structure built to span physical obstacles without closing the way underneath such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle.
What type of thing is a bridge?
Bridges can be described as all of the following: A structure – An arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. A thoroughfare – A road connecting one location to another.
Types of bridges
Beam Bridge
Truss Bridge
Truss arch bridge
Cantilever Bridge
Stressed ribbon bridge
Arch Bridge
Tied Arch Bridge
Through arch bridge
Skew arch
Suspension Bridge
Cable-stayed bridge
Simple suspension bridge
Inca rope bridge
Tubular bridge
Extradosed bridge
Moveable Bridge
Drawbridge (British English definition) – the bridge deck is hinged on one end
Bascule bridge – a drawbridge hinged on pins with a counterweight to facilitate raising ; road or rail Rolling bascule bridge – an unhinged drawbridge lifted by the rolling of a large gear segment along a horizontal rack Folding bridge – a drawbridge with multiple sections that collapse together horizontally Curling bridge – a drawbridge with transverse divisions between multiple sections that curl vertically Fan Bridge - a drawbridge with longitudinal divisions between multiple bascule sections that rise to various angles of elevation, forming a fan arrangement. Vertical-lift bridge – the bridge deck is lifted by counterweighted cables mounted on towers ; road or rail Table bridge – a lift bridge with the lifting mechanism mounted underneath it Retractable bridge (Thrust bridge) – the bridge deck is retracted to one side Submersible bridge – also called a ducking bridge, the bridge deck is lowered into the water Tilt bridge – the bridge deck, which is curved and pivoted at each end, is lifted at an angle Swing bridge – the bridge deck rotates around a fixed point, usually at the centre, but may resemble a gate in its operation ; road or rail Transporter bridge – a structure high above carries a suspended, ferry-like structure Jet bridge – a passenger bridge to an airplane. One end is mobile with height, yaw, and tilt adjustments on the outboard end Guthrie rolling bridge Vlotbrug, a design of retractable floating bridge in the Netherlands Locks are implicitly bridges as well allowing ship traffic to flow when open and at least foot traffic on top when closed Rigid-frame bridge Side-spar cable-stayed bridge Segmental bridge Multi-Level Bridges Viaduct Vierendeel bridge Toll bridge Footbridge Clapper bridge Moon bridge Step-stone bridge Zig-zag bridge Plank Boardwalk Joist Multi-way bridge Three-Way Bridge Four-Way Bridge Five-Way Bridge Trestle bridge Coal trestle Transporter bridge Log bridge Packhorse bridge Aqueduct
Military Bridges
AM 50
Armoured vehicle-launched bridge
Bailey bridge
Callender-Hamilton bridge
Mabey Logistic Support Bridge
Medium Girder Bridge
Pontoon bridge
History of bridges
History of bridges
General bridges concepts
Bending The behavior of a slender structural element subjected to an external load applied perpendicularly to a longitudinal axis of the element. Compression (physics) The application of balanced inward ("pushing") forces to different points on a material or structure, that is, forces with no net sum or torque directed so as to reduce its size in one or more directions. Shear stress The component of stress coplanar with a material cross section. Span (engineering) The distance between two intermediate supports for a structure. Tension (physics) The pulling force transmitted axially by the means of a string, cable, chain, or similar one-dimensional continuous object, or by each end of a rod, truss member, or similar three-dimensional object; tension might also be described as the action-reaction pair of forces acting at each end of said elements. Torsion (mechanics) The twisting of an object due to an applied torque. Torque The rate of change of angular momentum of an object.