What Are Different Types of Bridges?

If you live in an area that has a lot of bridges, you might notice that they do not all look the same as you are walking or driving over them. There are four main types of bridges, generally speaking, and which bridge type is built is often determined by the length needed.

There are four main types of bridges out there in the world. A lot of their main differences come from how they are constructed. The names of these four types of bridges are:

• Beam bridge
• Truss bridge
• Arch bridge
• Suspension bridge

There are specific reasons for choosing and building all of these different types of bridges.

Beam Bridge

Beam bridges usually do not go for more than 250 feet, because their construction simply cannot hold up any more than that. The beam is horizontal, and it is supported at each end by piers. As the beams become farther apart from one another, they grow weaker. Therefore, if the beams were more than 250 feet away from one another, there might be great problems for the construction of the bridge and serious danger for any people who are on it.

These bridges do not necessary have high sides to them, as you might be familiar with. Therefore, you would be more likely to find these bridges not too high above the water.

Truss Bridge

These types of bridges are often made from a combination of triangles and a series of straight, steel bars. Chances are, you already know that steel is rather strong. What you might not know though is that triangles are considered to be the strongest shape. Therefore, these are certainly good shapes to use when building a bridge.

Truss bridges can certainly stand by themselves, and they do not need to be connected to any other type of bridge in order to work out. However, suspension bridges are often built with truss bridges, because they help to keep the roadway beneath the suspension from twisting and bending around.

Arch Bridge

Like the truss bridges, these bridges are also quite strong. In fact, the Ancient Romans used to build arches out of stone. Therefore, these types of constructions have a long history as well! While they are no longer made out of stone, they are still quite sturdy.

Today, most arch bridges are built out of steel or concrete. They are not the longest types of bridges out there; however, they are longer than the beam bridge. Arch bridges can span for up to 800 feet.

Suspension Bridge

We already mentioned a little bit about suspension bridges when we talked about truss bridges; however, suspension bridges have other qualities to them as well. These magnificent structures tend to span between 2,000 and 7,000 feet, although some of them are certainly shorter.

These types of bridges are thought of as roadways. They are anchored by cables on both ends, and they also have what are known as vertical suspenders, as they are hung from cables. These cables are hung from two towers. Suspension bridges date back to the 19th century.

Plenty of bodies of water exist in the United States; therefore, at one point or another in your life, you will probably cross over one of these various types of bridges, whether it is while on a vacation or in your home town.