Written by Vinisha S, 2nd Year Civil Engineering

What do we get in mind if we hear the word ‘bridge’?  Obviously, our mind would rush to the big structures and magnificent broad walks. In our childhood, it would definitely be a mystery how these huge structures were built? And we would enjoy seeing the bridges and underground tunnels. Later, we all will come to a conclusion that bridges are meant for connecting places and for making the shipping process easier. Yeah adding onto the basic knowledge of the bridges let us find some interesting facts and history about bridges!

Bridges were constructed even before the Christ. It was built in Greece. Ancient Romans were the greatest bridge builders. The first bridge is the caravan bridge, Romans built it. It is a stone arch span over the Meles River, turkey. Bridges became popular and successful in early 16th century. England was successful and proud in establishing bridges. Bridges were referred as triumph, trump, ruff, slum, swabbers etc.

Bridges were also made of wood. Mid 18th century was the period of wooden bridges. As the timber is available near the river they are used for building the bridges across the rivers. The first wooden bridge was built over the York river near the town of York, Maine.

Bridges have undergone many obvious changes through the years, but it still plays a crucial role in a country’s economic impact. It is a critical component of nation’s infrastructure also. Now Bridges are of many types like arch, suspension, cantilever, truss, cable stayed, truss, beam, tied arch, movable, footbridge, trestle bridge etc. the four main type of bridges which are used now are the beam bridge, arch bridge, truss bridge, suspension bridge.

Some of the most famous bridges are,

  1. The golden gate of bridge: the red colored bridge which is located in san Francisco, united states. The steel is colored in burnt red and over primer of orange to protect it from corrosive elements. The total length is 2,737 m. it was named one of the seven wonders of the world. It’s the most photographed bridge in the world. It took nearly 4 years to build it.
  • The Sydney harbor bridge: it is a steel arch bridge across Sydney harbor. It’s the world’s recognizable landmarks. The bridge length is 1,149 m. all the steel used to build this bridge weighs 52800 tonnes.272,000 litres of paint were required to paint the bridge. It took 1400 men eight years to build the bridge. It is grey in color. The bridge is nicknamed as ‘the Coathanger’ because of its arch shape.
  • Brooklyn bridge: it is located in new York city. It is a cable stayed bridge. It is the first roadway to connect Manhattan and Brooklyn. It is the longest suspension bridge in the world. The main span is 1,595.5 feet. A rooster made the first trip across this bridge. Compartments in the bridge were used to store wine. It stays as the linkage of Italian and American culture.

Therefore bridges have been a masterpieces as well as the key part of the nation’s identity. They also play an important role in connecting people, goods, transports. It has been a safe passage. Building long lasting bridges is exemplary for both own and outside people.

Hope you all enjoyed this blog on bridges of the world, see you all in the next blog!