bridge

Table of Contents

Introduction
The elements of bridge design
- Basic forms
  - Beam
  - Truss
  - Arch
  - Suspension
  - Cantilever
  - Cable-stay
- Materials
  - Wood and stone
  - Iron and steel
  - Concrete
- Construction
  - Beam bridges
  - Arch bridges
  - Suspension bridges
  - Cantilever bridges
  - Cable-stayed bridges
- Performance in service
  - Live load and dead load
  - Forces of nature
The history of bridge design
- Early wood and stone bridges
  - The ancient world
    - Beam bridges
    - Roman arch bridges
    - Asian cantilever and arch bridges
  - The Middle Ages
  - The Renaissance and after
    - Stone arch bridges
    - Timber truss bridges
- Iron and steel bridges, 1779–1929
  - Iron
    - Early designs
    - Railway bridges
    - Suspension bridges
  - Steel
    - Railway bridges
    - Suspension bridges
- Concrete bridges
  - Reinforced concrete
    - Early bridges
    - Maillart’s innovations
  - Prestressed concrete
    - Eugène Freyssinet
    - Ulrich Finsterwalder
    - Christian Menn
- Steel bridges after 1931
  - Long-span suspension bridges
    - Tacoma Narrows
    - Lessons of the disaster
  - Truss bridges
- Cable-stayed bridges
  - European designs
  - U.S. designs
- Asian long-span bridges and viaducts
  - China
    - Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge
    - Tianjin Grand Bridge
    - Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge
  - Japan
    - Ōsaka Harbor
    - Island bridges
  - Taiwan

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

Seto Great Bridge

The vidoe thumbnail image shows a two-sided bridge lifting and separating at the center. A blue circle highlights the open section.

Single-span truss bridge

Suspension bridge

Cantilever truss bridge

Cable-stayed bridge

San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge

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bridge: Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Jun 01, 2025

News •

Bridges collapse in 2 Russian regions bordering Ukraine, 7 dead • May 31, 2025, 8:29 PM ET (Straits Times)

Photos and Videos

Seto Great Bridge

Single-span truss bridge

Suspension bridge

Cantilever truss bridge

Cable-stayed bridge

San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge

Forth Railway Bridge

The vidoe thumbnail image shows a two-sided bridge lifting and separating at the center. A blue circle highlights the open section.

See the testing of new bridge design which is capable of resisting earthquakes

Witness the Tacoma Narrows bridge collapse into Puget Sound between the Olympic Peninsula and the Washington mainland

The history and significance of the Brooklyn Bridge

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Topics

dynamic wind load overpass static wind load transporter bridge span live load tubular bridge composite construction dead load arch bridge construction railroad tunnels and underground excavations harbours and sea works canals and inland waterways road dam water supply system lighthouse ship construction

Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

railroad: Bridges

Key People

Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers: Centre Georges Pompidou

Renzo Piano

Italian architect

Moses, Robert

Robert Moses

American public official

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

British engineer

Delorme, Philibert

Philibert Delorme

French architect

“Doris,” detail from the “Fountain of Neptune,” executed from Bartolommeo Ammannati's model by Andrea Calamech, 1563–75; in Piazza della Signoria, Florence

Bartolommeo Ammannati

Italian sculptor and architect

Thomas Telford

Thomas Telford

Scottish engineer

Meigs, Montgomery C.

Montgomery C. Meigs

American engineer and architect

Albert Fink

American engineer

Smeaton, detail of an engraving by W. Bromley, 1798, after a portrait by J. Brown

John Smeaton

British engineer

Mackinac Bridge

David Barnard Steinman

American engineer

John Rennie

Scottish civil engineer

Huey P. Long Bridge

Ralph Modjeski

American engineer

Robert Stephenson

Robert Stephenson

British engineer

Sir Hubert Shirley-Smith

British civil engineer

Gustave Eiffel

Gustave Eiffel

French engineer

Fra Giovanni Giocondo

Italian architect

Bullant, Jean: Êcouen château

Jean Bullant

French architect

Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann

German architect

Jean Perronet: Pont de la Concorde

Jean Perronet

French engineer

Robert Mallet

Irish civil engineer

Quiz

The northern terminus of the Akashi Strait Bridge in Terumi ward, southern Kobe, Hyogo prefecture, west-central Japan. The bridge spans the Akashi Strait and links Awaji Island to Honshu.

Bridge Quiz