What is Bridge?

A bridge is 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. There are many different designs
that each serve a particular purpose and apply to different situations.
Designs of bridges vary depending on the function of the bridge, the
nature of the terrain where the bridge is constructed and anchored, the
material used to make it, and the funds available to build it.

The first bridges made by humans were probably spans of cut wooden logs
or planks and eventually stones, using a simple support and cross
beam arrangement. A common form of lashing sticks, logs, and deciduous
branches together involved the use of long reeds or other harvested fibers
woven together to form a huge rope capable of binding and holding
together the materials used in early bridges.

The Arkadiko Bridge in Greece (13th century BC), one of the oldest arch
bridges in existence

Bridges in Amsterdam, Netherlands

INTRODUCTION TO BRIDGE ENGINEERING PREPARED BY: MS. GRACE WANTEPE

Since the use of first simple bridges made from a single beam that had to
endure all the forces of tension, compression, torsion and shear forces by
itself, engineers and architects tried to develop new and better techniques
for spanning the gaps between one point of terrain to another. Eventually,
the entire engineering field was formed, and dozens upon dozens of bridge
designs were created utilizing many components, parts and brand new
terminology that describe them.
Survey for bridge site selection

• Social feasibility survey

• Level of local participation
• Size of area of influence
• Size of traffic flow
• Socio-economic benefits produced by the proposed bridge

Technical survey
It includes Bridge site selection and Topographic Survey of the selected
bridge site

Bridge site selection

The bridge site should fulfill a number of general conditions:
– The bridge site should be selected at or near to the traditional crossing
point
– minimum free board
– maximum bridge span
– space for the bridge foundations

River condition
River condition
The selected bridge site must have favorable river conditions. Accordingly,
a bridge should be located:
• on a straight reach of the river
• beyond the disturbing influence of larger tributaries
• on well defined banks
Slope and bank condition

INTRODUCTION TO BRIDGE ENGINEERING PREPARED BY: MS. GRACE WANTEPE

INTRODUCTION TO BRIDGE ENGINEERING PREPARED BY: MS. GRACE WANTEPE
If the slope and bank is soil, potential instability features and failure modes
are:
• Bank erosion
• toppling instability of the bank
• Erosion of the slope
• Landslide
If the slope and bank is rock, potential instability features and failure
modes are:
• Plain failures in a rock slide along the slope.
• wedge failure leading to the fall of rock mass.
• toppling leading to the fall of rock blocks.
• Rotational slide is similar to the landslide in a soil slope. Such failure is
likely when the material of the rock is very weak (soft rock) and the rock
mass is heavily jointed and broken into small pieces

General data collection

General data is required for needs assessment and construction planning of
the proposed bridge.
Collect the following general data & information:

• Location of bridge site

• Transportation distance,
• Nature of crossing and fordability
• Availability of local materials
• Availability of local bridge builders
Local participation
Traffic volume
Width of walkway
Temporary crossing

Evaluation of the bridge site

Good – All or most of the features are favorable and if the surveyor is
confident about the
stability of the slopes. Proceed with further survey work.
Bad – Most of the features are unfavorable. Reject site.
Questionable – Most of the features are favorable and some are
unfavorable. The site is questionable. In this case, further detailed
investigation by an experienced geo-technical engineer is necessary.

INTRODUCTION TO BRIDGE ENGINEERING PREPARED BY: MS. GRACE WANTEPE

 Elements and Parts of Bridge

• STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS OF BRIDGE:

1. DECK:
Deck is the portion which carries all the traffic.

2. SUPERSTRUCTURE:
The portion which supports the deck slab and girder and connects one sub
structure to the other. That means all the elements of the bridge attached
to a supporting system can be categorized as superstructure.

3. SUBSTRUCTURE:
The parts of the bridge which support the superstructure and transmits all
the structural loads of the bridge to the foundations. For example piers,
abutments etc.

4. FOUNDATION:
Foundation is the portion which transmits loads to the bearing strata.
Foundation is required to support the piers, bridge towers, portal frames.
Generally, piles and well foundations such as H-pile, bore pile, pipe pile or
precast concrete piles are adopted.

INTRODUCTION TO BRIDGE ENGINEERING PREPARED BY: MS. GRACE WANTEPE

5. GIRDER OR BEAM:
Beam or girder is the part of superstructure which bends along the span.
The deck is supported by beams.

6. BRIDGE TOWER:
It is the vertical supporting part used for cable stayed or suspension
bridge. High strength concrete and Insitu method are adopted to construct
the bridge tower.

Cable stayed bridge

7. PIER CAP:
Pier cap is the topmost part of a pier which transfers loads from
superstructure to the pier. It is also known as headstock. It provides
sufficient seating for the girders and distributes the loads from the bearings
to the piers.

INTRODUCTION TO BRIDGE ENGINEERING PREPARED BY: MS. GRACE WANTEPE

8. PIER:
Pier is the part of the substructure that supports the superstructure and
transfers loads of super structure to the foundations. Pier is suitable for
spanned bridges with maximum width of deck up to 8 m (2 traffic lanes).
The shape and size of pier mainly depend on aesthetics, site, space and
economic constraints of the construction. Usually, bridge pier is
constructed by in situ method with large panel formwork.

9. BEARINGS:
Bearing is a device which supports the parts of superstructure and
transfers loads and movements from the deck to the substructure and
foundation. The main purpose of providing a bearing is to permit controlled
movement and decrease the stress involved.

INTRODUCTION TO BRIDGE ENGINEERING PREPARED BY: MS. GRACE WANTEPE

10. PILE CAP AND PILES:
Pile is a slender member driven into the surrounding soil to resist the loads.
Pile cap is a thick reinforced concrete slab cast on top of the group piles to
distribute loads.

Bridge Foundation Pile Cap Process

11. BRIDGE ANCHOR:

Bridge anchor is only used in suspension and cable-stayed bridges to resist
the pull from suspension cable or counter span of the bridge.

12. SUSPENSION CABLE:

It is used in suspension and cable-stayed bridges for the hanging,
supporting and counter balancing of the bridge deck.

INTRODUCTION TO BRIDGE ENGINEERING PREPARED BY: MS. GRACE WANTEPE

 • ADDITIONAL

All the basic components are placed inside three main bridge areas –
Foundation (which holds the shallow or deep base of the bridge and
transfers it’s load to the bearing strata, this includes foundations below the
main span of the bridge and the abutments below starting points of the
bridge), Substructure (piers, abutments, spandrels, caps, bearings, and
other components that holds the upper construction)
and Superstructure (all the parts of the bridge that are mounted on top
of the supporting substructure system, it covers elements such as decking,
girders, slab, and everything placed above the main deck such as posts,
steel truss system, bridge girder, cable-stayed system, cable suspended
systems and more).

Three main bridge areas are Foundation, Substructure, and

Superstructure.

The components of the bridge are picked to fit not only its use case
scenario (pedestrian, highway, railway, transit or industrial bridges) but
also location on which it is built, the span between its main structural
beams and their basic structure (arch, beam, cantilever, cable-stayed,
suspension or other).

Main components of the modern bridges are:

Abutment – Endpoints of the bridge. They are reinforced so that they can
endure intense lateral pressures.
Pile (also known as beam, footing, and pier) – Reinforced concrete post
that is driven into the ground to serve as the leg or support for the bridge.
The distance between piles is calculated so that is can support the rest of
the structure that will be laid on top of them.
Cap – Cap sits on top of the pile beam, providing additional support and
dispersing the load to the piles below. The combination of Pile and Cap
elements is called Bent.
Girder or Span – One of the main components of the bridge that connects
all the Piles beams. It can consist from multiple simple spans, a single
continuous span that is supported by multiple beams, cantilever spans and
cantilever spans with the suspended span between them. They are usually
made from metal or reinforced concrete and also can be made in the form
of haunches girded that can carry more load. Girder sections are typically
not made from a simple block of material but are made from truss network

INTRODUCTION TO BRIDGE ENGINEERING PREPARED BY: MS. GRACE WANTEPE

(or Orthotropic beams) that increases their resistance to load. Girders can
also be used as a part of rigid frame network where they are fully
connected with frame legs (which can be inclined or in V shape).

Superstructure truss network – Truss network that supports travel

surface can be made in three basic ways – Deck truss where traffic flows
on top of truss network, Pony truss where truss network flows between
two parallel walls of trusses, and Through truss that adds additional cross-
braced truss network above and below the traffic.
Deck beam – Simple continuous decks are made from metal or reinforced
concrete. They consist from sub-components such as approach slab (that
part that connects main bridge decking with the ground on both sides of
the bridge), expansion joint, drainage scupper, curb, running surface,
footpath.
Barriers – Sides of the bridge decks usually have additional barrier
components such as railings, handrails and ground fixtures.
Arch – Arches on the bridges are distinguished by the number of hinges
they have (usually between zero or three) which determine how much
stress and load they can safely carry, and the type of material they are
constructed (solid material, truss system). Arches below the bridge are
called spandrel-braced (cantilever) or Trussed deck arch. Arch bridges can
also use suspension bridges where the arch is made from truss system
(tied arch, or bowstring bridge).
Spandrel – Spandrels are the almost triangular space between the main
pillar of the bridge and decking. Stone bridges use filled “closed” spandrels
deck arches, while modern bridges made from metal use open spandrel
deck arch configurations.
Truss – Framework made by connecting triangles and other forms that
share load and stress forces across its entire structure. They are commonly
separated into several categories such as simple truss (King and Queen
posts), covered bridge truss (multiple kingpost truss, Howe truss, long
truss, Burr arch truss, town lattice truss, Haupt, Smith, Partridge and Child
truss), Pratt truss(and it’s many variations), Whipple truss, Warren truss
variations, Howe truss, Lenticular truss, Fink truss, multiple Cantilever truss
variations, and suspension truss arches.

INTRODUCTION TO BRIDGE ENGINEERING PREPARED BY: MS. GRACE WANTEPE

 Different Types of Bridges

• Beam bridges
• Cantilever bridges
• Arch bridges
• Tied arch bridges
• Suspension bridges
• Cable-stayed bridges
• Movable bridges

Designs of bridges vary depending on

• The function of the bridge,
• The nature of the terrain where the bridge is to be constructed,
• The material used to make it and
• The funds available to build it.

Beam Bridge

Beam Bridge

Made up of simply supported horizontal Beams I-beams, trusses, or box

girders.
End supports are known as abutments and intermediate supports are
known as piers.
Weight on top of the beam pushes straight down on the abutments at
either end of the bridge
Types of construction could include having many beams side by side with a
deck across the top of them.

INTRODUCTION TO BRIDGE ENGINEERING PREPARED BY: MS. GRACE WANTEPE

Cantilever bridges

Cantilever bridge

horizontal beams supported on only one Support.

simple cantilever
formed by two cantilever arms extending from opposite sides of the
obstacle to be crossed, meeting at the center.
balanced cantilever
cantilever spans is to counterbalance each cantilever arm with another
cantilever arm projecting the opposite direction.

Arch bridges

Arch bridge

bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch.

Arch bridges transfers the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a
horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side.

INTRODUCTION TO BRIDGE ENGINEERING PREPARED BY: MS. GRACE WANTEPE

Tied arch bridges

an arch-shaped superstructure,
Instead of transferring the weight of the bridge and traffic loads into thrust
forces into the abutments, the ends of the arches are restrained by tension
in the bottom chord of the structure. They are also called bowstring
arches.
Suspension bridges

Suspension bridge

Deck, the load-bearing portion, is hung below suspension cables on vertical

suspenders.
This type of bridge has cables suspended between towers, and vertical
suspender cables.
The suspension cables must be anchored at each end of the bridge, since
any load applied to the bridge is transformed into a tension in these main
cables.

INTRODUCTION TO BRIDGE ENGINEERING PREPARED BY: MS. GRACE WANTEPE

Cable-stayed bridges

consists of one or more columns (referred to as towers or pylons), with

cables supporting the bridge deck.
Two types of design:

harp design
The cables are made nearly parallel by attaching them to various points on
the tower.

fan design
the cables all connect to or pass over the top of the tower

INTRODUCTION TO BRIDGE ENGINEERING PREPARED BY: MS. GRACE WANTEPE

Movable bridges

designed to move out of the way of boats or other kinds of traffic

powered by electric motors, whether operating winches, gearing, or
hydraulic pistons.

INTRODUCTION TO BRIDGE ENGINEERING PREPARED BY: MS. GRACE WANTEPE