Design — the Beginning of Great Achievements

Every construction starts with an idea and careful design. For great bridges like the Brooklyn Bridge in New York or the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the design process took years. Engineers thoroughly studied geological conditions, water flows, and the loads the structure would endure. At this stage, drawings and models were created to foresee potential difficulties and choose optimal materials and technologies. An important aspect of design was also the aesthetic component — many bridges became architectural symbols of their cities thanks to their unique design and harmony with the environment.
Modern technologies such as computer modeling and 3D visualization greatly facilitate this process, allowing prediction of structural behavior under wind, earthquakes, and other factors. However, in the past, engineers had to rely on experience, experiments, and intuition, making each successful project a true achievement of engineering thought.

Material Selection and Preparation for Construction

After completing the design, the next important stage was selecting materials. Historically, bridges were built from stone, wood, iron, steel, and concrete, and each material required special processing and assembly technologies. For example, the famous Tower Bridge in London was constructed using steel and granite, which ensured its durability and strength.
Preparing the construction site was often a difficult task, especially when bridges were built over wide rivers or deep straits. It was necessary to build temporary structures — pontoons, supports, scaffolding — to provide safe access and work on the water. For some bridges, like the Millau Viaduct in France, unique methods had to be created to lift and secure massive elements at great heights.
Logistics organization was also an important stage — delivering materials, providing labor and equipment, and meeting deadlines and budget constraints. In the conditions of limited past technologies and transport possibilities, this represented a particular challenge.

Technologies and Innovations in the Construction Process

The construction of the greatest bridges was accompanied by the introduction of innovative technologies. For example, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first to use steel cables, which allowed significantly longer spans. The cable tensioning technology created by John Roebling became a breakthrough in bridge construction and is still applied in modern suspension bridges.
Another example is the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, where engineers faced strong winds and deep waters. Unique methods were applied for protecting steel from corrosion and special designs ensured stability during earthquakes. Welding technologies, use of concrete foundations, and reinforcement allowed creating a reliable and long-lasting structure.
Besides technical innovations, the human factor remained important — highly skilled engineers, carpenters, masons, and workers, often working in extreme conditions, contributed to creating engineering masterpieces.

Completion and Operation

After erecting the main structures, finishing works, testing, and preparation for operation took place. For bridges intended for car, rail, or pedestrian traffic, ensuring user safety and comfort was a key task. For example, the Millennium Bridge in London was equipped with vibration control and lighting systems, making it one of the most modern pedestrian bridges.
Bridge operation includes regular inspections, repairs, and material renewals, which help maintain functionality and safety for decades. Many historic bridges have undergone large-scale reconstructions while preserving their unique appearance and cultural significance.

Examples of the Greatest Bridges and Their Significance

Each great bridge is a separate success story. The Brooklyn Bridge became a symbol of New York’s industrial power and ambition. The Millau Viaduct impresses with its elegance and engineering courage, being one of the tallest bridges in the world. The Golden Gate Bridge is not only a vital transport artery but also a worldwide recognized symbol of California.
Hungary also has its architectural and engineering landmarks — for example, the Chain Bridge in Budapest, which at its time was one of the largest structures in Europe and continues to serve as an important transport link. Its construction became a breakthrough in bridge building in the country and inspired many engineers.

Conclusion

The construction of the greatest bridges in history is an example of how human intellect, labor, and creativity can overcome natural obstacles and create objects that serve generations. From initial sketches and calculations to complex construction processes and operation, each stage requires maximum precision and responsibility. Today, thanks to new technologies, bridges become not only reliable engineering structures but also works of art that unite cities, countries, and people. The stories of such projects inspire and remind us of the endless possibilities of human engineering thought.

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We’d like to share with you the ones that do not just please the eye or satisfy the pragmatic needs but truly stand out. Here is our list of the top 5 unique bridges from all across the globe.

The Moses Bridge

The story of the Moses bridge is not so much a religious one. Yes, certain associations come to mind when we see a waterbody divided by a path. While Moses did impossible to save his travel companions by creating a passage in the Red Sea with a single move of his arm, the Dutch architects did what they could to save the integrity of a historic site.

The area where the Moses bridge is located used to be a fortress (Fort de Roovere) surrounded by moats. When it was time to do some restoration work, the architects needed to cross the water. Instead of making a shortcut and building a regular bridge, they decided to invest their time and effort into constructing a one-of-a-kind trench bridge. The architects wanted the place to keep its historically harmonious look, with no contemporary detail sticking out too much.

The thoughtful team succeeded, even though it was not that easy: they had to take care of waterproofing the wood with foil and pumping extra water out when it rains. On top of that, they created another fascinating site for us and future generations to admire.

The Moses bridge, Halsteren, Netherlands:

The Gateshead Millennium Bridge

We have something to confess. Our list is far from being objective; we have our personal favorite. It is the Gateshead Millennium Bridge over the River Tyne, without a doubt!

Its nickname might hint at what is so special about it. Apparently, the Gateshead Millennium bridge reminds the locals of a blinking eye, and that’s why the structure is also known as the Tyne Blinking (Winking) Eye bridge.

Not only does it look contemporary and sharp:

But it also blinks. Literally.

The Gateshead Millennium Bridge is the first tilting bridge in the world. It was designed for cyclists and pedestrians, but it also must allow the river traffic to pass underneath. So, the engineers found a way to use 6 hydraulic rams to tilt the entire load of 850,000 kilograms as a single structure.

The Gateshead Millennium bridge is a unique combination of an engineering marvel and an architectural eye candy. If you ever have a chance to see the tilting structure over the Tyne river, don’t miss it, and tell us everything about it, we beg of you.

The Gateshead Millennium bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK:

The ‘Curl-and-Roll’ Bridge (officially known as the Rolling Bridge)

Mr. Thomas Heatherwick, an English designer whose projects have been adding style and identity to many places and events all around the world, conceived a truly extraordinary bridge.

The Rolling bridge at the Grand Union Canal (Paddington) in London is a transformer: it rolls into a ball as easily as a hedgehog and curls as neatly as a scorpion’s tail.

But enough talking. No words will ever paint the picture colorful and accurate enough: you just have to see this bridge in action. If you are not anywhere near the Paddington area, London, why not check out the Youtube video?

The Rolling bridge, London, UK:

‘The Bridge of Kisses’

This Russian bridge might look much less impressive than all our earlier picks. We didn’t choose it for beauty or engineering genius. In this case, it’s the story behind the structure over the Moyka river that counts. And the irony.

For decades, the Bridge of Kisses in Saint Petersburg has been a sacred place for couples and newlyweds. They have believed that:

• if you are saying goodbye and want the separation to be as short as possible, you should kiss your loved one in the middle of the bridge;
• if you want your love to last, take your sweetheart to the bridge and try crossing it and kissing at the same time (the longer your lips don’t part, the longer you will be together);
• if you want your marriage to be as solid as a chunk of metal, put a lock on the Bridge of Kisses on your wedding day.

The couples of Saint Petersburg have believed all those things and have been following the traditions.

How did the bridge get its fame as a Love Guardian? There have been a couple of versions. Some people say that the bridge is located right by the city’s old exit. That is why there was a lot of kissing: the people, leaving or arriving, were saying their hellos and goodbyes to their loved ones. According to another speculation, the bridge was associated with kisses because there used to be a city prison near it — another potential center of frequent emotional scenes.

Not long ago, some historians discovered that the bridge actually got its name after a man whose surname sounded like the Russian word ‘Kisses’ (Potseluev). He was a famous person in the city as he owned a popular pub next to the bridge. The locals called the pub by the owner’s surname, and then the habit extended to the nearby bridge.

We don’t know what is more ironic: that the pub owner happened to have such a romantic surname or that people tend to alter facts to look and sound closer to what they would like the reality to be.

Nevertheless, we find the story rather amusing and are happy to see such wonderful little traditions and beliefs appear because of a bridge.

If you are in Saint Petersburg with your sweetheart, you know the best place for a long kiss. Here are the coordinates.

The Bridge of Kisses (the Potseluev bridge), Saint Petersburg, Russia:

Living Root Bridges

All the bridges we have listed above would not exist if it wasn’t for the brilliance of human minds and the skill of hands. The bridges we are going to talk about in our final paragraph appeared thanks to the partnership with the world’s ultimate architect — nature. Probably, this is why they leave a much deeper impression.

Indian villages have more than a hundred living root bridges, and recently the authorities have asked to add them to the list of UNESCO world heritage sites. We hope they will succeed, as the bridges are more than unique. Their history, structure, and beauty deserve to be looked out for.

Living Root bridges, the state of Meghalaya, India:

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However, before bridges were built with concrete and iron, wood or stones were the major materials used thousand years ago. How has the construction of bridges evolved over the years? Let’s see how it started and what the present design of bridges has become. 

Stone Age 

The earliest humans had difficulty crossing water bodies. With little to no technology, they were restricted when it came to crossing water. As for saturated areas, the ancient world found a way to walk such land areas using stone bridges. Popular as stepping stones, this 6,000-year-old technique was common in England and a few places. Solid stones, especially rocky ones, were placed on marshy grounds to enable people to walk over them. The stones form a solid surface, preventing people from sinking into the mud. This must have worked for a period. However, it had limitations. When people wanted to move from one location to another over a body of deep water, then putting stones on the floor wasn’t a good option. In fact, it didn’t work. So, humans advanced and devised a new method — the use of logs/ trees. 

Wooden Bridges

The earliest form of wooden bridge was simply a fallen tree placed over a river or lake. One part of the tree is placed on the side of the road, and another side is at the other end. This allows people to walk over the log of wood. At times, the wood used is fallen trees. Sometimes later, trees intentionally fell to be used as a bridge. 

For example, the bridge in upper Lake Zürich, Switzerland, is made of timber. The use of wooden bridges also evolved. The ancient city of Rome improved the wood bridges using well-cut and shaped wood. And sometimes, later, the technology of wooden brides was upgraded. At this time, like the popular bridge constructed by Puspagupta in India, chains were introduced in bridge construction. The chain held the wood together firmly to give resistance against flood. 

The history and evolution of wooden bridges continued for centuries. Later, the use of nails and screws was introduced as reinforcement. Although modern structures have replaced a good number of wooden bridges, some have been retained for cultural and aesthetic values. 

Iron and Concrete 

In the early 1900s, iron bridges started to become popular. Stefan Bryła is one of the first set of people to be associated with constructing welded bridges. Iron bridges were more reliable than wooden types. Strength and durability were the major benefits of this evolution. And it was on this improvement that bridges were built for the next 50 years. New designs of bridges were constructed with a mixture of steel and concrete. Engineers developed intricate designs to ensure stability, durability, and strength while paying attention to aesthetics. The goal of bridge designers now goes beyond “simply building.” Attention to architectural design is now important. Little wonder many, many bridges across Europe, Asia, and America are more than just a means of movement — many have become tourist attractions. The new approach to bridge construction focuses on the use of concrete and steel. Steel is mixed with concrete to create pillars that serve as a foundation for the bridge and are also used as cables to hold the entire structure in place. 

Advanced research has also helped in terms of knowing the weight bridges can bear and constructing with expansion in mind. So this enables builders to take necessary measures that guarantee safety at all times. 

Maintenance

Part of bridge construction is maintenance. Like every type of construction, bridges need maintenance to keep standing. A bridge is periodically examined to ascertain its condition and arrange necessary fixes. 

Bridge construction is by no means an easy task. It requires precision and meticulous effort. First, engineers have to study the location before a bridge is erected. Lots of calculations and plans priced the actual building process. During the building process, monitoring is essential to ensure things are going as planned. So not only has the goal of a bridge changed significantly over the years, the method of construction has changed too. 

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Among the most remarkable constructions in Roman architecture are the arcades of aqueducts, one of which is the bridge of Garda (II c. A.D.). The Garde Aqueduct crosses the deep valley of the River Gard near the city of Nîmes in France. The lower tier of the arcade, 21.6 m high and 6.36 m wide, consists of six arches and carries a second tier, 21.5 m high and 4.56 m wide. The third tier has a height of 7.82 m and a width of 3.06 m, and is fed by an aqueduct. In this level there are 35 small arches. The total height of the structure is 48.77 meters. The length of the aqueduct is 275 metres along the top, 242 metres along the second tier and 142 metres along the lower arcade. The arches of the first tier and the arches of the second tier above them coincide vertically. The number of small arches of the third tier above the middle arch, wider than the others, is four, and three each above the others.

The combination of the spans and piers in the complex tier system, designed in arched forms and with clearly defined proportions, was conducive to the creation of a perfect artistic composition of the bridge.

The aqueduct also served as a bridge for horseback riding, thanks to the 90 centimetre narrower second tier on the ledge. In the 14th century, the lower part of the second tier uprights was undercut and the distance to the ledge was widened by another 1.5 metres, and the cross-section of the uprights was weakened by 1/3 of its cross-section. The bridge stayed like that for another 400 years. In XVIII century it was restored and a bridge was added to the lower stage, having precisely repeated the outlines of the arched spans, piers and the height of the second stage.

Roman architects and builders used semi-circular vaults and pozzolanic concrete in constructing the bridges, and constructed tongue and groove railings and pile foundations. To reduce the construction time, a modular system of elements was used: supports of the same width, which were 1/2-1/3 of the span’s size, were repeating spans.

The general shape of the bridges, built by Romans, was notable for its individuality and harmoniously blended in with the environment, in what ancient architects had reached high art.

In the next centuries during the construction of bridges along with stone they began to apply high-strength brick and more gentle arches, the sizes of spans overlapped increased and more perfect outlines of the bridges were found, which contributed to the change of their shape. However, Roman bridges and aqueducts will forever remain unsurpassed monumental structures of the time (Fig. 5.3).

Historical monuments testify about achievement of high level of technique in processing stone for erection of cult buildings, construction of roads, bridges and tunnels by ancient civilizations of Incas and Aztecs in VI-VII centuries in South America.

Around 1350 in the Inca state a suspension bridge with a span of 90 meters was built over the Apurimac river gorge. The base of the structure was ropes with a diameter of 90-100 cm, woven from the fibers of American agave. At the approach to the bridge a 100-meter tunnel was built in the rocks. The bridge was in use for 540 years and was not replaced until 1890.

Hanging bridges, similar in design, were also built in China, in some parts of Central Asia and Transcaucasia.

After the collapse of the Roman Empire in V century A.D. the development of bridge-building slowed down for a few centuries. It was the period of the Middle Ages. In the first half of the Middle Ages, in the epoch of feudalism, there was no evident progress in the field of bridge building. They continued to build massive stone bridges and partly wooden ones on piles. Bridges were also built in ancient Byzantium. Bridges had lancet or more gentle circular arches.

In the VI-VII centuries, trade routes moved to Italy and France. During this period, there is a need to build new bridges and reconstruct old ones on the routes for the movement of goods. Especially many bridges are built in France and later in England. Large bridge crossings were erected by special brigades, the so-called “bridge brothers”, established at the monasteries. During this period, outstanding bridges in architecture and size were built in the south of France. The bridge over the Rhone at Avignan (1178-1187). The bridge builders used circular masonry vaults in the tradition of ancient Rome.

One of the most beautiful bridges of that time was the bridge-fortress built in the mid-13th century across the Lot River in Cahors. The bridge was guarded by three combat towers. The architecture of the bridge was based on the alternation of arched arches on high piers and watchtowers reflected in the river water. The most famous is the Ségué Bridge, built in France in 1336. It is a single-span bridge with a semi-circular vault. The bridge has a span of 45.45 m, the thickness of the vault in the lock is 1.3 m, and the width of the vault is 4.0 m. The width of the carriageway on the top of the bridge was 2.5 m, with sidewalks on both sides. Above the large vault, vaulted openings of 8.0 m span were arranged. The vault of the bridge was built of roughly hewn stones. In 1741, the bridge was repaired and reconstructed by reducing the steepness of the entrances.

In Italy in 1356 the bridge in Verona is erected, which has three spans with arches of low (1:4) circular shape. The largest span is 48.7 m, the width of the deck on the bridge is 6.5 m. The lower part of the bulls is faced with red and white marble. The marble blocks were 0.56 m thick, and 2.0 m long. Above everything was made of brick, only the sides of the vaults were lined with limestone. But most interesting is the architecture of the bridge in the form of a fence with dovetail ends. The appearance of the bridge with loopholes and towers has a typical medieval military appearance.

In the 1370s the Vieille Brioude Bridge was built. The vault of the bridge was circular and spanned a span of 54.26m, with a gib of 18.8m. The bridge was built of volcanic stone on a lime mortar. This bridge had the highest span until it collapsed in 1822.

The desire to increase the spans of bridges was due to the difficulty of laying the foundations for supports in the rivers. More than one generation of bridge-builders worked out technical methods of making foundations for the supports during XIII-XIX centuries.

An example of a solid foundation for supports is the bridge 81. – The bridge was built in 1265-1307. The thickness of the piers was 1: 3 spans. The foundations for the abutments are very wide, presumably on a wooden plinth, built on a stone scaffolding.

The use of small spans and shallow arches avoided steep entrances to the bridge and made it possible to build city stone bridges. Urban bridges not only served the function of crossing various obstacles, they also accommodated dwellings and commercial houses, in which case the bridge bed was of greater width. The width of Notre-Dame Bridge in Paris built in 1507 was 23.6 m. The bridge had semi-circular arches and small spans of 16-17 m.

In the 16th-17th centuries, the development of wheeled transport influenced a further decrease in the steepness of entries on bridges, especially city bridges. Vaults became gently box-shaped and were widespread in the XVIII century. The thickness of the beams decreased to 1:5 of the span, the foundations under the beams in the form of a stone scaffold were rejected. Pile foundations were placed 1.5-1.8 m below the water surface, and then 4.5 m.

The bridge in Toulouse took 90 years to build, from 1542 to 1632. It had seven asymmetrically placed spans of 14.4 to 34.4 m. The spans were covered by box vaults resting on stone piers. The bridge deck was supported by brick walls with ornamental holes above the piers. The slope of the bridge deck was more than 4%.

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Span structures consist of load-bearing structures: beams, trusses, diaphragms (cross beams) and the actual slab of the roadway. The structural arrangement of the span structures can be arch, beam, frame, cable-stayed or combined; it determines the type of bridge by design. Usually the spans are straight, but if necessary (e.g., when building overpasses and road junctions) they are given a complex shape: spiral, circular, etc.

Span structures are supported by supports, each consisting of a foundation and a supporting part. The forms of the supports can be quite diverse. The intermediate supports are called catwalks, and the abutments are called piers. The abutments serve to connect the bridge with the embankments.

The materials used for bridges are metal (steel and aluminium alloys), reinforced concrete, concrete, natural stone, wood, and ropes.

Parameters of bridges
A bridge diagram is a formula that sequentially presents the dimensions of the design spans – the distances between the centers of the supporting parts of the spans. If several consecutive piers have the same size, their number multiplied by the size of each pier is given. For example (fictional “bridge”), the layout of the bridge 5+3×10+4 m means that the first span of the bridge has a calculated span – 5 meters, the next three – 10 meters each and the fifth – 4 meters.

Bridge construction
The first (and the most expensive – up to 50% of the total construction cost) stage of the bridge is the construction of the piers. The piers are built in open trenches or by sinking piles, lowering wells, caissons or prefabricated casing into the ground. Piles (mostly reinforced concrete) are mainly used in the construction of small and medium-sized bridges. They are sunk into the ground with the help of diesel hammers and electric vibro-loaders. For the construction of large bridges prefabricated casing with a diameter of up to 3 m are mainly used. At present, the most popular pile foundation is the foundation on bored piles (BPP), which are built by drilling in the casing of the inventory pipe. This design is used both onshore and offshore.

The spans are usually set on the supports by assembly cranes. For large bridges, the superstructure is often assembled onshore and then shifted (thrusted) on supports from one bank to the other. The hinged installation method involves extending the structure from the bridge abutment to the span. In this case, the hinged installation with a crane moving on the already built part (for metal spans) or hinged assembly with the manufacture of individual elements in the factory and their subsequent transportation to the site (for reinforced concrete) is used.

Since the mid 90’s of the XX century, the technology of manufacturing plate-ribbed spans of monolithic prestressed reinforced concrete began to be used. This technology has a number of advantages in comparison with the construction of prefabricated spans.

Construction of suspended bridges is done differently: it starts with installation of pylons; then temporary cables are suspended on them.

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The knowledge gained in the construction of stone bridges was also used in the construction of wooden bridges. for the construction of wooden bridges as well. After all, the construction of a stone bridge is made of wood. The Romans had already mastered the art of making wooden beams out of arched and braced wooden beams, which were extremely stable.

Despite the danger of fire, about 200 large wooden bridges still exist today in Central Europe. Most of them are covered with a tile roof to protect the roadway from the weather.

Particularly impressive is the 200-meter-long bridge over the Rhine in Sekkingen,
The bridge that connects Germany and Switzerland is a particularly impressive one. Wooden bridges played an important role in the development of railroads in North and South America. Because of abundance of rivers and canyons that crisscrossed vast territories, many bridges had to be built; building stone bridges would have been enormously expensive, and wood was available and cheap building material. This is how gigantic wooden girder structures, such as the bridge over the Portage River south of Lake Erie in Ohio.

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries there was a need for even larger
bridges that could carry large ships. In the eighteenth century, the height
of bridges reached the height of more than 100 m. The unrealized project of a wooden one-arch bridge over the Neva River was 298 m long, designed by Ivan Petrovich Kulibin.

Classicism was popular in the XVIII century. Bridges built in this style, distinguished by clear symmetry, careful attention to proportions of the construction, the spans of large size.

Classicism was widespread in France (Pont de la Concorde in
Paris). Since the late 18th century metal was used for construction. In Colbrookdale, in 1779 appeared the world’s first bridge made of metal, built by blast furnace operator Abraham Derby and engineer Joseph Wilkinson. The bridge connected the banks of the River Severn; as a historical monument, it is now under state protection. Cast iron is a fragile material; like natural stone, it can only withstand the forces of compression. Therefore, the designers of the bridge used a proven arched structure. The details of the arches with a span of 21 m were cast at the Derby factory. The only thing to do on the building site was to assemble them.

The first attempt to build a cast iron bridge on the English model in
The first attempt to construct a cast iron bridge based on the English model was made 15 years later by a Count at his estate in Lower Silesia. Two years later the casting of parts was completed, but it was not possible to assemble them.

The Earl finally invited an English technician and he built a small bridge with a span of 11 metres. Some of the many small cast iron bridges, modeled after the Colbrookdale one, eventually collapsed because the arches failed. The era of large bridges came only after iron and steel were learned to be made from blast furnace iron. Steel and wrought iron are much more ductile than cast iron and also withstand tensile stresses. So, bridges of all shapes and types – suspension bridges on chains and steel cables, arched bridges of riveted steel profiles and framework structures familiar from the times of wooden bridges – began to be built from a new material: iron.

In the XIX century, the appearance of railroads required the construction of bridges able to withstand considerable loads, which stimulated the development of bridge building. Gradually steel and iron became the main materials in bridge building. Gustave Eiffel in 1877 built a cast iron arch bridge over the Douro River in Portugal. The height of the span of that bridge was 160 m.

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