36 Remarkable Facts About Arch Bridges For Aspiring Engineers

Bridges are constructed for the purpose of providing some ease when it comes to transportation.

One such bridge is the arch bridge. Some of the busiest bridges in the world oversee around a thousand vehicles per day, most of which are trucks or lorries.

Thus, when it comes to such export bridges, which are put into use day-to-day in order to export goods from one place to another, they must have the capacity to bear thousands of tons of weight at the same time.

As the name of the arch bridge suggests, it definitely has something to do with the design of the bridge. Bridges are essential.

They work in favor of common people and help us not just travel farther places but also export heavy goods. In such a case, the question arises, how much weight can a bridge bear and for how long a bridge can withstand such heavy loads.

These problems have been around since Roman times, and thus led to the invention of bridges.

During earlier times they were made of wood and one of the oldest wood bridges is known as truss bridges.

Invention Of Arch Bridges

Modern arch bridges are a little different than traditional arch bridges. The only difference is in the making and the architecture of the bridge in such a way that it can sustain more weight and more traffic.

• Arch bridges are the kind of bridges in which there is a little curve on the underside of the bridge.
• Contrary to common belief, the curve on the underside of the arch bridges is not to make them look good; it is there to provide better weight control.
• Arch bridges are mainly used on routes that see heavy traffic on a daily basis, especially traffic that consists of heavy trucks. In such a case, an arch bridge is curved underside, thus it helps the bridge to spread the weight of these trucks throughout the bridge rather than just pushing the weight.
• Therefore, the arch bridges also require some support from the ground in order to manage the weight better. Therefore, they have added abutments.
• The arch frame beautiful bridges were first called Roman arch bridges. The Romans built and invented arch bridges, and they are also known as Roman bridges.
• The segmental arch bridges of today's time are built with a span of 500–800 ft (152–244 m).
• Soon, people started experimenting with these arch bridges to put them more into use. That is when the deck arch bridge came into use. These bridges have a deck over the arch.
• Compression arch bridges are a mosaic of both art and skill. These compression arch bridges often put the force outwards along with the semi-circle shape of the bridge.
• After the first compression arch bridges, it was understood that these bridges were better than the traditional inclined arch suspension bridge. The more weight you put on the compression arch bridge, the stronger it will become.
• The Romans didn't directly build the stone arch bridge. The Roman structures first started building these bridges through wood, similar to a basic arch barrel.

Different Types Of Arch Bridges

There are many kinds of arch bridges, and the number of arch bridge designs is only increasing as more and more creative ideas come forward.

• There are arch bridge designs that have multiple arches that help to handle more traffic and further spread the force, making it easier for the bridge to function, compared to the single arch.
• When it comes to these elliptic arches that are on this bridge, they are actually used to make the bridge stronger. It is known that if the arch ring has more angles, the center arch will be stronger.
• A multi-arch bridge has many arches, which makes the bridge even stronger.
• We use arch bridge designs such as the bowstring arch or the beam bridge when we are provided with less area and the span is shorter. Most of the time, you will see very few arch bridge designs that are long bridge designs. Most are made in a very small area.
• The tied arch bridge is another famous design of an arch bridge. It is also called the bowstring arch bridge.
• The first kinds of arch bridges that were made were these tied-arch bridges. One of the oldest arch bridges is the cathedral arch bridge.
• Soon, people started investing in the stone arch bridge. However, the Romans initially only used wood arch bridges.
• Another famous kind of arch bridge design is the masonry arch bridge. These bridges are designed with the intention of keeping them constantly under tension. The heavier it becomes in this kind of bridge, the more tension or compression the bridge bears.

What was the first arch bridge?

Arch bridges have definitely stood and won the test of time. From Roman times until now, these arch beiges are thriving.

• The oldest existing arch bridge is the one that was built in 1300 B.C.
• The name of the oldest existing arch bridge is the Mycenaean arkadiko bridge.
• The oldest bridge was a corbel arch bridge, built in the Roman era.
• Elliptical bridges are also known as moon bridges. One such famous bridge is the Fredrikstad bridge.
• When it comes to design and architecture, the Greeks knew about these first. They knew that an arch bridge could sustain a larger crowd. However, they didn't make the first arch bridge. The Romans were the first people who put it into practice and made an arch bridge.
• The world's longest arch bridge resides in China and is known as the Chaotianmen Bridge.
• During the Roman era, there were two kinds of bridges. One of them was a semicircle bridge, and the other was an arch bridge. However, there is a common misconception that both of these are the same. They aren't the same. An arch bridge is not entirely a semicircle; it is a little less than a semicircle.
• In medieval times, the Europeans enhanced the traditional corbelled arch design and used better ratios to enhance the capacity of these bridges.
• The Rialto Bridge, which is right at the side of the Grand Canal, is also a true engineering beauty.
• In the olden times, especially in the 19th century, more and more people started building tied-arch bridges. A tied-arch bridge was easier to make since it didn't require any kind of strong foundation.
• Steel bridges became very famous in the 19th-20th centuries since during those times steel became very cheap. People then started making longer bridges after the affordable rate of steel.

Other Famous Arch Bridges

Arch bridges are true architectural beauties. They are made with the purpose of supporting heavier weights, and the design of today's arch bridges is such that the more force they inherit, the stronger they become.

• Almost every country has an arch bridge. Thanks to the great Roman minds and the sheer architectural skills of Europeans, today we can take advantage of these unbreakable bridges to control traffic and export more easily.
• One of the famous arch bridges is the Daxi River Bridge and the Zhaozhou Bridge.
• The oldest operational bridge in Australia is known as the Richmond Bridge.
• Arch bridges are also some of the oldest and most ancient bridges. The idea of these bridges didn't come from the modern architecture minds, but from the ancient Greek and Roman minds who brought that idea to life by creating the bridge.
• Another idea behind an arch bridge was that it should be able to spread the tension and force. This is extremely useful when the bridge has to face earthquakes, as by spreading the compression throughout the bridge, the bridge won't break.
• A beam bridge is a very famous kind of bridge when the aim is to construct a bridge that can help cross across water bodies or valleys.
• From the beam bridge, which was the first bridge invented by humans, we slowly moved to the arch bridge.