Purpose For Our Bridge

The bridge I built with Ethan is called the Nakamoto Bridge named after the creator of bitcoin-Satoshi
Nakamoto. I chose to name it after this mysterious person because he revolutionized the way we think
about money and the way we use money. This bridge gives his unknown name attention, unlike the big
tech giant CEO’s names, who everyone knows. The purpose of this bridge is to transport people across
the San Antonio River near the San Antonio Riverwalk. The Nakamoto Bridge will be connecting the
front of the Villita Assembly Building to the Mayor Maury Maverick Plaza. The bridge is built as wide
as possible to accommodate all of the people rushing out of the Villita Assembly Building to the Mayor
Maury Maverick Plaza after the concert. Most people will choose to go to this plaza to eat or go visit
the Briscoe Western Art Museum over other plazas because it is very close by just over the bridge.
Also, a lot of people will be going across the bridge there will be less traffic at Presa Street and Villita
Street because not everyone will be rushing out of the Villita Assembly Building at once. The audience
will leave the Plaza at their own pace, so people will be leaving at a gradual pace. The Mayor Maury
Maverick Plaza revenue will also go up because more people will be going to the plaza and checking
out the shops, food, etc.

Ethan and I completed the bridge project on time and we did not exceed the budget because we both
worked together efficiently with the limited supplies we had to build to bridge.

This bridge is a version of the truss bridge design. Our bridge is different from the original design
because the overall shape of the border of all the trusses is an isosceles triangle instead of a rectangle.
We chose the truss design because it is very good at preventing twisting and swaying during
earthquakes and high winds, unlike arch and beam bridges. Truss bridges are also very good at
spreading the tension and compression forces around the whole bridge so the forces aren’t concentrated
on one small part of the bridge, which if the forces are concentrated like that, then that will cause the
bridge collapse easily. The Nakamoto Bridge also is mainly consisted of triangles, which is the
strongest shape. This bridge is very financial friendly because every single bit of materials is used very
efficiently.

I learned in this bridge unit that triangles are the strongest shape because they can spread the
weight/force around. I also learned that wind also has a huge impact on how bridges are designed. I use
to think that as long as it can hold the cargo and itself, then it’s fine. I didn’t think about all of the other
natural elements.