BigRentz, Inc.

(2021) Types of Bridges

Bridges, from Sydney Harbor to the Tower Bridge across the Thames to the Golden Gate, connect us and
bind us together. They’re gateways to discovery — and the way many of us get to work each day.
Whether they’re simple footbridges, functional toll bridges, or complicated drawbridges, they all serve
an essential function. Bridges can be the simplest structures or huge, stunning works of art — or
anything in between. As long as it gets us across a span that would otherwise be difficult (or even
impossible) to cross, a bridge serves its singular purpose. Beginning with the first tree trunk laid across a
creek bed, humans have created increasingly sophisticated bridge designs through the ages. Innovation
has resulted in different structures and types of materials used to span waterways and canyons. Now it’s
common to see massive, intricate modern bridges that span shockingly long distances. The world’s
longest bridge, the $8.5 billion Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge in China, carries a high-speed railway
more than 100 miles.Bridges work by balancing the forces of physics through a superstructure (girders,
trusses, etc.), which bears the bridge deck and its load, and a substructure (pillars, abutments, piers, and
footings), which grounds the load into the earth. A bridge needs to resist movement so it can provide a
stable surface to cross a divide. Correct engineering and bridge construction can strike the perfect
balance to keep a bridge standing.

ARCH BRIDGE- The Romans built more than 1,000 stone arch bridges, some of which still survive, such
as the Pont-Saint-Martin bridge in Italy’s Aosta Valley (built in the first century BCE). This bridge design
dates back more than 3,000 years. Concrete is now also used to build modern arch bridges. A bridge’s
load is the weight of the bridge itself (called the dead load), combined with the weight of whatever it
carries (the live load). An arch bridge uses the forces of load and gravity, which otherwise might send a
bridge tumbling downward, to hold it up instead. An arch bridge works by conveying the downward
pressure of gravity inward to the center of the structure — toward a central stone called the keystone —
rather than straight down. This principle is called compression, and it enables the arch below to support
the surface, or deck, above it. Fixed arch bridges can be destabilized by temperature fluctuations, so the
arch design is sometimes modified with hinges at each base and even the center of the span. This helps
longer arch bridges adapt to the expansion or contraction of their materials when temperatures change
drastically.

BEAM BRIDGE - The simplicity of the beam bridge made it the first type of bridge ever built. It’s still the
cheapest to build. All you need is a crossbeam covering the span, supported by an abutment at each
end. One type of beam bridge is a girder bridge, which employs steel girders as reinforcement. Gravity is
a bigger challenge when constructing a bridge because, unlike a building, most of what’s underneath is
empty space. A beam bridge might be supported only by two abutments, one at either end, to counter
gravity and bear the entirety of its load. But here’s the danger of beam bridges: The longer a bridge is
and the more people, cars, and other things it carries, the heavier its total load. And the farther apart a
beam bridge’s abutments are, the less stable the structure is. By adding supports in the middle, known
as piers or stanchions, and connecting sections between them, you can create a very long, stable bridge.
Examples are the 3.2-mile Yolo Causeway near Sacramento, California, or the 24-mile Lake Pontchartrain
Causeway in Louisiana. In beam bridges, the force of compression pushes the load inward onto piers at
the middle of the bridge. Simultaneously, the pulling or stretching force of tension pulls the load
outward toward the abutments at both ends of the bridge.

CANTILEVER BRIDGE - Some bridges are built using cantilever construction. This type uses a pillar
anchored vertically into the ground to support a horizontal deck extending out from one or both sides
across the span. The load often is supported from both above and below. A diving board or platform is a
good example of cantilever construction. The world’s longest cantilever span belongs to the Quebec
Bridge in Canada, which was built in 1919 and extends 1,800 feet. It surpassed the length of the Forth
Bridge in Scotland, which was completed in 1890. In the U.S., the central section of Conde B.
McCullough Memorial Bridge over Coos Bay in Oregon is a cantilever. So is the eastern section of the San
Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge (not to be confused with the Golden Gate). Many cantilever bridges are
combined with other types to cross a single span. Cantilever bridges are often supported with trusses. A
bridge truss takes the load off the deck and transfers it to the supporting piers and abutments, helping
the cantilevers withstand tension in the upper supports and compression in the lower ones.

SUSPENSION BRIDGE - suspension bridge is perhaps the most recognizable bridge type in the United
States, thanks to the iconic Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Completed in 1937, it draws more than
10 million visitors each year to marvel at its twin 746-foot orange towers and sweeping Art Deco effect.
Suspension bridges are just what their name sounds like: They’re stabilized with vertical pillars or pylons
connected by suspension cables. Attached to these main cables are smaller, vertical suspenders that
hold up the bridge deck using tension, the main force that sustains suspension bridges. Though the first
suspension bridges were made of simple ropes supporting wooden planks, now the suspension
technique supports long spans over broad channels. But because these bridges are only fixed to the
earth in a couple of places (the towers or pillars), they can sway in the wind or vibrate when crossed by
heavy traffic. Wind or movement across a bridge can create vibrations. When these reach a certain
frequency, it can cause a dangerous phenomenon called resonance — the same principle that causes a
glass to shatter if a trained singer hits a high enough note. If vibrations are intense enough, they can
disrupt bridge crossings and cause a collapse. Suspension bridges also can be affected by torsion, a
twisting force often caused by environmental factors like wind, which can create dangerous movement.
If the surface of a bridge twists enough while travelers are on it, they can be thrown off.And while
torsion creates stress on a vertical plane, shear imparts a similar effect horizontally. It happens when
environmental forces put pressure in opposite directions on a single, fastened part of a bridge, breaking
it like a stick between two hands.

CABLE-STAYED BRIDGE - is a variation on the suspension bridge that connects the crossbeam or bridge
deck directly to pillars or towers. There’s no main cable, just a large number of vertical suspenders
affixed to the top of the tower. These suspenders use tension to help keep the bridge deck stable and in
place. The Strömsund Bridge in Sweden is considered the first modern cable-stayed bridge. The three-
span structure was completed in 1956. Its steel and concrete deck is suspended by diagonal cables from
two pylons. The glass-decked Sundial Bridge, built in 2004 across the Sacramento River in Redding,
California, makes use of the cable-stay technique in conjunction with elements of cantilever and
suspension. The famed Brooklyn Bridge, which opened in 1883, is a hybrid cable-stayed and suspension
bridge.
TIED-ARCH BRIDGE (BOWSTRING) - tied-arch bridge combines features of an arch bridge and a
suspension bridge. It uses horizontal thrust from both sides to support an arched structure, as in a
regular arch bridge. But instead of an arch supporting the structure from below, the arch rises above the
road, and vertical ties descend to increase support of the decking. These are also called bowstring
bridges since they look like a bow from the side. This bow uses the tension of its vertical cables, together
with the compression of the arch, to support the load and keep the bridge stable. The wooden-decked
Blackfriars Street Bridge in London, Ontario, Canada, is an example of this style. It carried vehicle traffic
from the year it was built, 1875, until 2013, when it was permanently closed. U.S. bowstring bridges
include the Fort Pitt Bridge over the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh, the Lowry Avenue Bridge over the
Mississippi River in Minneapolis, and the Daniel W. Hoan Memorial Bridge in Milwaukee.

TRUSS BRIDGE - A truss bridge distributes its load across a series of small sections fitted together.
Formed by structural beams for smaller bridges or box girders for larger ones, bridge trusses are
typically bound together by welded or riveted joints in a series of triangles. Vertical steel or wooden
supports help hold up the bridge using tension, while the diagonal truss supports add stability via
compression, directing the load toward the center, similar to an arch. The fairly inexpensive truss design
has been around for a long time. Most truss bridges were built of wood in the 19th century, before a
shift to iron and steel. The familiar Pratt truss design features diagonal segments that slope toward the
bridge’s center. It was introduced by Thomas Willis Pratt in 1844.

(https://www.bigrentz.com/blog/types-of-bridges)

Vallejo, S. (2015). Evaluation of Major Bridges in Cagayan Valley, Philippines.

Securing the safety of transport between the metropolitan area and local areas and accelerate the flow
of people and goods is the main objective of the rehabilitation of the damaged bridges along the road
section in the Luzon island, which is the longest north-south highway in the Philippines and the Manila
North Highway, which connects Metropolitan Manila and the northern Luzon island, thereby
contributing to the economic development of the Luzon Island.The study determined the conditions of
the major bridges in Isabela section of the Cagayan Valley Road like the Naguilian bridge, Ganano bridge,
and Tumauini bridge and among others. The study was conducted to examine the different structural
parts of those bridges such as substructure, superstructure, other appurtenances and the defects were
noted. The possible factors that may have caused the defects were also identified. Likewise, the sites
around the bridges were examined to identify the conditions that may have affected the bridges. The
conditions of the major bridges in Isabela section of the Cagayan Valley Road was evaluated as not in
good condition. The bridge defects as evaluated were spalling and scaling of concrete, cracks, eroded
embankment, corrosion and paint peel-off of steel members, scouring, pot holes and honeycombs. The
bridge defects were caused by concrete expansion or contraction due to environmental factors like
change of weather, weight of passing vehicles, perhaps fatigue, and action of water. The joints of the
bridges may have been caused by heavy traffic

(https://cdrj.ssu.edu.ph/index.php/CDRJ/article/view/72)
Panaligan, R. ( 2015) TARGET STRUCTURE AND APPLIED DESIGN METHOD

The target structure considered in this study is a typical bridge structure commonly used in the
Philippines. The bridge structure adopted in this study is located in the southern part of Luzon. This
bridge crosses a river to connect two significant barangays of the municipalities. The bridge is a
threespan prestressed girder bridge with a total length of 60.80 linear meters with seat type abutments.
It is a two-way bridge with a total width of 9.34 meters with shoulders. The bridge is supported by two
circular columns, which are confined columns on bored pile foundation. The diameter of the column is
1.0 meter, the unsupported length is 7.35 meters, and 9.95 meters is the height from the bottom of the
column to the center of the superstructure. The total weight W, supported by the columns, is 6690 kN.
The column is reinforced longitudinally with deformed bars whose diameter is 18 pcs – 25 mm and with
reinforcement spirals whose diameter is 16 mm. They are used to confine the concrete core, with a
space of 70 mm at the plastic region and 100 mm at the center portion of the pier.In computation of
superstructure and substructure weight, we consider 24 kN/m3for concrete weight ratio and 28 Mpa for
the Compressive strength of concrete for cast in place concrete, 276 Mpa for Reinforcing Steel Yield
Stress for Grade 40 and 414 Mpa for Grade 60. The bridge properties are used as a reference in the
creating of analyses model for this study using the Japan Road Association Specifications for Highway
Bridges, Part V, Seismic Design, 2002 (JRA, 2002). The target structure considered in this study is only
one of the typical type of bridge structure in the Philippines. In this study will focus only on the effect for
RC piers of the bridge, and it will conduct analyses with a condition of fix support at the bottom of the
pier4

(https://www.grips.ac.jp/cms/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Synopsis_MEE18705Rjay.pdf)

Zhao, R., Yuan, Y., Wei, X. et al. (2019) Review of annual progress of bridge engineering in 2019

Concrete bridges and high-performance materials

Concrete bridge has always been the main type of bridges. In recent years, the research focus of
concrete bridge has gradually shifted to the operation management and maintenance (Zhou and Zhang
2019). At the beginning of 2019, Gao et al. (2019) pointed out that it is of great importance to study the
structural durability, the whole life cycle design, and the combined environmental effects of the bridge
structures in China.

For the durability of concrete bridges, Li et al. (2019e) used model-based methods and multi-level
principles to study the different durability risks of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. Some scholars
have proposed that research should be carried out in terms of exposure environment, durability test
age, and test methods (Hooton 2019), and pointed out that the widely accepted durability design theory
should be established based on the service life estimation tool (Demis and Papadakis 2019), and the
existing specifications should be revised accordingly. Besides, Wu et al. (2019d) provided ideas for
solving the problem of long-term service performance of long-span bridges in the marine environment
from the perspective of the development of lightweight, high-strength, and durable materials.
For the life cycle of concrete bridges, Akhnoukh (2019) pointed out that the bridge with longer service
life should be developed from the concept of combining the high performance concrete, prefabricated
beam members, and rapid construction methods. Some scholars have developed more reasonable life
cycle predictions and cost analysis methods based on life prediction model (Alexander and Beushausen
2019) and reliability theory (Sajedi and Huang 2019), respectively.

For the performance of concrete bridges in extreme environments, some scholars have studied the
failure mechanism and protection level of actual bridges under flood scour (Ren 2019) and multi-disaster
coupling action (Mei 2019). Beneberu and Yazdani (2019) believed that the research on fire resistance of
bridges was inadequate compared to that on earthquake, wind, and flood. Some scholars have studied
the performance of prestressed concrete bridges after fire damage (Liu et al. 2019c) and that of UHPC
beams subjected to long periods of high temperature action (Ahmad et al. 2019). It was found that high
temperature had a great influence on stiffness and bending strength of the members, but not on
compressive strength and toughness of the materials and basic frequency of the structure.

Based on the above analyses, it is suggested that the future work should be carried out from the
following aspects: durability research based on the combination of structure and material, durability
design concept based on “the whole-parts-components”, service life design concept based on cost and
performance, and performance of concrete bridges under multi-disaster coupling action.

High-performance concrete materials

In 2019, the development of new concrete materials continues to be dominated by self-compacting

concrete (SCC), high toughness cement-based materials, and green concrete. SCC can be self-
compacting under the action of gravity, which brings great convenience to the construction operation.
How to quantify and ensure self-compacting properties will still be the focus of SCC research.

Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) and engineering cement-based composite materials (ECC) are
prominent representatives of high-toughness cement-based materials. The UHPC not only has high
strength and toughness but also has high durability, which has been successfully applied to bridge
engineering. The transition zone between the binder and the aggregate interface (ITZ) is a weak link
inside the UHPC, and some studies have tried to improve it by adjusting the mix ratio and curing method
(Zhao et al. 2019f; Shen et al. 2019a; Raheem et al. 2019). UHPCs are often costly, and mineral
admixtures were added to UHPC to reduce the costs but improve the performance in some studies.
Norhasri et al. (2019) incorporated nano-clay in UHPC, the later strength of which was improved without
affecting the early strength. Shi et al. (2019a) prepared low-carbon emission UHPC using fly ash, slag,
silicon powder, nano-SiO2, and other multi-scale reactive mineral powder.

The great shrinkage of the UHPC is also a concern. Liu et al. (2019a) effectively reduced the shrinkage of
the UHPC by using low-dose saturated pumice as the internal curing agent. Li et al. (2019a) carried out
the ring constrained shrinkage test. The test results showed that the UHPC had evident constrained
shrinkage cracks at 14 d. Wu et al. (2019e) investigated the effect of steel fiber content and fiber shape
on the drying shrinkage of the UHPC.
ECC is another new building material with super high toughness and a multi-crack development
mechanism. Jia et al. (2019b) applied PP-ECC to the plastic hinge area at the bottom of the pier, which
significantly improved the crack resistance of the pier under seismic action. Hosseini et al. (2019) further
combined the ECC with super-elastic alloys to control the residual deformation of piers under seismic
action and enhance their self-reset capability.

Green concrete is a promising material, which can effectively reduce the depletion of the natural
resources and the contamination of the environment. While compared with normal concrete, green
concrete generally has weaker mechanical properties, such as low elasticity modulus, compressive
strength and tensile strength etc. The development of green concrete mainly includes recycled
aggregate concrete and geopolymer concrete. The research focus of the recycled aggregate concrete is
to ensure the stability of mechanical properties. However, the research focus has shifted from the basic
mechanical properties and curing method to the durability and time-dependent deformation on
geopolymers. Zhao et al. (2019e) researched the frost resistance of geopolymer concrete and found that
the frost resistance of fly ash-based geopolymer concrete is weak, which, however, can be improved by
adding slag. Khan et al. (2019) investigated the early-age constrained shrinkage and tensile creep
characteristics of geopolymer concrete to explore the cracking risk of constrained shrinkage.

(https://doi.org/10.1186/s43251-020-00011-w)

Gonzalez, A. Schorr, M. et. al,. ( 2020) Bridges: Structures and Materials, Ancient and Modern

Every nation needs the infrastructure to perform all kind of activities related to the improvement and
service of the society. Transportation system became part of the infrastructure due its connection
between two destinations, using maritime, land, or aerial methods, creating a link for social and
economic activity. Bridges are widely used to cross rivers, valleys, and roads, providing a passage with
other parts of the land since ancient times to modernity. Each structure has different requirements to
cover, such span clearage, traffic flow, geometry and characteristics of the place to build; therefore, a
great variety of bridges can be developed. Common materials used on construction are structural steel,
reinforced concrete, pre-stressed concrete, or post-tensioned concrete; depending on the structural
behavior of each type of bridge, there will be a maximum clear span to cover, which depends directly on
the project’s budget. There are a variety of loads and environmental conditions that the new and
existing structure needs to support effectively, including dead load, traffic, rain, wind, flood, and seismic
events, using effective structural design process and techniques; on the other hand, there are long-term
deterioration process, such as corrosion, wear, and fatigue, which should be considered on the
maintenance process, avoiding additional costs, several damages, and catastrophic failures. Prevention
and control of degradation process is achieved by effective maintenance methods applying protection
technology such as paints, coating and cathodic protection. The purpose of this chapter is to show a
brief review of ancient and modern bridges, including the process of design, material selection,
construction, and maintenance.
According the previous example, there are many construction elements and buildings that enhance the
aerial communication. The combinations of these structures contribute with the airport to operate
efficiently. This type of infrastructure can contribute enabling tourism, transportation, productivity and
employment opportunities, increasing the economic activity. Therefore, the infrastructure has a wide
variety of structures which can be part of a specific sector and fulfill a simple function. If any
infrastructure element of the airport fails, there will be issues with its functionality; for example, if any
bridge is closed due any malfunction or maintenance, the transport of the passengers, goods and
services will be affected. Bridges have a special place in transportation infrastructure due its direct
relationship with other places. These structures have the purpose to carry on the traffic loads of the
highway, crossing any obstacle and perform an effective communication between two destinations.
Since there are many variables to consider in the performance of the bridges, such geometry, span
clearance, traffic flow and available materials, there are many options of bridges to choose. Planning,
design and construction process for any bridge looks logical and necessary steps, looking for the good
behavior of the structure during any traffic load or resisting flood or seismic events. However,
maintenance process guarantee the life of the structure, which applied correctly, will avoid any closure
of the bridge and traffic issues.

On this chapter, the main purpose is to focus on bridges as part of land transportation infrastructure, its
behavior and the performance during the design, construction and maintenance process.

(https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/70758)

Asian Analytics (2020) Bridge Construction Methods

Building a bridge is a complex undertaking requiring knowledge and expertise. Several variables,
including engineering constraints, costs, and environmental impacts come into play when deciding
which construction method to use and bridge type to build.

WSP has experience with a wide variety of construction methods, from repairing historic cast-iron
structures and masonry arches, to erecting modern steel-girder and concrete bridges. Whether building
an overpass for greater traffic efficiency, a pedestrian bridge to connect two communities, or a signature
bridge that will inspire a whole city, we understand the importance of working closely with local road
and infrastructure engineering companies, agencies, and contractors. Our value-added expertise
includes 3D modelling and Virtual Design and Construction (VDC), which facilitates the decision-making
process before and during construction and improves communications with all stakeholders, including
local communities. The application of innovative technologies enables all stakeholders to visualize the
future bridge and to embrace the proposed concept. VDC provides our design teams with the tools they
need to integrate our design models with contractor scheduling, fabrication, and the construction
process. As the bridge construction industry moves towards electronic delivery of project plans, WSP is
at the forefront. Bridge construction typically involves methods using relatively discrete elements, like
piles and girders, which are assembled piece by piece. Over the past 50 years, however, construction
methods have evolved to reduce traffic impact, facilitate building in congested areas, reduce overall
construction schedules, and improve the long-term service life of structures.

(https://www.wsp.com/en-GL/services/bridge-construction-methods)

Ocampo, C. Feria, A. et. al., (2021) The Projects and Construction Review: Philippines

Throughout recent Philippine history, past administrations have understood the importance of
infrastructure development, but the measures taken to reach the ideal level and mixture of
infrastructure spending have varied greatly. Even with its fast-growing economy in the past two decades
prior to the covid-19 pandemic, an expanding population and rapid urbanisation, the Philippines lags
behind its ASEAN counterparts in terms of infrastructure spending. Thus, the current government has
made infrastructure development part of its priority development programme because it has identified
infrastructure as one of the key drivers of economic growth. In 2017, the government launched the
ambitious build, build, build (BBB) programme, which aims to raise infrastructure investments to 7.4 per
cent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2022 from 5.1 per cent in 2016.2 In 2019, the government's
infrastructure spending reached an estimated 881.7 billion Philippine pesos, 2.6 per cent higher than the
859.4 billion pesos recorded during the previous year.3 However, the impact of the covid-19 pandemic
has forced the government to recalibrate its priorities to first and foremost curb the global
consequences brought about by the pandemic. As a result, the 2020 infrastructure spending target was
reduced to 833 billion pesos from 989 billion pesos to account for funding realignments to contain the
pandemic.4

Nevertheless, infrastructure development remains a key priority for the Philippines with plans to expand
infrastructure spending in 2021 to stimulate growth. As part of the medium-term Philippine
development plan, the BBB programme is estimated to require US$168 billion in investments for 100
high-impact priority projects nationwide. To finance this, the government plans to use an optimal
funding mix composed of government spending, official development assistance (ODA) and private
capital through public-private partnerships (PPPs).

PPPs, in the Philippine context, are a strategic mode of procurement that involves a long-term
contractual agreement between the government and a private firm targeted towards financing,
designing, implementing and operating infrastructure facilities and services that were traditionally
provided by the public sector.5 Arguably, however, private capital to fund infrastructure projects is
underused. Thus, the current administration identified PPPs in its 10-point socioeconomic agenda as one
of the key strategies to accelerate annual infrastructure spending.

Since its official launch in 2010, the PPP programme has played a part in 86 PPP projects worth about 1.2
trillion pesos.6 According to the 2018 Infrascope Report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the
Philippines now ranks second out of the countries in Asia evaluated by the EIU, joining Thailand and
China in the group of mature PPP markets based on both qualitative and quantitative criteria.7 In the
World Bank Group's 'Procuring Infrastructure: Public-Private Partnerships Report 2018 – Assessing
Government Capability to Prepare, Procure, and Manage PPPs', the Philippines is ranked first in the East
Asia and Pacific Region in terms of preparation of PPPs, contract management and unsolicited proposals,
and third in terms of the procurement of PPPs.

This chapter focuses on the legal and regulatory framework of infrastructure projects and project
financing in the Philippines, issues commonly encountered in infrastructure projects, and both existing
and proposed measures to address these issues. Where relevant, we highlight key projects and current
events to provide context.

(https://thelawreviews.co.uk/title/the-projects-and-construction-review/philippines)