Suspension Bridge Research Paper

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Bridges have been in existence since the dawn of mankind. The most primitive type of suspension bridge is simple suspension bridge. Vine ropes were used to link two sides of the chasm by tying it to strong trees that act as the anchor and wooden planks were placed at the base as platform for people to walk on. Sir Ken Robinson once said ‘Creativity is putting your imagination to work, and it’s produced the most extraordinary results in human culture.’(TED 2009) Creative engineers in the 19th century such as Thomas Telford, Isambard Kingdom Brunel and John Augustus Roebling produced new ideas that overcome the limitations of suspension bridges. Modern suspension bridge uses wire cables hanging from the massive chains between two towers to spread …show more content…

Firstly, rigid deck was stiffened with trusses. Secondly, his designed bridges use wire-cables that were spun together and all this were done at the construction site itself. Deck truss prevents the bridge from swaying left and right due to the vibrations by the strong wind. John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge was completed in 1866. It is located between Cincinnati, Ohio and Covington, Kentucky, USA. It is a three span bridge with a length of 659meters, 7.6meters wide and 322meters long between the two towers. The bridge overtook Wheeling Suspension Bridge as the longest suspension bridge in the world after its opening. John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge holds the longest suspension bridge title for 16 years before being exceeded by one of his own designed bridge, The Brooklyn Bridge. The construction of the bridge began with the foundation of the towers which used square-sized heavy oak logs. The oak logs were positioned in an alternating pattern along with some courses of timber, bolted together and sealed with concrete. The 70meters tall towers were massively outstanding during the mid-19th century comparing with the size of other structures at that moment. Furthermore, the tower was built on timber foundation which adds to the impressiveness of the bridge. John A. Roebling used timber foundation because as long as the timbers submerge in the water, without oxygen, the water logs will not deteriorates. He also designed the bottom 7.6meters of the tower to be limestone due to its better resistance towards water compare to sandstone that forms the remaining of the