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Bridge Construction

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In this present era, the industry is moving towards the technology (mechanized) for the construction of bridges because it saves the cost of labor, shortens the project duration, and improves the quality of work as well.

Entire families of bridges, viz: launched bridges, the span-by-span bridges, and the balanced cantilever bridges are all construction methods. Another type of method is the full-span, which is employed in high-speed railway projects. So far we discussed how useful the bridge construction is. Now, we will study different types of bridge constructions in the article.


Types of Bridge Construction

The types of bridge construction are:

  • Bay Bridge construction

  • Golden gate bridge construction

  • Tappan Zee bridge construction

  • BU bridge construction

  • George Washington bridge construction

  • Brooklyn Bridge Construction

Now, let’s discuss these one-by-one:


Bay Bridge Construction

The San-Francisco-Oakland bay bridge is also known as the bay bridge locally. 

It is a cantilever bridge situated in San Francisco, California, United States.

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This bridge is a part of interstate 80 and acts as a direct road between San Francisco and Oakland. It is a complex of all the bridges traversing the San Francisco Bay in California. 

The Below Table Lists the Specialty of the Bay Bridge

ID Number

West:  340003


East: 330025


YBI Tunnel: 340004 

Construction starting date

08 July 1933

Bridge’s Height 

526 ft

Material Used

Steel, Concrete

Opening Date

12th November 1936

Daily Traffic

260,000


Golden Gate Bridge Construction

The Golden Gate Bridge is situated in San Francisco, California, United States. It is a suspension bridge that covers the Golden Gate, the one-mile-wide strait which connects San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. 

(Image to be added soon)

The golden gate bridge construction started on 5th January 1933 and on 27th May 1937 and the construction ended on 19th April 1937.  

The Below Table Lists the Attributes of the Golden Gate Bridge

Engineering Design was given by:

Joseph Strauss (Engineer in Charge)


Charles Ellis


Leon Solomon Moisseiff

Bridge Coordinates

37°49′11″N 122°28′43″W

Height

746 ft

Width

90 ft

Architect

Irving Morrow

Opened to pedestrians and automobiles 

27th May 1937

Daily Traffic 

11,000


Tappan Zee Bridge Construction

The Zee bridge was named after Governor Malcolm Wilson Tappan Zee, that is why it is also known as Tappan Zee Bridge or simply the Zee bridge is a cantilever bridge,  situated in the city of New York, United States of America. The working on this bridge started in March 1952 and the construction got over and opened to the public on 15th December 1955. 

(Image to be added soon)

The address of the Zee bridge is Tarrytown, New York - 10591, and this bridge crosses the Hudson River at one of its widest points and 25 miles north of Midtown Manhattan, from Grand View-on-Hudson to Tarrytown, so basically it is located at Tarrytown, Grand view-on-Hudson, South Nyack.

     

Brooklyn Bridge Construction

Brooklyn Bridge is a cable-stayed suspension bridge situated in the city of New York, United States. It covers the East River linking the boroughs (a town/district belonging to the administrative unit) of Manhattan & Brooklyn.

This bridge was opened to the public on 24th May 1883 and carries a daily traffic of 105,679 (as of 2016 statistics).

(Image to be added soon)

The Below Table Lists All About the Brooklyn Bridge

Bridge Coordinates

40.7057°N 73.9964°W

Bridge Designer

John Augustus Roebling

Architecture style

Neo-Gothic

Bridge carries:

6 lanes of roadway for cars only

Elevated trains

Steercars

Pedestrians & Bicycles 


Maintaining Authority

New York Department of Transportation

ID Number

22400119

Total Length

6,016 ft

Height

272 ft

Width

85 ft

Construction Period

1869-1883

Toll Price

Free both ways

Significant Dates

Added to NRHP

15th October 1966

Designated as NHL

29th January 1964

Designated as NYCL

24th August 1967


George Washington Bridge Construction

George Washington Bridge Construction is the first-ever built cable-stayed bridge in the United Kingdom. The construction of this bridge began in the year 1962 and was opened to the public on 9th April 1964.  

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The Table Below Lists All About the George Washington Bridge

Bridge’s Official Name 

George Street Bridge

Bridge Coordinates

51.5842°N 2.9844°W

Bridge Architect

Mott, Hay, & Anderson

Maintaining body

Newport City Council

Bridge Design 

Cable-stayed Bridge

Height

171 ft or 52 meters

Width

84 ft or 25.5 meters

Longest Span

500 ft or 152 meters


BU Bridge Construction

BU bridge is also called Boston University. Previously, it was called the Cottage Farm bridge. BU Bridge is a steel bridge, which binds through an arch bridge with a suspended deck carrying Route 2, extended over the Charles River, which connects the Boston University campus to Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States.

Below is the image of the Bu Bridge and Grand Junction Railroad bridge from the Boston side view of the upstream:

(Image to be added soon)

The Below Table Lists All About the Bu Bridge

Address

Cambridge, MA 02134, United States

Constructing starting year

1928

Bridge type

Suspension bridge

Truss bridge 

Through arch bridge

Bridge Coordinates

42.35238°N 71.11066°W

Bridge Locale

Boston to Cambridge, Massachusetts

Bridge Design 

Bound through Arch bridge

Bridge Designer

Andrew Canzanelli

The material used in construction

Steel

Opening Year

1928

FAQs on Bridge Construction

1. Write the Two Designations Given to the Golden Gate.

The Golden gate was designated with the following name:

  • California Historical Landmark on 18 June 1987.

  • San Francisco Designated Landmark on 21 May 1999.

2. Why Was Tappan Zee Bridge Replaced?

The average number of accidents was increasing day-by-day per mile on the Tappan Zee bridge, and millions were spent on its repair; however, to control this situation, in 2017, this bridge was replaced by a new cable-stayed bridge, which was called the new Cuomo Bridge. 


The new Cuomo bridge (a twin cable-stayed bridge) was named after the past New York's Governor's father named Mario Cuomo, and it took around USD 4 million to build this bridge. 

3. List the Five Main Types of Bridges.

The below table lists the five main types of bridges:

1.

Cantilever Bridge

2.

Beam Bridge

3.

Short-span bridge

4.

Suspension bridge

5.

Arch bridge

4. Write About the Accelerated Bridge Construction

Accelerated bridge construction or ABC is the costliest methods of construction among the other methods; however, it is the best alternative to overcome congested highway networks by using the following techniques:

  • Innovative planning

  • Design

  • Material 

  • Construction methods to reduce traffic delays and construction time.