An Encyclopaedia of World Bridges

David McFetrich

• Publisher: Pen and Sword Transport
• Year: 2022
• eBook ISBN:
  9781526794475
• Topic: Architecture
• Subtopic: Architecture General

Bridges are one of the most important artefacts constructed by man, the structures having had an incalculable effect on the development of trade and civilisation throughout the world. Their construction has led to continuing advances in civil engineering technology, leading to bigger spans and the use of new materials. Their failures, too, whether from an inadequate understanding of engineering principles or as a result of natural catastrophes or warfare, have often caused immense hardship as a result of lost lives or broken communications. In this book, a sister publication to his earlier An Encyclopaedia of British Bridges (Pen & Sword 2019), David McFetrich gives brief descriptions of some 1200 bridges from more than 170 countries around the world. They represent a wide range of different types of structure (such as beam, cantilever, stayed and suspension bridges). Although some of the pictures are of extremely well-known structures, many are not so widely recognisable and a separate section of the book includes more than seventy lists of bridges with distinctly unusual characteristics in their design, usage and history.

Bridge Lists

All bridges can be classified, on the basis of how their structure works, as being in one of five main types: arch, beam, cantilever, stayed or suspension bridge. However, there are a number of possible other listings, based on special characteristics of bridges’ design, usage, history etc., which can help to identify interesting bridges that might otherwise remain largely unknown, and a few of these are noted below. This is not meant to be an exhaustive set of references but more a guide to examples of bridges with unusual or interesting features (bridges no longer existing marked *). The headings to these seventy-six lists are as follows:

Aluminium Bridges

Ancient Bridges

Aqueducts

ASCE List of Historic Civil Engineering Landmark Bridges

Bailey Bridges

Border Bridges

Bridge Collapses and Failures in Use

Bridge Failures During Construction

Bridge Fountains

Bridges as Destinations

Bridges Built for Olympics, World Cups & World Fairs

Bridges Damaged or Destroyed by Earthquakes

Bridges Damaged or Destroyed by Fire

Bridges Damaged or Destroyed by Floods and Ice

Bridges Damaged or Destroyed in Civil Unrest and Non-World Wars

Bridges Damaged or Destroyed in World Wars I and II

Bridges Damaged or Destroyed by High Winds

Bridges Featured in Paintings by Famous Artists

Bridges Featured on Banknotes, Coins and Postage Stamps

Bridges on Cycling and Walking Trails

Bridges Stranded by Changes in the Course of Rivers

Bridges with Decorative Towers

Castle Bridges

Chain Suspension Bridges

Chapel Bridges

Charitable Bridge Building

Copy Bridges

Corbelled Arch Bridges

Covered Bridges

Crib Bridges

Devil’s Bridges

Double-Decked Bridges

Early Concrete Bridges

Extended Construction Times of Bridges

Floating and Pontoon Bridges

Folly Bridges

Gisclard Suspension Bridges

Fortified Bridges

Glass Bridges

Glulam Bridges

Highest Bridges

Hotels with Bridges

Inhabited Bridges

Longest Bridges and Spans

Lounge, Pagoda, Pavilion, Teahouse and Temple Bridges

Medieval Bridges

Memorial Bridges

Modern Enclosed Bridges

Mono-Cable Suspension Bridges

Monorail Bridges

National Heritage / Monument Bridges

Natural Fibre Bridges

Observation Deck Bridges

Opening Bridges

Packhorse Bridges

Pilgrim Routes over Bridges

Pipeline Bridges

Pontoon Bridges

Prize-Winning Bridges

Record-Breaking Bridges

Re-Located Bridges

Ribbon Bridges

Sea Bridges

Self-Anchored Suspension Bridges

Stone Slab Bridges

Timber Bridges

Transporter Bridges

Trestle Bridges

Triumphal Archways and Gateways on Bridges

UNESCO World Heritage Bridges

Unusual Bridge Features

Unusual Truss Designs

Widest Bridges

World Monuments Fund Bridges

World’s Best Bridges

Zigzag Bridges

___________________________

ANCIENT BRIDGES

This entry, which covers bridges with entries in this book that were built before 1000CE, is separated into BCE Bridges (for non-Roman structures built before the beginning of the Common Era), Roman Bridges and First Millennium Bridges for other bridges built between 1CE and 1000CE. (For bridges built between 1000 and 1500CE, see the separate main entry Medieval Bridges.)

BCE Bridges

Bridges, all or parts of which are claimed to date from before the common era (BCE) began, include:

Anlan Suspension Bridge, Dujiangyan City, Sichuan, China [third century BCE]

Caravan Bridge, Izmir, Smyrna, Turkey [850BCE]

Girsu Bridge, Tello, Iraq [c. 2000 BCE]

Kazarma Bridge, Arkadiko, Peloponnese, Greece [1300–1200BCE]

Pons Fabricius, Rome, Italy [62 BCE]

Ponte Salario, Rome, Italy [first century BCE]

Severan Bridge, Arsameia, Adiyaman Province, Turkey

Roman Bridges

Bridges built by the Romans throughout the parts of the world they colonised, of which a major part remains, include:

Adana Roman Bridge, Adana, Anatolia, Turkey

Adži-Paša’s Bridge, Podgorica, Montenegro

Ancient Roman Bridges, Rome, Italy

Bridge of Apollodorus, Drobeta-Turnu, Romania *

Bridge of Augustus, Narni, Terni, Italy

Burgo Bridge, Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain

El-Kantara Bridge, Constantine, Constanine Province, Algeria

High Level Aqueducts, Caesarea, Israel

Kirkgoz Kemeri Bridge, Limyra, Antalya Province, Turkey

Kızılçullu Aqueducts, Smyrna, Izmir Province, Turkey

Pompey’s Bridge, Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Georgia

Pons Aelius, Rome, Italy

Pons Aemilius, Rome, Italy

Pont du Gard, Nîmes, Bouches-du-Rhône, France

Pons Fabricius, Rome, Italy

Pont Flavien, Saint-Chamas, Bouches-du-Rhône, France

Pont Julien, Bonnieux, Vaucluse, France

Ponte Milvio, Rome, Italy

Rio Seco Aqueduct, Almuñécar, Andalusia, Spain

Roman Aqueducts, Aspendos, Antalya, Turkey

Roman Bridge, Cordoba, Spain

Roman Bridge, Mérida, Badajoz, Spain

Roman Bridge, Mostanica, Montenegro

Roman Bridge, Salamanca, Castile-León, Spain

Roman Bridge, Segura, Gipuzkoa, Spain

Roman Bridge, Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Roman Bridge, Vaison-la-Romaine, Vaucluse, France

Segovia Aqueduct, Segovia, Castile-León, Spain

Shadorvan Bridge, Shushtar, Khuzestan Province, Iran

Tarragona Aqueduct, Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain

Tiberius Bridge, Rimini, Italy

Valens Aqueduct, Istanbul, Turkey

First Millennium Bridges

Non-Roman bridges and aqueducts that were built before 1000CE include:

Ain Diwar Bridge, Ain Diwar, Al Hasakah Governorate, Syria

Alcántara Bridge, Alcántara, Cáceres, Spain

Ponte dei Saraceni, Adrano, Catania, Italy

Skopje Aqueduct, Skopje, North Macedonia

Zhaozhou Bridge, Zhaozhao, Hebei, China

Five Great Ancient Bridges of China

China has a magnificent history of bridge-building and five of its historic structures are usually referred to as the Five Great Ancient Bridges. These are:

Anping (Peace) Bridge, Fujian, Hebei, China (built 1138–51)

Guangji / Xiangzi (Great Charity) Bridge, Chaozhou, Guangdong, China (built 1170)

Loyang (Ten Thousand Peace) Bridge, Chuanchow, Fujian, China (built 1053–59)

Marco Polo (Lugou) Bridge, Beijing, China (built 1189–1192)

Zhaozhou Bridge, Zhaozhao, Hebei, China (built 581–605)

AQUEDUCTS

The first aqueducts were built in ancient times as a means of bringing water to major cities and, later, aqueducts were needed for commerce by enabling load-carrying vessels to travel through areas where there were no natural waterways. Entries for aqueducts include:

Águas Livres Aqueduct, Lisbon, Estremadura, Portugal

Aguila Aqueduct, Nerja, Andalucia, Spain

Alloz Aqueduct, Alloz, Navarre, Spain

Amoreira Aqueduct, Elvas, Alentejo, Portugal

Bar Aqueduct, Stari Bar, Montenegro

Briare Aqueduct, Briare, France

Cabin John Aqueduct, Cabin John, Maryland, USA

Carioca Aqueduct, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Carpentras Aqueduct, Vaucluse, Vaucluse, France

Delaware Aqueduct, Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania, USA

Dongguan City Aqueduct Bridge, Guandong, Guangzhou, China

Duck Creek Aqueduct, Metamora, Indiana, USA

Grand Maître Aqueduct, Sens, Yonne, France

Håverud Aqueduct, Håverud, Västra Götaland County, Sweden

High Level Aqueducts, Caesarea, Israel

Jundushan Aqueduct, Yanqing, Beijing, China

Kızılçullu Aquedu...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• Glossary
• The Bridges
• A
• B
• C
• D
• E
• F
• G
• H
• I
• J
• K
• L
• M
• N
• O
• P
• Q
• R
• S
• T
• U
• V
• W
• X
• Y
• Z
• Bridge Lists
• Bibliography
• Geographic Index
• Analysis of Number of Entries By Country
• Acknowledgements