The five bridge types are arch, beam, beam, cable-stayed, suspension, and truss.

Other variations include cantilever and

Check out Building Big Bridge Basics.

Truss Bridges
Tower bridge

Tower Bridge is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London built in 1886–1894. The bridge crosses
the River Thames close to the Tower of London and has become an iconic symbol of London. Tower Bridge is
one of five London bridges now owned and maintained by the Bridge House Estates, a charitable trust overseen
by the City of London Corporation. It is the only one of the Trust's bridges not to connect the City of London
directly to the Southwark bank, as its northern landfall is in Tower Hamlets.

The bridge consists of two bridge towers tied together at the upper level by two horizontal walkways, designed
to withstand the horizontal tension forces exerted by the suspended sections of the bridge on the landward sides
of the towers. The vertical components of the forces in the suspended sections and the vertical reactions of the
two walkways are carried by the two robust towers. The bascule pivots and operating machinery are housed in
the base of each tower. The bridge's present colour scheme dates from 1977, when it was painted red, white and
blue for Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee.

Millau Viaduct

The Millau Viaduct (French: le Viaduc de Millau, IPA: [vjadyk də mijo]) is a cable-stayed bridge that spans the
valley of the River Tarn near Millau in southern France.

Designed by the British architect Norman Foster and French structural engineer Michel Virlogeux, it is the tallest
bridge in the world with one mast's summit at 343.0 metres (1,125 ft) above the base of the structure.[3][4] It is the
17th highest bridge deck in the world, being 270 metres (890 ft)[1] between the road deck and the ground below.[5]
The Millau Viaduct is part of the A75-A71 autoroute axis from Paris to Béziers and Montpellier. The cost of
construction was approximately €400 million. It was formally inaugurated on 14 December 2004, and opened to
traffic on 16 December.[6] The bridge has been consistently ranked as one of the great engineering achievements
of all time and received the 2006 International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering Outstanding
Structure Award

Iron Bridge

The Iron Bridge is a bridge that crosses the River Severn in Shropshire, England. Opened in 1781, it was the
first arch bridge in the world to be made of cast iron, and was greatly celebrated after construction owing to its
use of the new material.

In 1934 it was designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument and closed to vehicular traffic. Tolls for pedestrians
were collected until 1950, when ownership of the bridge was transferred to Shropshire County Council. It now
belongs to Telford and Wrekin Borough Council. The bridge, the adjacent settlement of Ironbridge and the
Ironbridge Gorge form the UNESCO Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site. The bridge is a Grade I listed
building, and a waypoint on the South Telford Heritage Trail.
Golden Gate Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate strait, the one-mile-wide (1.6 km),
three-mile-long (4.8 km) channel between San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the
American city of San Francisco, California – the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula – to Marin County,
carrying both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1 across the strait. The bridge is one of the most
internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco, California, and the United States. It has been declared one
of the Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers.[7]

The Frommer's travel guide describes the Golden Gate Bridge as "possibly the most beautiful, certainly the most
photographed, bridge in the world."[8] It opened in 1937 and was, until 1964, the longest suspension bridge main
span in the world, at 4,200 feet (1,300 m).

Sydney Harbour Bridge

The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular,
bicycle, and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district (CBD) and the North Shore. The
dramatic view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is an iconic image of Sydney, and
Australia. The bridge is nicknamed "The Coathanger" because of its arch-based design[2][3]

Under the direction of Dr John Bradfield of the NSW Department of Public Works, the bridge was designed and
built by British firm Dorman Long and Co Ltd of Middlesbrough and opened in 1932.[4][5] The bridge's design
was influenced by the Hell Gate Bridge in New York City.[6] It is the sixth longest spanning-arch bridge in the
world and the tallest steel arch bridge, measuring 134 m (440 ft) from top to water level.[7] It was also the world's
widest long-span bridge, at 48.8 m (160 ft) wide, until construction of the new Port Mann Bridge in Vancouver
was completed in 2012.[

Rialto bridge

The Rialto Bridge (Italian: Ponte di Rialto) is one of the four bridges spanning the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy.
It is the oldest bridge across the canal, and was the dividing line for the districts of San Marco and San Polo.

Contents
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 1 History
 2 Other names
 3 See also
 4 References
 5 External links

History[edit]

Two gondoliers pull out with clients on board from a row of gondolas on the Grand Canal near Rialto Bridge.
The first dry crossing of the Grand Canal was a pontoon bridge built in 1181 by Nicolò Barattieri. It was called
the Ponte della Moneta, presumably because of the mint that stood near its eastern entrance.[2]

Detail of the bridge

The development and importance of the Rialto market on the eastern bank increased traffic on the floating
bridge, so it was replaced in 1255 by a wooden bridge.[2] This structure had two inclined ramps meeting at a
movable central section, that could be raised to allow the passage of tall ships. The connection with the market
eventually led to a change of name for the bridge. During the first half of the 15th century, two rows of shops
were built along the sides of the bridge. The rents brought an income to the State Treasury, which helped
maintain the bridge.

Maintenance was vital for the timber bridge. It was partly burnt in the revolt led by Bajamonte Tiepolo in 1310.
In 1444, it collapsed under the weight of a crowd watching a boat parade and it collapsed again in 1524.

The idea of rebuilding the bridge in stone was first proposed in 1503. Several projects were considered over the
following decades. In 1551, the authorities requested proposals for the renewal of the Rialto Bridge, among other
things. Plans were offered by famous architects, such as Jacopo Sansovino, Palladio and Vignola, but all
involved a Classical approach with several arches, which was judged inappropriate to the situation.
Michelangelo also was considered as designer of the bridge.

The present stone bridge, a single span designed by Antonio da Ponte, was finally completed in 1591. It is
similar to the wooden bridge it succeeded.