England, 1820
Brighton Chain Pier, 1830s
Menai Strait Suspension Bridge, 1826
Robert Stephenson
Britannia Tubular Bridge
John A.Roebling
“storms are unquestionably the greatest enemies of
suspension bridges.”
--John Roebling
1841
What made the Niagara Bridge work for railway traffic?
“Weight, Girders, Trusses, and Stays”
--John Roebling, Final Report (1855)
--Robert Stephenson to John Roebling
“If your bridge succeeds, mine is a magnificent blunder”
Cincinnati-Covington
(Ohio River)Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge,
1883
Williamsburg Bridge, 1903
Ben Franklin Bridge
Thousand Islands Bridge
Deer Isle Bridge
Bronx-Whitestone Bridge
Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Lessons Learned
• wind is the enemy of suspension bridges
• unstiffened decks are vulnerable to the wind
Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Mackinac Straits Bridge
Akashi Kaikyo Bridge
Severn Bridge
“Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on
retentiveness. . . .
“Those who cannot remember the past are
condemned to repeat it.”
--George Santayana
Dee Bridge, 1847
Tay Bridge, 1879
Quebec Bridge
Milford Haven Bridge
A major failure every 30 years
• 1847 - Dee Bridge, trussed girder • 1879 - Tay Bridge, truss • 1907 - Quebec Bridge, cantilever • 1940 - Tacoma Narrows Bridge, suspension• 1970 - Milford Haven Bridge, steel box girder • 2000 –London Millennium Bridge, pedestrian • 2030 - ?
Dong Ting Lake Bridge
Clearwater Bridge