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Roman bridge
Roman bridges, built by ancient Romans, were the first large and lasting bridges built. Roman bridges were built with stone and had the arch as the basic structure. Most utilized concrete as well, which the Romans were the first to use for bridges. -
1523
Log Bridge
A log bridge is a timber bridge that uses logs that fall naturally or are placed across streams. The first man-made bridges with significant span.
The use of logs is now sometimes used as temporary bridges. Such log bridges have a severely limited lifetime due to soil contact, rotting and wood-eating insect infestation. -
1570
Truss Bridge invented by an Italian architect.
Truss bridges were established in America around the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. The first truss was comprised of wood. They commonly are used in covered bridges, railroad bridges, and military bridges. -
First big suspension bridge was built.
Suspension bridge is a type of bridge which has cables between towers. Suspension cables are anchored at each end of the bridge and they carry the majority of the load. The first large bridge that used the technique invented by Finley was bridge over the Menai Straits in Wales built by Thomas Telford and finished in 1826. Cables consisting of many strands of wire for suspension were used instead of chains. -
Chain bridges
The first iron chain suspension bridge in the Western world was the Jacob's Creek Bridge. -
Wire-cable
The first wire-cable suspension bridge was the Spider Bridge at Falls of Schuylkill. -
The first cantilever bridge was constructed.
A cantilever bridge is a bridge built using cantilevers, structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end. These bridges can use beams for smaller bridges or trusses made of structural steel. First cantilever bridges appeared in 19th century when a need for longer bridges presented itself.