Many different types of engineers work in designing bridges to suit all of our different needs. From mechanical to civil and even materials engineers, many professionals work in creating better and safer bridges. Read the following articles to learn more about bridges and engineering.
- Forces in Bridges
- Types of Bridges
- Famous Bridges of the World
- Bridge Disasters
- Types of Engineering
Bridge Disasters
Engineers must be concerned about safety at all times. Lives are at stake when bridges collapse so engineers must design bridges to withstand all kinds of weather conditions, ground types and loads. While the goal is to have no design fail, engineers examine and learn from past mistakes to avoid such failures in the future.
- Hyatt Regency Walkway Collapse, Kansas City, Missouri (failed in 1981)
- Point Pleasant/Silver Bridge, Ohio River (failed 1967)
- Tacoma Narrows Bridge, Tacoma, Washington (failed in 1940)
- Falls View Bridge, Niagara Falls (failed 1938)
- Quebec Bridge, St. Lawrence River (failed 1907,1916)
- Tay Bridge, Scotland (failed in 1879)
Falls View Bridge Disaster
Designed by Civil Engineer, Leffert L. Buck, the Falls View Bridge was built at the gorge of Niagara Falls. Completed in 1898, Falls View was a truss arch bridge 840 feet long and since the floor was wooden it was rather slippery when wet.1
The first sign of disaster appeared one year after it was built. It all started when large quantities of ice, up to 80 feet in height accumulated on the abutments (the bases for the arch bridge). 2 The pressure of the ice was so great that some pieces of the bridge metal bent. Workers were hired to blast the ice away from the base. Moreover, walls were built around the abutments to protect the bridge from ice pressure, in the end, the collapse of the bridge was prevented.3
The preventive measured worked until January 23, 1938 when a wind storm on Lake Erie blew ice down the Niagara Falls. The river below was full of ice which again caused enormous pressure against the abutments. This time the ice caused structural damage. Finally, the bridge was closed because of an inevitable collapse. On January 27, 1938 the Falls View Bridge collapsed forming a "W" shape on top of the ice.4 In the photograph below, we can see the collapsed bridge:
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Falls View Bridge Collapse5 |
For more information about the Falls View Bridge Collapse, visit: http://filebox.vt.edu/users/aschaeff/falls/falls.html