Learn more about bridges

The beam bridge is the most common bridge form.

Truss bridges are popular because they use a relatively small amount of building material to carry large loads.

Bridges can be made from many different materials, including wood, stone, iron, steel, and concrete.

Engineers must design bridges to be strong enough to support their own weight and hold the weight of whatever is passing over it, such as people, cars or trains.

When a bridge is outside, engineers have to account for wind, cold, and sometimes even earthquakes in their design!

The oldest bridge still standing is the Zhaozhou Bridge in China, which was built in 605 AD.

One of the most well-known suspension bridges, The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, is 8,981 feet long and has 80,000 miles of wire in its two main cables.

The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the busiest bridges in the world with 145,000 vehicles crossing it every day.