Editing Bridge (section)

==History==
[[File:Seasonal bridge north of Jispa, H.P., India. 2010.jpg|thumb|Seasonal bridge north of [[Jispa]] in Himachal Pradesh, India]]
[[File:West Montrose Covered Bridge (Oct. 2018).jpg|thumb|The covered bridge in [[West Montrose, Ontario]], Canada]]
[[File:2007 - South Eighth Street Viaduct.jpg|thumb|The [[Albertus L. Meyers Bridge]] in [[Allentown, Pennsylvania]], U.S., "one of the earliest surviving examples of monumental, reinforced concrete construction", according to the [[American Society of Civil Engineers]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=South Eighth Street Viaduct, Spanning Little Lehigh Creek at Eighth Street (State Route 2055), Allentown, Lehigh County, PA (HAER No. PA-459)|url=https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/pa3578/|access-date=11 January 2021 |website=Historic American Engineering Record}}</ref>]]
[[File:Mohammed VI bridge.jpg|thumb|[[Mohammed VI Bridge]] in Morocco]]
[[File:King Mindaugas Bridge, Vilnius.jpg|thumb|[[Mindaugas Bridge]] in Lithuania]]

The simplest and earliest types of bridge were [[stepping stones]].

[[Neolithic]] people also built a form of [[boardwalk]] across [[marshes]]; examples of such bridges include the [[Sweet Track]] and the [[Post Track]] in England, approximately 6000 years old.<ref name="Current_Archaeology_somerset-levels">{{cite journal |last=Brunning |first=Richard |date=February 2001 |title=The Somerset Levels |journal=[[Current Archaeology]] |volume=XV (4) |issue=172 (Special issue on Wetlands) |pages=139–143}}</ref> Ancient people would also have used [[log bridge]]s<ref>{{cite book |last=National Parks Conference |first=Department of the Interior |url=https://archive.org/details/proceedingsnati01confgoog/page/n391/mode/2up |title=Proceedings of the National parks conference held at Berkeley, California March 11, 12, and 13, 1915 |publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|Government Printing Office]] |year=1915 |location=Washington, DC |page=[https://archive.org/details/proceedingsnati01confgoog/page/n443 60] |quote=(A log bridge) is a bridge composed of log beams, the logs being in natural condition or [[hewn]], which are thrown across two [[abutments]], and over which traffic may pass. |ref=NPC |access-date=14 March 2010 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> consisting of logs that fell naturally or were intentionally felled or placed across streams. Some of the first [[human-made]] bridges with significant span were probably intentionally felled trees.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bennett |first1=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8PGk81gtCywC |title=The manual of bridge engineering |publisher=Thomas Telford |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-7277-2774-9 |editor1-last=Ryall |editor1-first=M.J. |location=London |page=1 |chapter=The history and aesthetic development of bridges |format= |access-date=14 March 2010 |editor2-last=Parke |editor2-first=G.A.R. |editor3-last=Harding |editor3-first=J.E. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8PGk81gtCywC&pg=PA1 |via=Google books}}</ref> Among the oldest [[timber bridge]]s is the [[Holzbrücke Rapperswil-Hurden]] bridge that crossed upper [[Lake Zürich]] in Switzerland; prehistoric timber pilings discovered to the west of the [[Seedamm]] causeway date back to 1523 BC. The first wooden footbridge there led across Lake Zürich; it was reconstructed several times through the late 2nd century AD, when the [[Roman Empire]] built a {{convert|6|m|ft|adj=mid|-wide}} wooden bridge to carry transport across the lake. Between 1358 and 1360, [[Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria]], built a 'new' wooden bridge across the lake that was used until 1878; it was approximately {{convert|1450|m|ft}} long and {{convert|4|m|ft}} wide. On 6 April 2001, a reconstruction of the original wooden footbridge was opened; it is also the longest wooden bridge in Switzerland.

The [[Arkadiko Bridge]] is one of four Mycenaean [[corbel arch]] bridges part of a former network of roads, designed to accommodate [[chariot]]s, between the fort of Tiryns and town of Epidauros in the [[Peloponnese]], in southern [[Greece]]. Dating to the Greek [[Bronze Age]] (13th century BC), it is one of the oldest [[arch bridge]]s still in existence and use. Several intact, arched stone bridges from the [[Hellenistic age|Hellenistic era]] can be found in the Peloponnese.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Kutz, Myer|title=Handbook of Transportation Engineering, Volume II: Applications and Technologies, Second Edition|year=2011|publisher=McGraw-Hill Professional|isbn=978-0-07-161477-1}}</ref>

The greatest bridge builders of antiquity were the [[Roman Engineering|ancient Romans]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.icomos.org/studies/bridges.htm |author=DeLony, Eric |title=Context for World Heritage Bridges |publisher=Icomos.org |year=1996 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050221084235/http://www.icomos.org/studies/bridges.htm |archive-date=21 February 2005 }}</ref> The Romans built arch bridges and [[aqueduct (bridge)|aqueducts]] that could stand in conditions that would damage or destroy earlier designs, some of which still stand today.<ref name=historyworld>{{cite web |title=History of Bridges |url=http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab97 |publisher=Historyworld.net |access-date=4 January 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120106101748/http://historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab97 |archive-date=6 January 2012}}</ref> An example is the [[Alcántara Bridge]], built over the river [[Tagus]], in Spain. The Romans also used cement, which reduced the variation of strength found in natural stone.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pubs.asce.org/WWWdisplay.cgi?0103045 |title=Lessons from Roman Cement and Concrete |publisher=Pubs.asce.org |access-date=4 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050210043706/http://www.pubs.asce.org/WWWdisplay.cgi?0103045 |archive-date=10 February 2005 }}</ref> One type of cement, called [[pozzolana]], consisted of water, [[lime (material)|lime]], sand, and [[volcanic rock]]. Brick and [[Mortar (masonry)|mortar]] bridges were built after the [[Roman era]], as the technology for cement was lost (then later rediscovered).

In India, the ''[[Arthashastra]]'' treatise by [[Kautilya]] mentions the construction of dams and bridges.<ref>Dikshitar, V.R.R. Dikshitar (1993). ''The Mauryan Polity'', Motilal Banarsidass, p. 332 {{ISBN|81-208-1023-6}}.</ref> A [[Mauryan]] bridge near [[Girnar]] was surveyed by [[James Prinsep|James Princep]].<ref name=Dutt/> The bridge was swept away during a flood, and later repaired by Puspagupta, the chief architect of emperor [[Chandragupta I]].<ref name=Dutt>Dutt, Romesh Chunder (2000). ''A History of Civilisation in Ancient India: Vol II'', Routledge, p. 46, {{ISBN|0-415-23188-4}}.</ref> The use of stronger bridges using plaited bamboo and iron chain was visible in India by about the 4th century.<ref>"suspension bridge" in [[Encyclopædia Britannica]] (2008). 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.</ref> A number of bridges, both for military and commercial purposes, were constructed by the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] administration in India.<ref>Nath, R. (1982). ''History of Mughal Architecture'', Abhinav Publications, p. 213, {{ISBN|81-7017-159-8}}.</ref>

Although large bridges of wooden construction existed in China at the time of the [[Warring States period]], the oldest surviving stone bridge in China is the [[Zhaozhou Bridge]], built from 595 to 605 AD during the [[Sui dynasty]]. This bridge is also historically significant as it is the world's oldest [[Spandrel|open-spandrel]] stone segmental arch bridge. European segmental arch bridges date back to at least the [[Alconétar Bridge]] (approximately 2nd century AD), while the enormous Roman era [[Trajan's Bridge]] (105 AD) featured open-spandrel segmental arches in wooden construction.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bjelić |first=Igor |date=2022 |title=Use of Building Materials During the Construction of Trajan's Bridge on the Danube |journal=Arheologija i Prirodne Nauke |volume=18 |pages=45–58 |doi=10.18485/arhe_apn.2022.18.4 |issn=1452-7448|url=http://rai.ai.ac.rs/handle/123456789/709 }}</ref>

[[Inca rope bridge|Rope bridges]], a simple type of [[suspension bridge]], were used by the [[Inca Empire|Inca]] civilization in the [[Andes]] mountains of South America, just prior to European colonization in the 16th century.

The [[Ashanti Empire|Ashanti]] built bridges over [[streams]] and [[rivers]].<ref>{{cite book | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=NSs4AAAAIAAJ | title= Asante in the Nineteenth Century: The Structure and Evolution of a Political Order| page=38 |author=Ivor Wilks |author-link=Ivor Wilks| publisher= CUP Archive |via = Books.google.com |access-date= 29 December 2020|isbn= 978-0-521-37994-6|date= 1989}}</ref><ref name="Edgerton page 38">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tkm5UZJz8z0C&q=Bridges+constructed+by+pounding|last=Edgerton |first=Robert B. |year=2010 |title=The Fall of the Asante Empire: The Hundred-Year War For Africa's Gold Coast |page=62|publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-4516-0373-6 }}</ref> They were constructed by pounding four large forked tree trunks into the stream bed, placing beams along these forked pillars, then positioning cross-beams that were finally covered with four to six inches of dirt.<ref name="Edgerton page 38"/>

During the 18th century, there were many innovations in the design of timber bridges by [[Hans Ulrich Grubenmann]], [[Johannes Grubenmann]], as well as others. The first book on bridge engineering was written by [[Hubert Gautier]] in 1716.

A major breakthrough in bridge technology came with the erection of [[the Iron Bridge]] in Shropshire, England in 1779. It used [[cast iron]] for the first time as arches to cross the [[river Severn]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=80 |title= Iron Bridge |author= <!--"ECPK"--> |website= Engineering Timelines |access-date= 18 November 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160304204815/http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=80 |archive-date= 4 March 2016 |df= mdy-all }}</ref> With the [[Industrial Revolution]] in the 19th century, [[truss]] systems of [[wrought iron]] were developed for larger bridges, but iron does not have the [[tensile strength]] to support large loads. With the advent of steel, which has a high tensile strength, much larger bridges were built, many using the ideas of [[Gustave Eiffel]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=20 June 2020|title=Gustave Eiffel-15 Iconic Projects|url=https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/know-your-architects/a1078-gustave-eiffel-15-iconic-projects/|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Rethinking the Future|language=en-US}}</ref>

In Canada and the United States, numerous timber [[covered bridges]] were built in the late 1700s to the late 1800s, reminiscent of earlier designs in Germany and Switzerland. Some covered bridges were also built in Asia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://user.hs-nb.de/biw/caston/haer/haer.html|title=Historic Wooden Bridges/"Covered Bridges"|date=11 July 2011|publisher=HSNB.DE|access-date=15 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304091121/http://user.hs-nb.de/biw/caston/haer/haer.html|archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> In later years, some were partly made of stone or metal but the trusses were usually still made of wood; in the United States, there were three styles of trusses, the Queen Post, the Burr Arch and the Town Lattice.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/literary-cultural-heritage-map-pa/feature-articles/hidden-masterpieces-covered-bridges-pa |title=Hidden Masterpieces: Covered Bridges in PA |date=Spring 2010 |publisher=Pennsylvania Book Center|access-date=15 October 2018}}</ref> Hundreds of these structures still stand in North America. They were brought to the attention of the general public in the 1990s by the novel, movie and play ''[[The Bridges of Madison County]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.canadiangeographic.ca/article/throwback-thursday-covered-bridges |title=Throwback Thursday: Covered bridges |date=28 May 2015 |publisher=[[Canadian Geographic]]|access-date=15 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/historic-covered-bridges-slideshow/all |title=Visit America's Most Idyllic Covered Bridges |date=December 2016|magazine=[[Architectural Digest]] |access-date=15 October 2018}}</ref>

In 1927, [[welding]] pioneer [[Stefan Bryła]] designed the first welded [[road bridge]] in the world, the [[Maurzyce Bridge]] which was later built across the river [[Słudwia River|Słudwia]] at Maurzyce near [[Łowicz]], Poland in 1929. In 1995, the [[American Welding Society]] presented the Historic Welded Structure Award for the bridge to Poland.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weldinghistory.org/whistoryfolder/welding/wh_1900-1950.html |title=Welding Timeline 1900–1950 |last=Sapp |first=Mark E. |date=22 February 2008 |publisher=WeldingHistory.org |access-date=29 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080803060938/http://www.weldinghistory.org/whistoryfolder/welding/wh_1900-1950.html |archive-date=3 August 2008 }}</ref>