From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Beam Bridge |
 |
| This footbridge was made from beams and boards obtained from logs from the surrounding forest |
| Ancestor |
Log bridge |
| Related |
None |
| Descendant |
Plate girder bridge, trestle, truss bridge, moon bridge |
| Carries |
Pedestrians, automobiles, trucks, light rail, heavy rail |
| Span range |
Short |
| Material |
Timber, iron, steel, reinforced concrete, prestressed concrete |
| Movable |
No |
| Design effort |
low |
| Falsework required |
No, unless cast-in place reinforced concrete is used |
A 'beam bridge' is a rigid, horizontal structure that rests on two end supports, and carries traffic loads by acting structurally as a beam. It is a direct descendant of the log bridge, now more normally made from shallow steel 'I' beams, box girders, reinforced concrete, or post-tensioned concrete. It is frequently used in pedestrian bridges and for highway overpasses and flyovers. As is its ancestor, this bridge is in structural terms the simplest of the many bridge types.
A steel pedestrian footbridge over a busy road in
Swansea, typical of many beam bridges (the superstructure supports only the fence, not the bridge)
