The Design of Modern Steel Bridges - TEDI

Figure 1.2 Coalbrookdale iron bridge in Shropshire, England (1777–79).
Figure 1.3 Fibre suspension bridge in Kashmir, India.
Types and History of Steel Bridges 3
used to build a 236 ft (72 m) span bridge over the Wear in Sunderland
simultaneously with Buildwas. These bridges led the way to many more iron
bridges in the first two decades of the nineteenth century in England and
France, the most notable being the Vauxhall and Southwark bridges over the
Thames in London (each using over 6000 tons of iron) and Pont du Louvre and
Pont d’Austerlitz over the Seine in Paris (the latter has since been replaced). In
the early days cast-iron was slotted and dovetailed like timber construction
before bolting was discovered.
In 1814 Thomas Telford proposed a suspension bridge with cables made of
flat wrought iron links to cross the Mersey at Runcorn – a main span of 1000 ft
(305 m) and two side spans of 500 ft! The suspension principle has been used
for building pedestrian bridges in India, China and South America since time
immemorial; they were supported by bundles of vines or osiers, bamboo strips,