Components of Bridge
What Is a Bridge?
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle, such as a body of water, valley, or road, and provide passage over it.
Bridges can be made of various materials including stone, iron, steel, and concrete, and can serve different purposes, such as allowing people and vehicles to cross, carrying water or electricity, or providing access to oil or gas wells.
Importance of Bridge
1. Road
or railway traffic can run uninterrupted during monsoon
2. Saving
time and fuel.
3. It
improves the aesthetic of a road.
4. Distance
between two places can be reduced.
5. Agriculture
products, industrial products, and raw materials can
reach the industries quickly which helps in the economic
development of the area.
6.Construction of
a bridge on railway alignment at level crossing reduces the
number of accidents.
7. Bridges are
important from a military point of view.
Components of Bridge
The major parts of a bridge,
1. Substructure
2. Superstructure
3. Adjoining
structure
1. Substructure
The structure of the
bridge below the level of bearings is known as the Substructure. It consists of
the following.
Order Building Supplies
The
function of the substructure is to support the superstructure components and
transmit their loads safely to the subsoil,
It is a structure mostly used for bridges and dams
as a substructure at
the ends of a bridge span or dam and on that superstructure is a
rest.
A
bridge with a single span has two abutments that offer vertical and lateral
support. It also plays the role of retaining walls to resist lateral movement
of the earthen fill of the bridge approach.
Piers
Piers provide intermediate support between two
bridge spans. Bridge piers mainly support the bridge superstructure element and
transfer the load to the foundation.
Pier
must be strong to handle the horizontal as well as lateral. Piers are known as
compression members of the bridge.
Wing Walls
It is one of the earth-retaining structures in the
bridge. They are located adjacent to the abutments and act as
retaining walls.
The wing wall
retains soil for the abutment, roadway, and approach embankment, which can be
at a right angle to the abutment or splayed at different angles.
2. Superstructure
The components of the bridge above the bearing are
known as superstructures.
It consists of the following.
Beams and girders
Both
have a similar function to support the roadway and prevent bending. Girder is
also one type of beam
support. Where loads are heavy girders are used instead of beam
support.
Beam
has a rectangle cross-section, whereas girders have composed of I-shaped
cross-sections with two load-bearing flanges and a web for stabilization.
Bearing
A bearing is provided between the bridge girder and
the pier cap. The main function of the bearing is to allow free movement or
vibration of the top superstructure and reduce effect stress to reach the
bridge foundation.
Arched and Cable both have specified use. Arches
are used for arch bridge construction and cable is used for
suspension, cable-stayed bridges, etc. For different types of bridge
construction arches and cables play a vital role.
Parapet Wall and Handrail
The parapet is one of the safety components of any
bridge which prevent the vehicle from falling off where there is a drop.
It is also useful for restricting views, preventing
rubbish from passing below, and acting as a noise barrier.
Flooring
Its top surface of bridge roadway on vehicle
travel. It is made of concrete or a bituminous road.
3. Adjoining Structures
It consists of the following:
Approaches
It
is structured and constructed at the start or end of any bridge. Its main
function is to provide smooth and easy entry or exit from the bridge.
Guard Stones
They are used to restrict traffic on a particular
lane or sometimes as road railings but are generally positioned to protect a
specific object, such as a corner of a street or the side of a gate.
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