The Golden Gate Bridge Essay -- Construction Bridges Engineering Essay

The Golden Gate Bridge Since the dawn of time, patch has had an inherent need to get to the other side. Rivers, canyons, and impassable trails have unendingly hindered the migration of man, leaving him the choice to continue no further, or to build a distich and get over it. The earliest bridges were made of fair materials such as st star, or even a fallen log. heedless of the material, natural bridges allowed man to explore the other side. However, man has never been satisfied with what nature gives him. Over time, man developed the ability to take his own bridges in order to create a cutoff across an otherwise impassable obstacle. The first man-made bridges consisted of woody beams or stone arches. With each bridge, he added improvements such as cables for perceptual constancy or giganticr abutments to support a larger load. Eventually, man entered the period of sword. Steel truss beams coupled with steel cables increased bridge spans easily and allowed for a larger weight capacity. Now man was crossing distances nevertheless boats had taken people before. Various bridge styles also developed. Suspension, cable-stayed, steel arch, steel truss, and reinforced concrete arch bridges are all innovative types of bridges, each with its own usefulness and design. The longest and most recognizable bridge type is the suspension bridge. These structures can span distances from 2000 to 7000 feet. As its name dictates, a suspension bridge suspends the roadway from heavy steel cables that run from one length of the bridge to the other. The cables are then fastened at large concrete anchorages at each end. Arguably the most well cognize suspension bridge is the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. piece actual constructi... ...pring96/lui.html (November 9, 2004).------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 http//www.americahurrah.com/SanFrancisco/GoldenGateBridge/4-SanFranciscoTower.htm2 http//www.americahurrah.com/SanFrancisco/GoldenGateBridge/6-CableSpinning.htm3 http//www.americahurrah.com/SanFrancisco/GoldenGateBridge/7-Roadway.htm4 http//www.goldengatebridge.org/ research/factsGGBDesign.htmlConcreteQuantities5 http//www.sightseeingworld.com/SanFrancisco/goldengatebridge.htm6 http//www.goldengatebridge.org/research/factsGGBLighting.html7 http//www.sdsc.edu/GatherScatter/GSspring96/lui.htmllist8 http//www.goldengatebridge.org/research/factsGGBIntOrngPaint.html9 http//www.goldengatebridge.org/research/majggbimprove.html10 http//www.goldengatebridge.org/research/GGBTraffToll.html