Bridge Lesson

Learning About

BRIDGES

While you might not be going a lot of places these days, but don’t worry, your roads and bridges will be there when you get back on the school bus! Bridges are meant to last for a LONG time. Have you ever noticed that there are different types of bridges?

Jaime French is a Bridge Engineer who works to design new bridges or help keep older bridges in good shape. The following pictures show the different types of bridges Jaime works on.

Using materials you can find around the house (please ask your parents!!!) like Play-Doh, empty egg cartons, straws, cardboard, old newspaper, etc., can you recreate these bridges?

Beam Bridge

A beam bridge can be as simple as a log over a stream or larger that you would drive over. It has a long slab that is supported by two beams on either side.

Truss Bridge

Truss bridges use beams that form the shapes of triangles for support.

An arch bridge is named after its shape, which looks like an upside down “u�. A lot of times the bridges are made out of stone or brick, and they may have many decorations on them that are actually part of what makes it so strong!

Arch Bridge

Suspension Bridge

Suspension bridges have overhead cables that support the roadway below. These are great bridges for over very long stretches of water. Here is one of our country’s most famous suspension bridge.

Do you know what its name is and what two bodies of water it connects?

Answer: It’s the Golden Gate Bridge and it connects San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean.