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 Bridges make it possible to cross from one shore

of a river to another. In earlier times bridges
allowed trade between farmers and the
movement of goods across a natural divide.
 Early man often placed stepping stones in the
narrow sections of small streams as a way to get
to the other side. It is easy to see how a bridge
might develop using stepping-stones as a base
for logs or planks. The earliest bridge was
probably a toppled tree that had fallen across a
nearby stream.
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 Õo they can be over other roads, railways,

and deep gulley's. They are not only for cars
and people. Wooden trestle bridges were
essential to the passage of the railway
through the mountains in western Canada.
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 This type of bridge has cables suspended between towers plus

vertical Y Y

Y that carry the weight of the deck below,
upon which traffic crosses. This arrangement allows the deck to be
level or to arc upward for additional clearance. Like other suspension
bridge type this type often is constructed without false work.
 The suspension cables must be anchored at each end of the bridge,
since any load applied to the bridge is transformed into a tension in
these main cables. The main cables continue beyond the pillars to
deck-level supports and further continue to connections with
anchors in the ground. The roadway is supported by vertical
suspender cables or rods called hangers. In some circumstances the
towers may sit on a bluff or canyon edge where the road may
proceed directly to the main span otherwise the bridge will usually
have two smaller spans, running between either pair of pillars and
the highway which may be supported by suspender cables or may
use a truss bridge to make this connection. In the latter case there
will be very little arc in the outboard.
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 Cantilever bridges are built with many

materials in different ways. Others just have
arms and a roadway or arms a roadway and
cables that work like a cable stayed bridge.
Cantilever bridges are built in a way similar to
beam and arch bridges depending on how the
bridge is designed.
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 We need interstates so we can make it places

that we normally canǯt. We also need them so
we can make it to places quicker instead of
going in main streets and driving 25 to 30
mph. The Interstate System currently has
approximately 210,000 lane miles of
pavement. The interstate system also has
55,000 bridges on them.
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