Stone Arch Bridges

Category: Construction

  • Remains of a Chase County, KS. Stone Bridge

    The Catenary, Segmental Arches, and Roman Arches

    Segmental arches have a certain strength that is due to the fact that they closely approximate a catenary. Thus, low-rise arches can be very thin and able to free-stand.

  • Dry-laid arch under construction

    Planning the Falsework

    The formwork is important to arch building. It must be designed to handle the weight while maintaining the correct shape, and must be planned for easy removal without damaging the arch.

  • DIY Arch

    Efficiently Designed Stone Culverts

    Building stone arch culverts can be difficult to do without using a disproportionately large amount of material. In this post several ways the efficiency of design can be increased are discussed.

  • Polecat Creek Bridge

    Designing the Span

    A wide variety of design options are available to the builder of a stone arch bridge. Here are some considerations that are helpful to keep in mind when narrowing down the design.

  • Augusta/Towanda Township Line Culvert

    Gothic Arches

    The Gothic arch, despite being commonly associated with cathedrals, can still be found in stone arch bridges. Surprisingly, it is one of the easiest arches to build.

  • Inside Towanda/Augusta Culvert

    The Classic Rubble Masonry Arch

    Arches constructed of rubble masonry are classic structures. They can be impressively strong, have their own unique characteristics, and are easy to build. Many stone bridges using this type of construction remain in use.

  • Running a stone up a ramp

    Moving Large Stones Manually

    There are several ways to manually lift and move large stones that are too heavy to simply pick up and walk away with. In this post, several simple manual ways to move those big rocks is shown.

  • Cabin John Bridge

    Long Span Arches: Design and Limitations

    Long-span stone arch bridges have challenged builders for centuries. In this post we discuss some of the design considerations as well as the limitations encountered in long-span stone arch bridge construction.

  • Rubble Arch Detail

    Arch Building 101

    Arch building need not be a complicated process; rubble arches can be laid that are both easy to build and impressively durable. Many old medieval bridges in Europe testify to this.