Stone Arch Bridges

Category: Construction

  • Thompson Bridge

    Which Arch Shape to Use?

    There are many arch shapes to choose from when building a stone arch bridge. In this post we look at some of the options, and examine the advantages and disadvantages of each shape.

  • DIY stone arch culvert

    What Determines Arch Thickness?

    The thickness of an arch is an important criteria to stone bridge design. It is helpful to understand how exactly the arch thickness is determined, and why the span-to-arch thickness ratio is a nonlinear relationship.

  • Cabin John Bridge

    Multi-Ringed Arches

    While the typical stone arch bridge consists of an arch built with one ring of thick stones, it is possible to build a stone arch bridge with multiple arch rings to create a thick arch with relatively small stones.

  • Pawhuska Stone Bridge

    Retaining Walls: A Weak Point of Stone Bridges

    Stone bridges use retaining walls as part of the structure to hold the roadway. These walls are a decided weakness, due to their relatively thin width. In this post we investigate these walls and related design possibilities.

  • Neer Bridge

    The Beauty of the Rubble Arch Bridge

    Rubble masonry can be aesthetically more appealing than ashlar. While ashlar masonry consists of stone bricks, the variability of rubble masonry tends to reflect the properties of the local stone and hence blends with nature.

  • Corbeled Arch

    Corbeled Pseudo-Arches

    The corbeled arch is an interesting stone structure that relies on the cantilever principle for stability, and can be used in bridges. Though called an arch, it is not a true arch for it produces no thrust.

  • 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.