Stone Arch Bridges

Category: Construction

  • 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.

  • Wolf Creek Bridge

    The Secret of the Arch: Practical Designs

    As seen in this post, the theory of the arch can be used to advantage to build stronger bridges. In keeping with the practical side of things, also included in this post is an empirical formula for arch thickness.

  • Glencoe Township Culvert

    The Secret of the Arch: The Principles

    The arch relies on compression to create a line of thrust that holds the arch stones in place. In this post, we investigate some of the theory of the arch and its line of thrust.

  • Silliman Bridge

    The Importance of Compression: Part 6

    In this series of posts we compare slab, truss, and arch bridges, and explain why compression is crucial to an arch. In this post we conclude with why an arch is a durable form of span.