Stone Arch Bridges
One of the important parts of a stone arch bridge is the spandrel walls. The spandrel is the part of the bridge that is built up over the arch to form a reasonable roadbed grade. Unlike the approach, the spandrel walls are located over the arch. Except for a very flat arch, something must be […]
Can a partially collapsed stone arch be repaired? While presenting a somewhat of a challenge, this sort of damage to a stone bridge is, nevertheless, reparable, as proved by the case of Ireland’s Avoca Village Bridge.1 The Avoca Village Bridge consists of several true semi-elliptical arches built with precision-cut stones. In August 1986, a series […]
Part of the historical appeal of stone arch bridges was the fact that they needed but little maintenance. After all, stone does not rot out or need painted. Stone bridges also are substantially heavier than iron or wooden bridges, which meant that, whereas in major floods wooden bridges would set sail downstream and iron bridges […]