Tag: Quality of Construction
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Dexter Stone Arch Culvert Damaged
One of the stone arch culverts we found in Cowley County, Kansas, has partially collapsed. In this post we examine the structure and analyze the cause of the failure.
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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.
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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.
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Why Were Stone Bridges Built?
Stone arch bridges were usually built historically for their proven durability, which made these structures desirable. In the early 1900s, stone bridges made a resurgence in the United States.
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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.
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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.
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Clues to the Past: Cowley’s “New” Stone Bridges and the Oak Valley Culverts
A comparison of the Oak Valley, Elk County, Kansas, culverts with many of those in Cowley County, Kansas, suggests there were quite a few stone bridges built by local governments independently of the WPA in the 1930s.
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The Oak Valley Stone Bridges
In Oak Valley Township, Elk County, Kansas, we found eleven little-known stone arch bridges. Most of these structures are culverts, and their unique characteristics make these bridges quite noteworthy.
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Moisture Management in a Stone Bridge
Water retention, with causes ranging from incompatible mortars to poor initial design, can cause all manner of damage to a stone arch bridges. Here are some tips on ensuring a stone bridge can drain properly.
Stone Arch Bridges 