Function
What the bridge is supposed to do. This often is a combination of the human needs being met by and reasons chosen for the building of a bridge.
People have many different needs for building a bridge. Some of these include the need to:- carry people or other living things;
- carry cars and trucks;
- carry trains; and
- carry utilities (cables, pipes, water),
over top of something.
The reasons for building a bridge include the need to:- cross something (rivers, valleys, roads, railways) that is in the way for safety reasons (such as a pedestrian bridge overtop of a major road);
- cross something for performance reasons (such as Lethbridge's railway bridge); and/or
- cross something for convenience reasons (such as the +15 walkways that exist in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.).
You may want to read about other things that engineers and architects need to consider by selecting from this list or clicking on the buttons at the bottom.
| - Aesthetics | - Materials |
| - Cost | - Safety |
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