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Popular bridges:
“Golden Gate Bridge”:
The Golden Gate Bridge is located in San Francisco, USA; it is built over a sea channel with the same name “Golden Gate”. The Golden Gate Bridge opened in 1937. It is a suspension bridge and is built from steel. The Height of main span is 230m; the length of main span is 1280m, the total length — 1970 m. For about thirty years, the “Golden Gate Bridge” occupied first place in the list of the largest bridges worldwide. For more than seventy years, post-inauguration of the bridge, the bridge became probably the most recognized symbol of San Francisco. Unfortunately, the bridge is popular as the “Suicide Bridge” — already more than a thousand people have committed suicide by jumping off the bridge into the water.
Tower Bridge:
The Tower Bridge is a type of movable bridge built over the river Thames in London, Great Britain and opened in 1894. It is popular owing to the two towers with a height of 65m each, established on abutments.
Brooklyn Bridge:
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the USA. It connects the areas of Brooklyn and Manhattan in New York over the East River. The bridge was opened in 1883; at the moment of the opening, this bridge was the largest suspension bridge in the world. Brooklyn Bridge is the first bridge in the world with steel rods being used in its design.
Bridge of Sighs:
The arched bridge is in the Baroque style. It is built over the Palace channel in Venice, Italy and connects the Doge’s Palace (in which the court was organized) and the prison. According to legend, the name of the bridge occurred from the sighs of convicted persons, who passing through the bridge, had a last glance at Venice.
Charles Bridge
It is an arched Gothic bridge, decorated with baroque sculpture and built over the river Vltava in Prague, Czech Republic. The bridge is a monument of the Middle Ages and is popular for its towers at the entrance of the bridge and thirty sculptures decorating the bridge.
Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge
It is the longest suspension bridge and the highest bridge in the world. It is located in Japan, spanning the Akashi Strait and connects the cities Kobe and Awaji Island. The height of the main span is 297 meters and the total length of the bridge is 3911 m.
Bosphorous Bridge
The first suspension bridge over the Bosphorus, Turkey and connects the Asian and European parts of Istanbul, Turkey. The bridge was opened in 1973 commemorating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Turkey. Pedestrians are banned to use the bridge because the bridge was repeatedly used for committing suicide.
U Bein Bridge
The largest wooden bridge in the world with a length of more than two kilometers, built over a lake between Mandalay and the previous capital Amarapura in Burma.
Disasters:
Incorrect designs can be the reason for the spontaneous collapse of a bridge. While designing the bridge, it is always necessary to consider probable natural cataclysms, such as strong winds or earthquakes into account.
The earliest known major disaster occurred in 1297 during a battle near the Stirling Bridge (Great Britain). The bridge was overloaded by attacking heavy cavalry and collapsed. Later on, some more bridges collapsed due to overloading, in particular, the Yarmouth Bridge, United Kingdom (1845) and also the Silver Bridge in the USA (1967).
In the 19th century and in the beginning of the 20th century, some disasters occurred because of resonance, when troops crossed the bridge. Steps cause a sharp increase in amplitudes of oscillations and the design of the bridge does not withstand this. The following collapsed due to resonance: Angers Bridge, Angers, France (1850); Egyptian Bridge in St. Petersburg (1905); Tacoma Bridge in the USA (1940).
Natural cataclysms can also become the reason for the collapsing of a bridge: in that case, the fault lies on the architect, who designed the bridge since the bridge builder should consider the probability of natural disasters. The bridge over the Firth of Tay in Dundee, United Kingdom, collapsed in 1879 due to a strong gale: 75 people died in this collapse. In 1953, a lahar (mud flow) destroyed the bridge, which was built over Whangaehu River in New Zealand, 151 persons lost their lives in this disaster. In 1989, during a big earthquake in California, the viaduct in Oakland (42 dead) collapsed and the bridge, spanning the gulf of San Francisco suffered: a portion of the load-bearing design collapsed on the roadway and one person was killed.
Cases of terrorist attacks on bridges are very frequent: the blasting of bridges also is a known means of carrying out guerrilla wars. The major disaster of such type occurred in India in 2002, when the railway bridge, built over the river Dhava, was blown up in which 130 people lost their lives.
In the news: Plans for a helix shaped bridge have been unveiled last week in Singapore. The audacious plan calls for a bridge that that will link a massive new tourist development, including a giant Ferris wheel and casino complex on reclaimed land. It is estimated that the bridge which will cost around $68 million. It is believed to be the world's first to resemble the structure of DNA, the genetic material in all living beings. Singapore aims to double visitor arrivals to 17 million annually while working to triple tourism receipts to $30 billion by 2015. It is relying on new projects such as two planned casino-resorts and a 170-meter high Ferris wheel to meet these goals. The resort island of Sentosa additionally is being developed. Tourism is one of the biggest revenue sources in Singapore. Tourism is responsible for generating more than 5 percent of gross domestic product of Singapore. The government said construction of the bridge which will include a six-lane motorway and six-meter wide pedestrian walkway, is now slated to commence at the end of the year. Completion is targeted for completion in 2009.
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