6. Bridge Design

When a new bridge needs to be built architects will create plans and drawings of proposed designs. Perhaps two or three designs would be presented to the client.

It would be possible to just choose the favourite design and start building the bridge. But before that happens it is essential that the bridge is modelled to see if there are any problems.

Although the bridge might look pretty, it is essential that engineers know how it will cope under different situations e.g. heavy traffic flow, high winds, even earthquakes  

They use a computer model to predict what might happen under these circumstances.

Once the proposed bridge’s performance has been analysed using a model, changes can be made such as extra reinforcement