Awesome Bridges

The Tower Bridge in London, England, is one of the world’s most famous structures. But there’s more to it than just a couple of buildings and a road. Illustrator and animator Jared Owen takes us on an in-depth tour of the bridge, including the complex machinery that allows it to open and close so ships can pass through on the River Thames.

Leonardo da Vinci was one of the greatest inventors of all time. Among his many ingenious creations was a bridge that could hold itself up without center support structures or permanent attachment points. Sabins Civil Engineering explains the physics behind its interlocking design, its limitations, and potential uses.

The Brick Experiment Channel is back with another LEGO vehicle challenge. This time they attempted to build LEGO cars that can traverse a super skinny bridge without the wheels falling off the sides. After mastering the edge of a shelf, they moved on to driving cars across a dowel and a narrow length of rope.

If you need to re-pave a street, you typically need to reduce lanes and redirect traffic around the construction site. Switzerland’s Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) shows us a modern method for resurfacing that directs traffic over the work zone by erecting a temporary bridge. The modular ASTRA flyover bridge can be driven into place to minimize setup time.

Say you need to cross a river where there is no bridge. The EasiBridge can span up to 18 meters (59 feet) and be deployed by a single person. Once it’s opened and its supports flipped over, it can carry people on a rolling belly slide. Since the prototype shown in this video, the company continued development and testing and was acquired by BANAIR.

Inspired by fellow creators munimuni Bekkan and Brick Experiment Channel, LEGO builder Dr. Engine thought making his collection of movable LEGO bridges would be fun. Each of the eight motorized bridge designs works in a different way to provide passage for boats beneath and vehicles on the roadway overhead.

This unique bridge allows pedestrians to cross a river or canal, and lets ships pass underneath by rolling over to increase its clearance. It uses a hand-cranked cable system to flip the bridge along a rippled track. The concept was turned into a real bridge by Thomas Randall-Page.

After fabricating a miniature suspension bridge, Tiny World built a scale model of a railroad bridge based on the design of the CSX A-Line Bridge that spans the James River in Richmond, Virginia. To create the structure, they poured concrete into foam-core molds with wire supports inside.

Photographer Sylvia Michel captured this awe-inspiring footage walking through the clouds on a cliff-side bridge in Grindewald, Switzerland. The First Cliff Walk allows visitors to walk through some of the world’s most breathtaking vistas and includes this bridge to nowhere that hangs over the valley below. Here it is on a less cloudy day.

Domino queen Lily Hevesh spent the better part of a week setting up this enormous multi-tier bridge using 8,000 individual wood planks. She started with a small prototype of construction techniques, then carefully assembled the 8-foot-tall version. When it was all done, she knocked it all down for our enjoyment.

This unique bridge connects two districts in The Netherlands. Designed by West 8 and fabricated by HCG, the helical truss structure was fabricated from 400 steel tubes which twist a full 90 degrees from one end of the bridge to the other. It was originally painted red, but its current, more natural state also looks very cool.

The Romans built the first bridge across the Thames River in the 2nd century. Over the years, the structure has been replaced several times. In this episode of Unfinished London, host Jay Foreman provides an informative and entertaining exploration of the history of London Bridge, and why one of them is now located in Arizona.

Ouroboros ARQ loves to build miniature structures using full-size construction techniques. For this project, they built a scale version of a suspension bridge, complete with steel-reinforced concrete pillars, and dozens of meticulously-threaded wires to support its paved roadway and guard rails.

The Ruyi Bridge is one of the most interesting bridge designs on the planet. Located in the Shenxianju Scenic Area in Taizhou, China, it features three connected arches – one that rises and two that dip. The two lower bridges are connected by a glass walkway which allows pedestrians to peer down to the forest 459 feet below.

LEGO machine makers The Brick Wall have outdone themselves with their latest construction. This enormous and complex Technic machine is engineered to automatically install a bridge. It first deploys and positions its support towers, then gradually adds the bridge deck and roadway for vehicles to drive over.

Located near Arouca in northern Portugal, this 1693-foot-long pedestrian bridge crosses the River Paiva, offering those who cross it a thrilling journey and a stunning view as they cross the rapidly-flowing river about 600 feet below their feet. Watch this video to see how it was built.