Bridge Vocabulary

A secure fixing, usually made of reinforced concrete, to which cables are fastened

• Beam

• Brace

• Deck

• Anchorage

A pressing force that squeezes things, or a thing, together

• compression

• deformation

• load

• shear

The central, wedge-shaped stone at the top of an arch that locks the arch together

• joint

• keystone

• caisson

• buckle

A force that causes parts of a material to slide past one another in opposite directions

• shear

• compression

• tension

The weight a bridge holds up, including its own weight

• pressure

• load

• span

• deck

A device connecting two or more adjacent parts of a structure. These can be "roller" or "rigid" types.

• dome

• pier

• joint

• cable

A curved structure that converts the downward force of its own weight, and any weight pressing down on top of it, into an outward force along its side and base.

• arch bridge

• beam bridge

• truss bridge

• suspension bridge

• cable-stayed bridge

A simple type of bridge composed of horizontal beams with vertical posts

• arch bridge

• beam bridge

• truss bridge

• suspension bridge

• cable-stayed bridge

A bridge in which the roadway deck is suspended from cables anchored to one or more towers.

• arch bridge

• beam bridge

• truss bridge

• suspension bridge

• cable-stayed bridge

A bridge in which the roadway deck is suspended from cables that pass over two towers; the cables are anchored in housings at either end of the bridge.

• arch bridge

• beam bridge

• truss bridge

• suspension bridge

• cable-stayed bridge