Description

As many as 15,000 Coated bridges have been in-built North The us during the last 200 years. Fewer than 1,000 stay.

In America’s Coated Bridges, authors Terry E. Miller and Ronald G. Knapp inform the attention-grabbing tale of those bridges, how they have been constructed, the technological breakthroughs required to build them and above all of the determination and ability in their developers. Every wood bridge, whether or not nonetheless status or lengthy long gone, has a tale to inform concerning the nature of The us at the time—no longer most effective approximately its transportation wishes however the availability of fabrics and the technological prowess of the individuals who constructed it.

North American Coated bridges have been marvels of engineering lengthy earlier than up to date civil engineering was once invented. Early American bridge developers evolved modern new carpentry strategies to enroll in timbers into styles including triangles or steady arches that led to systems inflexible sufficient to span lengthy distances. Those methods, known as trusses, have been very important to bridge development of the day and needed to be secure from the weather by way of a roof and siding. Few folks these days notice that bridges have been Coated to offer protection to the trusses&#8212not the folk the usage of the bridge! The unprotected trusses quickly degraded and the bridge might cave in.

Illustrated with A few 550 ancient and latest pictures, artwork, and technical drawings of just about 400 other Coated bridges, America’s Coated Bridges gives 5 readable chapters at the historical past, layout and destiny of The us’s Coated bridges, plus comparable bridges in Canada. A few of the latest pictures is by way of grasp photographer A. Chester Ong of Hong Kong.

55 photograph essays at the such a lot iconic bridges ultimate, together with:

  • Cornish-Windsor Bridge among Vermont and New Hampshire
  • Porter-Parsonsfield Bridge, Maine
  • East Paden and West Paden (Dual Bridges), Pennsylvania
  • Philippi Bridge, West Virginia
  • Hortons Mill Bridge, Alabama
  • Medora Bridge, Indiana
  • Rock Mill Bridge, Ohio
  • Knight’s Ferry Bridge, California
  • Perrault Bridge, Quebec, Canada
  • Hartland Bridge, New Brunswick, Canada

Among the featured bridges are that have been destroyed earlier than the e-book may well be printed, New York’s Blenheim Bridge all the way through a typhoon and Ohio’s Humpback Bridge by way of arson. The Everlasting Bridge in Philadelphia, thought to be by way of such a lot as the primary Coated bridge in The us, figures prominently, as do the bridges of Lancaster County&#8212heart of Pennsylvania Dutch united states of america. This compendium of vintage Americana contains some of the such a lot remarkable and iconic bridges ever in-built the US, together with the ones by way of Timothy Palmer, Theodore Burr and Lewis Wernwag. A few, just like the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge over the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, have been a mile lengthy.

Over time, wood bridges in the end gave solution to ones fabricated from iron, metal and urban. An American icon, many Coated bridges turned into out of date and have been changed&#8212others merely decayed and collapsed. Many extra have been swept away by way of herbal screw ups and fires. America’s Coated Bridges is actually full of attention-grabbing tales and data passionately informed by way of top professionals in this matter. The e-book might be of super pastime to somebody focused on American historical past, carpentry and technological amendment.