Bridges & Engineering

Bridges and Engineering

As some of you may have heard, we will be building bridges in this unit. So, what do bridges have to do with technology? Bridges actually stem from a specific type of technology called engineering. Engineering can be defined in a few different ways:According to Wikipedia: Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of people. The American Engineers' Council for Professional Development (ECPD, the predecessor of ABET) has defined "engineering" as:

Notice the words in red. What do these underlined words mean?

Engineering is defined in the dictionary (Merriam Webster) as: the work of designing and creating large structures (such as roads and bridges) or new products or systems by using scientific methods

Both of these definitions talk about designing and creating something, like bridges. If we were to combine our ideas about technology and the definition of engineering, we could say that engineering is a science of designing and creating something that helps people or solves a problem. Bridges are structures that have helped connect communities and cultures everywhere.

How do bridges impact our daily lives?

Most of the time, we take bridges for granted and cross them without thinking. The only time bridges really get our attention is when they collapse, as seen in the videos below. After you watch these videos, answer a few short questions at the end. These first videos are of the famous 1940 Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Slender, elegant and graceful, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge stretched like a steel ribbon across Puget Sound in 1940. The third longest suspension span in the world opened on July 1st. Only four months later, the great span's short life ended in disaster.

YouTube Video

Another one of the most famous bridge disasters occurred right here in Minnesota on August 1, 2007, when the I-35W Mississippi River bridge collapsed.

**ADDS TREE BRANCH IN FOREGROUND** Vehicles are scattered along the broken remains of the Interstate 35W bridge, which stretches between Minneapolis and St. Paul, after it collapsed into the Mississippi River during evening rush hour Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2007, sending vehicles, tons of concrete and twisted metal crashing into the water. (AP Photo/The Star Tribune, Heather Munro) ** MANDATORY CREDIT. ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS OUT, MAGS OUT, OUT OF FOCUS TREE BRANCH IN UPPER FRAME **

Merlin ID: 19335353 The entire span of the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed Wednesday evening in Minneapolis. The bridge was loaded with rush-hour traffic and dropped more than 60 feet into the Mississippi River. At least seven people were killed and more than 60 were injured. Merlin ID: 19335365 The bridge was built in 1967. Merlin ID: 19335713 Witnesses said the bridge collapsed in three sections, sending a plume of smoke 100 feet into the sky. One section of the bridge lay flat in the river, with cars parked on the rolling pavement. Merlin ID: 19335363 The collapse left vehicles scattered along the rubble of the bridge, which stretches between Minneapolis and St. Paul. Merlin ID: 19335433 At the time of the collapse, repairs were being made to the bridge`s concrete deck, guard rails and lights, state officials said. Merlin ID: 19335417 A rescue worker prepared to search a submerged vehicle. Merlin ID: 19335685 Divers and rescue boats searched the river and the twisted wreckage. Some people were reportedly seen floundering in the water calling for help. Merlin ID: 19335689 A 2001 evaluation of the bridge, prepared for the state transportation department by the University of Minnesota Civil Engineering Department, reported that there were preliminary signs of fatigue on the steel truss section under the roadway, but no cracking. Merlin ID: 19335791 A bystander checked on a driver who was trapped in a minivan. Merlin ID: 19335789 People tended to an injured woman on the sidewalk along West River Parkway near the bridge. Merlin ID: 19335431 Emergency workers transported a victim for treatment. Merlin ID: 19335379 An unidentified victim on a section of the bridge. Victims were taken to various hospitals in the area. Merlin ID: 19335701 Bystanders in Gold Medal Park watched the scene of the collapsed bridge. Cellphone calls in the area were disrupted, possibly because antennas were overloaded with calls. bridge collapse in Minneapolis rte 35

Click the link http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/asset/nsn08_vid_smartbridge/ to view a short video about the 35w bridge collapse and what has been learned about building bridges. Using the 2007 Interstate-35 bridge collapse in Minneapolis to demonstrate the potential hazard facing thousands of deficient U.S. bridges today, the video shows how technology has helped improve the safety of bridges.

Reflection: Fill out the following form and click submit at the end:

Why study bridges?

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