A truss arch

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

combines the elements of the

truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

and the

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ...

. The actual resolution of

force In physics, a force is an influence that can change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (e.g. moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described intuitively as a p ...

s will depend upon the design. If no horizontal thrusting forces are generated this becomes an arch-shaped truss, essentially a bent beam – see

moon bridge A moon bridge (月桥), also known as “''sori-bashi"'' (反り橋) in Japanese, or as a drum bridge (“taiko-bashi” 太鼓橋),Liu, Yan (2020-09-01). "A full moon in another land: The Moon Bridge in the Japanese garden of the Huntington Libra ...

for an example. If horizontal thrust is generated but the

apex The apex is the highest point of something. The word may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional entities * Apex (comics), a teenaged super villainess in the Marvel Universe * Ape-X, a super-intelligent ape in the Squadron Supreme universe *Apex ...

of the arch is a pin joint, this is termed a three-hinged arch. If no hinge exists at the apex, it will normally be a two-hinged arch. In the ''Iron Bridge'' shown below, the structure of each frame emulates the kind of structure that previously had been made of wood. Such a wood structure uses closely fitted beams pinned together, so the members within the frames are not free to move relative to one another, as they are in a pin-jointed truss structure that allows rotation at the pin joint. Such rigid structures (which impose bending stresses upon the elements) were further developed in the 20th century as the

Vierendeel truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...

. Image:Garabit.jpg,

Garabit Viaduct The Garabit viaduct (french: viaduc de Garabit) is a railway arch bridge spanning the Truyère, near Ruynes-en-Margeride, Cantal, France, in the mountainous Massif Central region. The bridge was constructed between 1882 and 1884 by Gustave Eiffel, ...

, a thrust arch type employing a

catenary In physics and geometry, a catenary (, ) is the curve that an idealized hanging chain or cable assumes under its own weight when supported only at its ends in a uniform gravitational field. The catenary curve has a U-like shape, superficia ...

shape Image:Eastbound over SCB.jpg, The steel

Stoney Creek Bridge Stoney Creek Bridge is a Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) truss arch in southeastern British Columbia. This single-track crossing over Stoney Creek is in Glacier National Park, between Revelstoke and Golden. 1885 wooden bridge Stoney Creek was ...

carries the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

File:Truss Bridge pg 382.jpg, Illustration of a Truss arch bridge, showing the Honeymoon Bridge over the

Niagara River The Niagara River () is a river that flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada (on the west) and the state of New York (state), New York in the United States (on the east) ...

(1917)

Some bridges of this type

Maria Pia Bridge The Maria Pia Bridge (in Portuguese ''Ponte de D. Maria Pia'', commonly known as ''Ponte de Dona Maria Pia'') is a railway bridge built in 1877, and attributed to Gustave Eiffel, situated over the Portuguese northern municipalities of Porto and V ...

(1877),

Gustave Eiffel Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (born Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; ; ; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway ...

's pioneering two-hinge arch. *

Hurricane Deck Bridge The Hurricane Deck Bridge was a truss arch bridge located on Lake of the Ozarks in Camden County, Missouri. It carried Missouri Route 5 across the Osage Arm of the lake. It was perhaps one of the most distinctive features on the lake. It was the o ...

(1936), the last remaining truss-type bridge on Lake of the Ozarks in central Missouri. *

I-35W Mississippi River bridge The I-35W Mississippi River bridge (officially known as Bridge 9340) was an eight-lane, steel truss arch bridge that carried Interstate 35W across the Mississippi River one-half mile (875 m) downstream from the Saint Anthony Falls in Minneap ...

(1967) bridge that collapsed in 2007 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. *

Navajo Bridge Navajo Bridge is the name of twin steel spandrel arch bridges that cross the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon National Park (near Lee's Ferry, Lees Ferry) in northern Coconino County, Arizona, Coconino County, Arizona, United States. The newer ...

and newer (1995) bridge of the same general construction, each built as unsupported cantilevers joined with a central pin.

Truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...

Truss bridges by type {{bridge-type-stub