Newspapers / The Echo (Pisgah Forest, … / Jan. 1, 1952, edition 1 / Page 17
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Wooden bridges of this type appear on most of our rural roads. This one crosses T /i r k e y Creek, on Lyda Road. A steel bridge across the Davidson River, near the Ranger Station. The world famous Golden Gate bridge across San Francisco Bay has a 7,000 foot span. cross narrow gorges or streams. Simple bridges, consisting of logs or wood or stone, were used by the earliest known groups of mankind. The arched bridge was probably first used by the Chinese. Simple brick arches have been dis covered among Egyptian ruins, but it is unknown if the Egyptians built arched bridges. Bridges are not mentioned in the Bible, but according to other records a brick arch was erected across the Eu phrates river in the city of Babylon. Pontoon bridges, which are carried on floating supports, were used for military purposes by Cyrus and other Persian kings as early as the 6th century B. C. The stone arch was developed by the Romans, who used it especially for strong monumental bridges, some of which are still standing. In the l6th century, Leonardo da Vinci and Palladio in vented the wooden truss and used it in construct ing bridges. The first metal arch bridge was made of cast iron and erected at Coalbrookdale, over the Severn River in 1776—the river that caused Mar garet of Anjou to lose her army to Edward, be cause she could find no place to cross. Wrought iron was used to replace cast iron after investiga tions were carried out for Robert Stevenson when planning the famous tubular bridge across Menai Straight. Later, steel displaced wrought iron, and ordi nary steel has given way to special alloy steel. The principal bridges that we see today are con structed of wood, steel, concrete and masonry. 15
The Echo (Pisgah Forest, N.C.)
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Jan. 1, 1952, edition 1
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