Art & Science of Bridge Engineering - A World Scenario
The world has progressed beyond imaginations. Similar to the field of IT, Civil Engineering has also taken several steps forward to bring out innovative technologies to meet challenges of this world’s aspirations. Going forward from just meeting out the functional needs, construction speed has become an important aspect. Led by the inspirations of high speed computers, fast track construction is found inevitable, even though it may not be the cheapest. When it comes to BOT project, economics lies in speed of construction apart from materials cost, so that Toll earnings can be realized faster by the concessionaire/owner. It has also become equally important to have an inception of aesthetics, especially in the case of urban structures, for obvious reasons. Recently, a trend is picking up, wherein architects are engaged in bridge architecture. Lastly, every country wants to create a landmark and world record by constructing largest span bridge on its land. Of the available technologies, Cable Stayed technology, Extradosed Bridge technology and Suspension Bridge technology have led to largest span ranges. Largest span in Cable Stay technology is about 1200m, that in Extradosed technology is about 250m and that in Suspension Bridge technology is about 2000m. A far reaching imagination will entail a span that would bridge different cities.