Bridges are a big part of how people get from place to place. But how do they work and how are they built? In this engaging text, readers will explore these important engineering marvels that link places divided by water. Along the way they’ll learn how to build their own model bridge with a step-by-step guide accompanied by full-color photographs of each step. Accessible text illuminates the science behind every span we drive over—and sometimes under!

This title discusses how bridges are built, including engineering, design and construction.

“A welcome tribute to the persistence, precision and humanity of Washington Roebling and a love-song for the mighty New York bridge he built.” - The Wall Street Journal Chief Engineer is the first full biography of a crucial figure in the American story--Washington Roebling, builder of the Brooklyn Bridge. One of America's most iconic and recognizable structures, the Brooklyn Bridge is as much a part of New York as the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building. Yet its distinguished builder is too often forgotten--and his life is of interest far beyond his chosen field. It is the story of immigrants, the frontier, the Civil War, the making of the modern world, and a man whose life modeled courage in the face of extreme adversity. Chief Engineer is enriched by Roebling's own eloquent voice, unveiled in his recently discovered memoir, previously thought lost to history. The memoir reveals that his father, John-a renowned engineer who came to America after humble beginnings in Germany-was a tyrannical presence in Roebling's life. It also documents Roebling's time as a young man in the Union Army, where he built bridges to carry soldiers across rivers and fought in pivotal battles from Antietam to Gettysburg. He then married the remarkable Emily Warren Roebling, who played a crucial role in the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, Roebling's grandest achievement-but by no means the only one. Elegantly written with a compelling narrative sweep, Chief Engineer introduces Washington Roebling and his era to a new generation of readers.

On a warm spring day in 1883, a woman rode across the Brooklyn Bridge with a rooster on her lap. It was the first trip across an engineering marvel that had taken nearly fourteen years to construct. The woman's husband was the chief engineer, and he knew all about the dangerous new technique involved. The woman insisted she learn as well. When he fell ill mid-construction, her knowledge came in handy. She supervised every aspect of the project while he was bedridden, and she continued to learn about things only men were supposed to know: math, science, engineering. Women weren't supposed to be engineers. But this woman insisted she could do it all, and her hard work helped to create one of the most iconic landmarks in the world. This is the story of Emily Roebling, the secret engineer behind the Brooklyn Bridge, from author-illustrator Rachel Dougherty.

Marvin Denmark, a builder and craftsman with 45+ years of experience, demonstrates the process he used to design and construct a small cable suspension bridge. This book includes some suspension bridge history along with engineering considerations, then explains and illustrates with diagrams and full-color photos the step by step process that was used to complete the project. His blog, wildcatman.wordpress.com, has excerpts from the book, a new cable locking system design, and a recent price list for parts for his bridge. A trailer for the cable locking system including video of the bridge building process is here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLXrzC9K5wQ Anyone who is looking for ideas for a footbridge that is relatively easy to build without the use of heavy equipment or difficult to replace components may benefit from the design in this book and by using the patented "cable locking system."