Rensselaer Republican, Volume 18, Number 44, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 July 1886 — Bridges. [ARTICLE]

Bridges.

The first bridges were of wood, and the earliest of which we have any account was built in Rome 500 B. C. The next was erected by Julius Caesar for the passage of his army across the Rhine. Trajan’s great bridge over the Danube, 4,770 feet long, was made of timber, with stone piers. The Romans also built the first stone bridge which crossed the Tiber. Suspension bridges are of remote origin. A Chinese one mentioned by Kirchen was made of chains supporting a roadway 830 feet in length. It was built A. D. 65, and is still to be seen. The first large iron bridge was over the Severn in 1777. The age of railways has wrought a remarkable development in this branch of engineering, especially in the construction of bridges of iron and steel. .....