Floating Bridges

By Henry Petroski

The innovative practice of pontoon bridge design

Engineering Transportation

Current Issue

This Article From Issue

July-August 2003

Volume 91, Number 4
Page 302

DOI: 10.1511/2003.26.302

Bridges take many forms, from common highway girders that we drive under and over with hardly a notice, to long suspended spans that raise our cars and spirits to great heights. Whatever its type, a bridge is designed to carry something over some obstacle—a road, a valley, a river, a lake. Bridging a lake can be among the most challenging problems an engineer might face.

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