The view of the new Germantown Avenue Bridge from Goggle Earth shows the realignment of the roadway. Longtime residents of the area will remember the straight 19th century bridge. The approach from the Chestnut Hill side combined a steep incline with a sharp right turn, which proved to be lethal in rainy weather.
With the addition of good lane markings and rumble strips, the designers of the bridge did an excellent job ameliorating a dangerous condition.
Curved bridges are not numerous. A few were designed by the great Swiss civil engineer Robert Maillart. Maillart conceived the entire structure of his bridge as curving. The Germantown Avenue Bridge is a composite of a curved roadway supported by straight beams—a reasonable concession to practicality.
No comments:
Post a Comment