Weather

The force of nature, specifically weather, is by far the hardest to combat. Rain, ice, wind and salt can each bring down a bridge on its own, and in combination they most certainly will. Bridge designers have learned their craft by studying the failures of the past. Iron has replaced wood and steel has replaced iron. Pre-stressed concrete is used in many highway bridges. Each new material or design technique builds off the lessons of the past. Torsion, resonance and aerodynamics (after several spectacular collapses) have been addressed in better designs. The problems of weather, however, have yet to be completely conquered. Cases of weather-related failure far outnumber those of design-related failures. This can only suggest that we have yet to come up with an effective solution. To this day, there is no specific construction material nor bridge design that will eliminate or even mitigate these forces. The only deterrent is preventive maintenance.

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