A1-Hudson

1) My bridge design goal was to make the most cost effective bridge possible. My bridge is the shape it is because I found this shape to be the most cost effective and it seemed to bear the weight of the bridge better than my first designs.

2)

Image 1: 2D view of the bridge in Drawing Board mode. 

3)

Image 2: View of the bridge in Test mode with a truck in the center.

4)

Image 3: Load test results numbers 1 through 38.

Image 4: Load test results numbers 6 through 43.

5)

Image 6: Bridge in Test mode with trusses above the bridge.

During the designing process, I went from attempting to build a bridge where the weight of the bridge is supported by trusses that are over the bridge (Image 5) to a bridge where the weight was supported by trusses under the bridge (Image 1 and Image 2). I found this to be more cost effective and less prone to errors. I started out this way because most of the bridges I have ever seen have the weight supported from above rather than below, but while designing my own bridge I realized there were far too many problems with how the weight is distributed while the truck is crossing the bridge. 

6) My current bridge cost, as seen in Image 1, is 393,202 dollars and 44 cents. I think this could be brought down to under 350,000 dollars at least, possibly even under 300,000 dollars with further time and knowledge by eliminating bars and joints. 

7) While building this bridge I learned that sometimes designs that seem good on paper do not actually work out in real life. My bridge would seem stable but when the truck drove onto the bridge it would buckle in unexpected places, like the very middle of the road. I also learned that there are some support bars that are fundamental to whether the bridge will work or not and other bars that, while they seem important, can be taken out with no major impact to the strength and durability of the bridge.