what determines the distancea beam bridge can span
Beam bridge Beam bridges are often only used for relatively short distances because, unlike truss bridges, they have no built in supports. The only supports are provided by piers. The farther apart its supports, the weaker a beam bridge gets. As a result, beam bridges rarely span more than 250 feet (80Â m). This doesn't mean beam bridges aren't used to cross great distances, it only means that a series of beam bridges must be joined together, creating what's known as a continuous span.
Golden Gate Bridge Strauss was chief engineer in charge of overall design and construction of the bridge project.[14] However, because he had little understanding or experience with cable-suspension designs,[22] responsibility for much of the engineering and architecture fell on other experts. Strauss's initial design proposal (two double cantilever spans linked by a central suspension segment) was unacceptable from a visual standpoint. The final graceful suspension design was conceived and championed by Leon Moisseiff, the engineer of the Manhattan Bridge in New York City.[23]