girder-bridge

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A bridge in which the support is afforded by girders or beams. At the period of development of railway construction many bridges were built with cast-iron girders; the limit of safe span of such was generally accepted as 40 feet. This limitation, and the treacherous nature of the material, led to the substitution of wrought-iron formed into plates, which were placed vertically and strengthened and stiffened by angle-irons. The latter form of construction culminated in the box-girder bridge or tubular bridge. Bridges with framed girders are more generally called truss-bridges or arched-girder bridges. See arched-beam bridge, under bridge, 1.