Subjects › Structures
Bridge Engineering
Bridge types, loads, bearings and construction methods.
Topics by level
Basics
School, diploma and first-year level: the ideas in plain words.
- Bridge types
- Why bridges have end gaps planned
- Parts of a bridge planned
Intermediate
Degree and exam core (GATE, ESE level).
- Bridge loading planned
- Bearings and expansion joints planned
- Bridge foundations planned
- Slab and girder bridges planned
Advanced and Design
Professional design practice.
- Cable-stayed and suspension bridges planned
- Segmental construction planned
- Bridge inspection planned
Research
Frontier topics for researchers and postgraduates.
- Long-span aerodynamics planned
Videos
Bhupen Hazarika Setu: a 9.15 km bridge over a moving river
Long river bridges in Assam must cope with a channel that shifts every monsoon. This film walks through how.
Spans of 40 m or more get an independent design check
A rule from 1 Dec 2026: a second team checks the design of larger highway structures.
Codes and standards
| Country | Designation | Scope (our words) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| India | IRC:112 | Code of practice for concrete road bridges. | current |
| India | IRC:22 | Composite (steel-concrete) construction for road bridges. | current |
| India | IRC:24 | Steel road bridges (limit state method). | current |
| India | IRC:6 | Standard specifications for road bridges: loads and load combinations. | current |
| India | IRC:78 | Foundations and substructure of road bridges. | current |
| India | IRC:83 (Parts I to IV) | Road bridge bearings: metallic, elastomeric, pot and spherical types by part. | current |
| India | IRC:SP:69 | Guidelines and specifications for expansion joints in road bridges. | current |
| India | IRS Concrete Bridge Code (RDSO) | Design and construction of concrete railway bridges. | current |
| India | Indian Railway Standard Bridge Rules (RDSO) | Loads for railway bridges. | current |
| USA | AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications | Load and resistance factor design of highway bridges. | current |
| UK | BS 5400 | Steel, concrete and composite bridges. | historical (withdrawn; replaced by Eurocodes) |
| Europe | EN 1337 (series) | Structural bearings. | current |
| Europe | EN 1991 (Eurocode 1) | Actions on structures: self-weight, imposed, wind, snow, thermal, traffic. | current |
| Europe | EN 1994 (Eurocode 4) | Design of composite steel and concrete structures. | current |
| Japan | JSCE Standard Specifications for Concrete Structures | Japan Society of Civil Engineers specifications for design, construction and maintenance. | current |
| Japan | Specifications for Highway Bridges (Japan Road Association) | National design specifications for road bridges. | current |
| Australia | AS 5100 (series) | Bridge design. | current |
| Canada | CSA S6 | Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code. | current |
Listed in a fixed country order; no standard is ranked above another. Scopes are our summaries. Buy the standards from the issuing body for exact text.
References and further reading
Standard texts, listed in no order of merit. We do not copy text, figures, tables or solved problems from any book; our explanations and examples are original.
- D. Johnson Victor, Essentials of Bridge Engineering, Oxford and IBH, latest edition.
- N. Krishna Raju, Design of Bridges, Oxford and IBH, latest edition.
- S. Ponnuswamy, Bridge Engineering, McGraw Hill Education (India), latest edition.