Steel Arch Bridge

For the final project of my wood and metal fabrication class, we were tasked with constructing a scaled version of a pedestrian bridge that spans a 5ft gap. We were inspired by the Sydney Harbor Bridge for its beauty and simplicity. Constructing a through arch bridge allowed us to create a stable structure using fewer parts that are both organic and elegant.

The bridge consists of an arched boardwalk with wooden planks stapled to three thin sheets of wood that run lengthwise. These thin sheets are fastened with screws to curved rods that provide structural support to the boardwalk. These rods, along with the square rods that create both side panels, were bent using a roll bender. All steel rods were MIG welded and polished with an angle grinder. I led the design of this bridge and created the SolidWorks drawing that illustrated the necessary dimensions for our parts. I also helped bend the rods and weld them together.