Offers a philosophical history of bridges—both literal bridges and their symbolic counterparts—and the acts of cultural connection they embody. “Always,” wrote Philip Larkin, “it is by bridges that we live.” Bridges represent our aspirations to connect, to soar across divides. And it is the unfinished business of these aspirations that makes bridges such stirring sights, especially when they are marvels of ingenuity. A rich compendium of myths, superstitions, and literary and ideological figurations, Of Bridges organizes a poetic and philosophical history of bridges into nine thematic clusters. Leaping in lucid prose between distant times and places, Thomas Harrison questions why bridges are built and where they lead. He probes links forged by religion between life’s transience and eternity as well as the consolidating ties of music, illustrated by the case of the blues. He investigates bridges in poetry, as flash points in war, and the megabridges of our globalized world. He illuminates real and symbolic crossings facing migrants each day and the affective connections that make persons and societies cohere. In readings of literature, film, philosophy, and art, Harrison engages in a profound reflection on how bridges form and transform cultural communities. Of Bridges is a mesmerizing, vertiginous tale of bridges both visible and invisible, both lived and imagined.
Thomas Kinkade's luminous paintings illustrate his and others' inspirational words on the power of faith. This beautiful Little Book is the perfect gift for those who cherish their faith.
TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 733: High-Performance/High-Strength Lightweight Concrete for Bridge Girders and Decks presents proposed changes to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) bridge design and construction specifications to address the use of lightweight concrete in bridge girders and decks. The proposed specifications are designed to help highway agencies evaluate between comparable designs of lightweight and normal weight concrete bridge elements so that an agency's ultimate selection will yield the greatest economic benefit. The attachments contained in the research agency's final report provide elaborations and detail on several aspects of the research. Attachments A and B provide proposed changes to AASHTO LRFD bridge design and bridge construction specifications, respectively; these are included in the print and PDF version of the report. Attachments C through R are available for download below. Attachments C, D, and E contain a detailed literature review, survey results, and a literature summary and the approved work plan, respectively. Attachment C; Attachment D ; Attachment E; Attachments F through M provide details of the experimental program that were not able to be included in the body of this report. Attachment F; Attachment G; Attachment H; Attachment I; Attachment J; Attachment K; Attachment L; Attachment M. Attachments N through Q present design examples of bridges containing lightweight concrete and details of the parametric study. Attachment N; Attachment O; Attachment P; Attachment Q. Attachment R is a detailed reference list."--Publication information.
Offers a philosophical history of bridges—both literal bridges and their symbolic counterparts—and the acts of cultural connection they embody. “Always,” wrote Philip Larkin, “it is by bridges that we live.” Bridges represent our aspirations to connect, to soar across divides. And it is the unfinished business of these aspirations that makes bridges such stirring sights, especially when they are marvels of ingenuity. A rich compendium of myths, superstitions, and literary and ideological figurations, Of Bridges organizes a poetic and philosophical history of bridges into nine thematic clusters. Leaping in lucid prose between distant times and places, Thomas Harrison questions why bridges are built and where they lead. He probes links forged by religion between life’s transience and eternity as well as the consolidating ties of music, illustrated by the case of the blues. He investigates bridges in poetry, as flash points in war, and the megabridges of our globalized world. He illuminates real and symbolic crossings facing migrants each day and the affective connections that make persons and societies cohere. In readings of literature, film, philosophy, and art, Harrison engages in a profound reflection on how bridges form and transform cultural communities. Of Bridges is a mesmerizing, vertiginous tale of bridges both visible and invisible, both lived and imagined.
Between Jan. 1, 2006 and June 24, 2008, a total of 1,280 serious defects were identified on 228 State and 495 locally-owned highway bridges in New York State. To determine whether these defects were addressed within the required time frame of seven weeks, the report reviewed the records relating to a sample of 204 of the defects which pertain to 44 State and 74 locally owned bridges. It found that 69 of the 204 defects (33.8%) pertaining to 25 State and 16 locally owned bridges were not addressed within the required time frame. In fact, it took, on average, more than 17 weeks to address these 69 defects. This report contains 11 recommendations for strengthening the Dept.¿s oversight of the actions taken in addressing serious structural defects on bridges.
Horace King (1807-1885) built covered bridges over every large river in Georgia, Alabama, and eastern Mississippi. That King, who began life as a slave in Cheraw, South Carolina, received no formal training makes his story all the more remarkable. This is the first major biography of the gifted architect and engineer who used his skills to transcend the limits of slavery and segregation and become a successful entrepreneur and builder. John S. Lupold and Thomas L. French Jr. add considerably to our knowledge of a man whose accomplishments demand wider recognition. As a slave and then as a freedman, King built bridges, courthouses, warehouses, factories, and houses in the three-state area. The authors separate legend from facts as they carefully document King’s life in the Chattahoochee Valley on the Georgia-Alabama border. We learn about King’s freedom from slavery in 1846, his reluctant support of the Confederacy, and his two terms in Alabama’s Reconstruction legislature. In addition, the biography reveals King’s relationship with his fellow (white) contractors and investors, especially John Godwin, his master and business partner, and Robert Jemison Jr., the Alabama entrepreneur and legislator who helped secure King’s freedom. The story does not end with Horace, however, because he passed his skills on to his three sons, who also became prominent builders and businessmen. In King’s world few other blacks had his opportunities to excel. King seized on his chances and became the most celebrated bridge builder in the Deep South. The reader comes away from King’s story with respect for the man; insight into the problems of financing, building, and maintaining covered bridges; and a new sense of how essential bridges were to the southern market economy.
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