The pilings under the bridge are at an odd angle - not perpendicular to the bridge...
Therefore the bricks must also be at an odd angle.
Bridge II
This one looks like it is being held together with giant lengths of ready rod.
The Iford Bridge and the Old Iford Bridge near Christchurch.
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2 comments:
I've seen an explanation of that somewhere: the pilings need to be parallel to the water flow or there will be too much force on them. The road must go the direction they want it to (in this case not perpendicular to the water flow), so if I recall correctly, they angle the bricks so the weight of the bridge pushes squarely on them. That way it doesn't apply any shear force to the mortar between the bricks.
I'm sure the calculations are something ferocious...
That's interesting! I had kind of figured out the piling angle thing, but the brick angle...
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