Favorite Type Of Bridge

[Voyager]

What's your favorite bridge type? Suspension is my favorite because of the Golden Gate Bridge, but I also really like most Cable Stayed bridges, especially because they can vary so much in shape.

[ComputerGuy]

Floating. Look at Lake Washington. and Hood Canal.

[Voyager]

Oh that reminds me, I also like the floating bridges, there's a neat old railroad one at the end of the Petaluma River...I don't think it's in use anymore though.

[vdeane]

My favorite is suspension.

[Alex]

I pretty much like any bridge with superstructure.

[Revive 755]

Anything other than a plain beam bridge.  If I have to choose one type, it's cantilever like the MLK at St. Louis,
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=38.6301,-90.182004&spn=0,359.956055&t=k&z=15&layer=c&cbll=38.630198,-90.181983&panoid=zmt9iMJKjJ_O2qlqxGhyQw&cbp=12,43.145780434576864,,0,-10.67124346596037 but I'd prefer that one to not have the squares missing overhead bracing (like the second one east of the western tower).

[rawr apples]

cable stayed <3 So beautiful.

[SSOWorld]

Suspension.

Only 4 bridges of that type have I crossed.  The Mac, one in KC, the Golden Gate and the Bay Bridge

[mrivera1]

Mine would have to be cable-stayed.  Those bridges are always majestic and are true marvels of engineering.

[Scott5114]

Any sort of thru truss.

[WillWeaverRVA]

Definitely cable-stayed.

[Voyager]

I have a place in my heart for Bascule, too.

[Freewayjim]

Cable Stayed is the new Suspension

These newer cable stayed bridges are so beautiful, they are so clean, majestic and futuristic looking.

[KEK Inc.]

I love cable-stay bridges, but suspension bridges follow a close second. 



This is the Sutong Bridge, which has the longest cable-stay span in the world.  I actually did an art piece based off of it.   

[iwishiwascanadian]

I like the cable stayed bridges, my favourite would have the be the Dartford Bridge in Kent, England, UK.  But my absolute favourite type of bridge has to be the Box Girder Bridge like the new I-35W St Anthony Falls Bridge in Minneapolis, MN or the Bolte Bridge in Melbourne, VIC, Australia. 

[papaT10932]

I think I'm going to have do disagree with most people here.

I hate cable-stayed bridges. They all look exactly the same to me. I think there are places where C.S. bridges are appropriate. The Sunshine Skyway, for example, is a beautiful and perfectly designed bridge for that climate and landscape. I, however, think that, for example, the Waldo-Hancock Bridge on US 1 in Maine, which is surrounded by rocky hills and pine trees, should be a rusty old suspension bridge... not a futuristic looking cable stayed bridge.

C.S. Bridges are being built with a "one size fits all" attitude. I just don't agree with that.   

[triplemultiplex]

I think the problem with the aesthetics of cable-stayed bridges is that they're almost all white/off white/concrete gray.  And that's boring.  You gotta mix it up a little.  That's why the Sunshine Skyway remains the iconic cable-stayed bridge around the world even though others have been built that are longer and taller and busier.  They threw some color into it.

As everyone jumps on the cable-stayed bandwagon, I find the arch more and more appealing.  It's such a versatile shape.  While not practical for the longest spans, they fit well almost any setting and invoke strength and longevity.  Any city wort it's salt with a commercially navigable body of water to cross needs at least one.

I particularly like the pre-WWII concrete arch bridges that you can find all over the country.  Some of the spans on the PCH in Oregon, the 6th St viaduct in LA that we see in every other movie, 10th St in Minneapolis, Wisconsin Ave here in Milwaukee over by the Miller Brewery...  They unite form and function and blend into their environment without being boring.
I always notice the difference between Wisconsin Ave as it crosses the Menomonee River verses the other viaducts downstream from there.  16th, 27th and 35th Streets are these hulking, industrial cages of dark steel flopped across the valley creating a visual barrier between Miller Park and downtown. I'd like to see them replaced eventually with something a little more awesome.

[BigMattFromTexas]

Any bridge that'll get me across whatever it's over, safely, and fast....
BigMatt

[bugo]

Any truss bridge with a superstructure.  Deck trusses are cool if you're able to see them from the side, but they're not too exciting to drive across.  I usually prefer through trusses to pony trusses but not always.  The cantilevered truss bridge is especially neat because there are very few in my part of the country.

[Scott5114]

Through trusses for me too.

What about ponies? What kind of abnormal bridge is that? And those kids who had their own ponies...I hated those kids. In fact, I hate anyone that ever had a pony when they were growing up.

[realjd]

As cool as the big suspension, truss, and CS bridges are, I've always been a fan of draw bridges (all types).

[Tom]

Steel truss bridges are my favorite for their historical significance, and here's a cool website I discovered with lots of photos of lots of steel truss bridges:
http://www.historicbridges.org/index.htm
...and this nice bridge:
http://www.pasty.com/discus/messages/713/1585.html
http://www.pasty.com/discus/messages/278/290.html

[SteveG1988]

My favorite type is suspension, namely anything by Othmar Ammann, specefically the Delaware Memorial bridge, just the right look for a suspension bridge, the towers are not as bulky as lets say, the Verazzano Narrows bridge, but the deck is not as odd as the Bronx-Whitestone bridge it is similar to. It is just the right design for the southern most bridge in NJ and the gateway to the delaware River. and add to the fact that it is a twin bridge that is almost identical except for some minute details makes it that much better. Also i like arch bridges, where it is a through arch like the bayonne bridge. Just something majestic about seeing all that steel supporting you.

[beau99]

Cable-stayed, specifically the East End Bridge in Huntington, West Virginia.

[Dr Frankenstein]

Vertical lift bridge.