A truss bridge is a triangular assembly of members that act principally in tension or compression, Gasparini said. The design creates a very rigid structure that transfers the load to a wide area.

ALL bridges work using compression and tension. – Suspension bridges support tremendous amounts of weight and can withstand the greatest force from nature, such as hurricanes and tornadoes.

Built in 1935, the bridge works uses a frame made of triangles to share the weight of the bridge. Each beam is experiencing either compression or tension forces, but not both at the same time.

This truss design was pretty much opposite the 1840 Howe Truss; the Howe having timber diagonals (in compression) slanting to the center of the bridge and vertical iron ties (in tension).

Yet, with traditional bridge-building activities using materials such as toothpicks or popsicle sticks, students often don’t get the opportunity to accurately measure tension and compression or ...