A cantilever bridge is a bridge built using structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end. For small footbridges, the cantilevers may be simple beams; however, large cantilever bridges designed to handle road or rail traffic use trusses built from structural steel, or box girders built from prestressed concrete.
The Pierre Pflimlin Bridge is a balanced cantilever made of concrete, shown here under construction.
The original style of cantilever bridge
The structural principles of the suspended span cantilever bridge
The Vejle Fjord Bridge is a concrete bridge built using the balanced cantilever method.
A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilever can be formed as a beam, plate, truss, or slab.
The Forth Bridge, a cantilever truss bridge
This concrete bridge temporarily functions as a set of two balanced cantilevers during construction – with further cantilevers jutting out to support formwork.
Howrah Bridge in India, a cantilever bridge
A cantilevered balcony of the Fallingwater house, by Frank Lloyd Wright
