Building a Bridge

Children's Literature - Amie Rose Rotruck

Bridges aid the transportation of millions of people every day. To that end, new bridges are built on a regular basis. First, a bridge must be designed by engineers who take the environment into account. Then, tugboats bring caissons to the bridge site to form a foundation. Concrete is poured into the caissons, then workers use steel and more concrete to form towers on the foundation. Steel cables are pulled across the towers and the ends secured in concrete. Cranes lift the deck pieces into position and hold them in place until they are fastened to the bridge. Once the bridge is finished, the road runs across the deck pieces. While the text is interesting and the pictures exciting, the layout of the book becomes a bit repetitious: a few lines of text on a blank left page, a full-page photo on the right. Still, it's a good basic book about bridge construction, including a glossary, an index, and a reference list. Part of the "Construction Zone" series. Reviewer: Amie Rose Rotruck