Bridges and Culverts are important parts of our civilization’s network. Both provide transit passage, normally over running water, and comparing them with each other is common. Yet different factors, such as age, intent, construction sophistication, building components, and layout, are the defining elements between bridges and corners.
Bridge
A bridge is a device that carries over a physical obstacle a road or railway, such as a river, dam, or some other road or railway.
Culvert
A culvert is a tube system facilitating the flow of running water under a highway or railway. Culvert can also be used to drain water or to bridge the gap over a solid barrier.
Bridge vs Culvert
| Culvert | Bridge |
|---|---|
| A culvert is typically a tunnel-like device that enables the flow of water under a bridge or railway. | A bridge is a passage through a large body of water or physical obstruction (for people or vehicles). |
| Concrete boxes or cells (single or multiple), tubing, a top deck or base, and supporting sections are comparatively simpler elements of a culvert. | A bridge's basic components are superstructure (supporting load), substructure (transferring load to foundation soil) and deck (transferring surface load to other components). |
| Culverts are installed above the obstacle at a height of less than 20 feet. | Bridges are installed greater than 20 feet in height. |
| Usually, the length of the corners is not more than 6 meters. | A bridge stretches more than 120 meters from 6 meters (minor bridges). |
| Culverts are typically located in the surface that forms the brunt of the culvert. | Piers and piers are a bridge's key elements |
| A culvert is a two-sided enveloping framework, a wall, and a base. | There is no floor in a bridge. |
| There is no need for deep foundation for a culvert. | Building a strong and deep framework in building a bridge is very essential. The base is protecting the bridge along the whole length.. |
| Culverts are fully enclosed, semi-circular, triangular, elliptical or pear-shaped devices. | Usually a bridge is a linear, straight passage. |
| It is possible to build a culvert with a low budget. | A bridge's construction and architecture is intricate and complicated, so it takes a large budget to build it. |
| Culverts can be installed on site (in situ culverts) or pre-constructed. | Bridges are usually built at the location or in smaller sections pre-constructed. |
| Culverts in construction and nature are easier so they can be designed with less time and effort. | Bridge building normally takes a lot of time and manpower. |
| Culverts avoid water pollution, drainage, and deforestation, and enable water under a highway or railway to flow its natural course. | Bridges allow commuting faster, saving time and rising space. |
| A culvert is installed anytime water under a highway has to be moved into pipes or channels. | A bridge is installed over a large body of water with varying traffic. |
| Some corners have sharp corners that are unsuitable for high-velocity vehicles, such as box culverts. | Bridges can handle cars that are powerful and swift. |
| A pin can be built to accommodate paths both above and below the deck (e.g. a pin placed over another bridge or railway). | The only way to get there is over the bridge deck. |