I like this video because of the commentary. The observers discus their opinions about why each bridge failed (casually) as the video plays. Notice the comment about lateral bracing on the first bridge. Would you agree with them?

Did you catch how the second bridge failed? This would have been an easy fix, and it just goes to say how you should reinforce the loading area on your popsicle bridges. Take the lessons from this video and use on your own models.

I also appreciate this video because the winner shares my name, Garrett. What do you think made Garrett’s bridge so strong?

Popsicle Suspension Bridge

Catch a sneak peek at one of my newest creations: a model suspension bridge made from popsicle sticks and paracord. This bridge was created as part of a custom project I designed. This idea was one I had been contemplating for some time. I found a simple way to construct a suspension bridge and this is the result. I have some ideas how to make this even better which might take some time to finalize.

You will be able to find a kit for building this popsicle stick suspension bridge in my store soon.

Thoughts About the Design

He states that this bridge should have been able to hold close to 1200 pounds from what he worked out on paper. It only held about half of that weight, which raises a question in me of, “what went wrong?” Also, if the bridge held 600 pounds and weighed 500 grams, it only has an efficiency score of 546. Compare that to my Short Pratt Truss Bridge Updated which had an efficiency score of over 1200. Granted, his bridge was longer, I’d guess around two feet long which is double that of my pratt truss popsicle bridge. Has anyone here been able to achieve a higher efficiency score with a similar length popsicle bridge?

Pin Joint Bridge

I have pointed out the fixed and pinned joints, at least that’s where I remember them to be. It was extremely difficult and painful to drive the pins in, especially when no other tool was allowed, and I had to use my finger for the purpose, but it was very rewarding.

You should try it out sometime.

Warm Regards,
Joseph
P.S. Im the guy in the black tshirt.

Here is a video:

The idea behind this bridge was to create an aesthetically pleasing bridge, while still keeping it simple to build. I wanted a really basic arch bridge design in order to compare it to a simple beam bridge that I also built. You can purchase plans for this bridge in my store.

You can see from the video that this bridge collapsed from the middle. I think that if the ends of the bridge had been braced like a real life arch bridge, this bridge would have held considerable more weight before it broke. But as a free standing arch bridge made from popsicle sticks, I think it was pretty good.

I changed up the testing with this bridge. Instead of placing one very large weight directly on the bridge, I started with a small weight. This increased the concentration of the load in the middle of the bridge. I figured this would be more realistic to the way bridges would be tested when built by other people. This is why I think this bridge held significantly less than the Short Pratt Truss Bridge.

You can purchase blueprints for this popsicle bridge in my store.

Largest Popsicle Bridge

Here is the story of the Prairie Popsicle Stick Bridge told in video format. As far as I know, this is the longest working popsicle stick bridge that a person can walk across. If you know of a longer bridge that does the same, please let me know. The largest popsicle bridge was built back in 2008 in my dorm room at Prairie Bible College. For many nights I slept on the floor, as I was using my bed space as a worktable to glue the bridge together. This bridge is long, it is large, and super cool.

The testing of this bridge was a community event, as you can see the large number of people gathered to watch. This bridge definitely is one of my favorites that I have built over the years. Two years later people are still talking about it at the school.

This bridge is supporting 191lbs of weight. It didn’t break, that was all the weight we could fit in the trash can. I believe this is close to the maximum load it could hold because the platform the jig is resting on was significantly bowed. The rest of the structure was rock solid. The construction of the bridge is popsicle sticks.

Testing the Suspension Bridge

Here is the video of the bridge being tested to failure. I have two different angles showed right after each other. I think this video is very enlightening as to how a suspension bridge reacts to a load.

It appears that the bridge failed due to uneven loading. The weights leaned to one side, and I over-corrected as I kept adding weights.

I did not come up with a good method of securing the cables to an anchor. You will notice in the movie that the ends of the bridge lifted up as the middle bent down, until a certain point where the ends of the deck pressed up against the cables themselves. If I were to do this again, I would have the cables already pressing down on the ends of the deck to help secure it in place. I think this would provide much better support to the bridge rather than what I did.

This suspension bridge was very flexible, as you can tell from the video. I read an article about building model suspension bridges that said it was difficult to get them flexible enough. Also, I did not have any hangers (vertical cables hanging off the main cables) on this bridge. I did not make any mostly because of the great difficulty in making them even and I did not know a good way to attach the hangers to the main cables. In real life, the cables are metal and have metal clamps and other devices that make this process easier. But I was using parachute cord.

Plans for this Suspension Bridge

Do you want to build a model of a suspension bridge? They sure are fun and are great to look at when you are finished. My models are always functional, which means you can test them as well. While I do not have blueprints for this particular suspension bridge, I do have plans for a smaller one. You can check them out here:

Suspension Bridge Blueprints