Conceptual Design of Bridges Suitable for Rurally Isolated Areas

Paper in proceeding, 2026

Construction of bridges in rurally isolated areas differs a lot from building bridges in industrialised parts of the world: the sites are remote, the availability of materials is limited, and the access to heavy machinery is non-existent. To develop a concept that can manage these challenging conditions, an alternative design process has been developed. This design process has then been applied to develop a bridge concept suitable for spans ranging from 15 to 30 meters in rural areas of Rwanda. The result is a modular steel truss bridge that can be assembled entirely by hand and adapted to various spans. To ensure that all necessary parts can be transported to the most remote sites, none of the individual elements are longer or heavier than what can be transported by foot through rugged terrain. The bridge concept is presented alongside the alternative design process developed to address the critical design challenges of rurally isolated areas.