World's Greatest Bridges (2017) User Reviews

Perfectly Presented

[alex-278 · 10/10 · 25 April 2021]

I am a sucker for these types of shows, but most of them disappoint because they are superficial and presented with multiple talking heads and multiple presenters which really can be annoying - especially the talking heads.

But Rob Bell does a fantastic job telling the whole story from the idea to the completed bridge, with drawings, and technical detail. I just finished watching the Sydney Harbour Bridge episode and was mighty impressed and learned so much about the impact on the locals that I just had no idea of, he even reads out some of the poignant letters of those who lost their houses, and in those days there was no concept of compensation.

Excellent show.

Millau Viaduct

[johnmdewar · 24 March 2021]

Why is Norman Foster promoted so much by Rob Bell ? He only tarted up superficially. - the whole design, construction methods, ingenuity came from the French engineer Michel Virlogeux.

Rob's review of the Severn bridge is way off the mark

[drckxryjf · 6/10 · 20 May 2021]

It was known that the bridge that is the feature of this story had a fundamental design flaw before it was even opened. It related to the way the deck ribbing was attached to the decking itself. The result was a quite short fatigue life for this bridge.

The engineering firm, Freeman Fox covered up their knowledge of this fundamental defect which greatly decreased the service life of the bridge and lead to another bridge having to be built to reduce the duty cycle on the featured bridge.

Rob totally fails to mention this and suggests that it is a great feat of engineering. In reality it is a mixed success at best.