Design of stone masonry bridges in European treatises: part 2 – the construction process

In Europe, stone masonry bridges make up a significant part of heritage infrastructures. Their design and construction were the subject of several European treatises published in the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. However, the literature is fragmented and incomplete. Part 1 of this two-paper set provided a detailed description of the geometrical features and materials used in stone masonry bridges and a brief introduction to this paper by explaining the initial steps of the design. In this paper, the construction phases are described, starting from the foundation up to the pavement. For this, valuable lost knowledge was recovered to serve as a basis for further research, with the ultimate aim of helping today's engineers to intervene appropriately when preserving the functional and architectural value of heritage bridges.