Which construction category includes highway bridges?

• A. Heavy Floor
• B. Heavy Wall
• C. Precast
• D. Heavy Frame Steel

Answer: (A)

In this context, the most important idea is recognizing the dominant load-carrying system of a structure. Highway bridges carry their loads primarily through a heavy floor system—the deck that spans between girders and transfers traffic loads to the supporting beams and piers. That deck-and-girder arrangement defines the primary load path, so the construction category that best describes this bridge is the one focused on the heavy floor.

The other options describe different dominant load paths that aren’t typical for highway bridges. A heavy wall structure is dominated by bearing walls, which isn’t how a bridge distributes loads. A heavy frame steel description centers on a steel-framed building, not a deck-and-girder bridge. While bridges can incorporate precast components, the category that captures the main force path is heavy floor, since the deck is the critical element carrying and distributing the load.