What kind of bridge did Leonardo da Vinci design to be rapidly assembled and dismantled?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a self-supporting bridge that could be rapidly assembled and dismantled.

The bridge used interlocking wooden beams arranged so that the structure supported itself without nails, ropes, or permanent foundations. Leonardo’s notebooks show how the beams could be positioned in a repeating pattern, allowing soldiers to create a crossing with portable materials.

This design suited Renaissance military engineering, where armies needed to cross rivers quickly and remove temporary infrastructure before an enemy could use it. The concept was also compact enough to be transported and reused.

The bridge is sometimes described as a “self-supporting” or “self-locking” bridge. It should not be confused with Leonardo’s proposed bridge for Sultan Bayezid II, which was a separate large masonry or structural concept intended to span the Golden Horn near Constantinople.