Engineers in the nineteenth century knew that a bridge which was built across multiple supports would distribute the loads among them. This meant there would be lower stresses in the girder or truss and meant that longer spans could be built. Several nineteenth century engineers designed continuous bridges with hinge points mid-span. The use of a hinge in the multi-span system meant that engineers could better work out the loads and stresses on the bridge It also meant the bridge could handle the foundations settling at different rates.