This article is concerned with a particular type of suspension bridge, the suspended-deck type. For an index to the several types see suspension bridge types.

Suspension bridge
An early bridge of this type, the Clifton Suspension Bridge
Ancestor:	Simple suspension bridge
Related:	None, but see also cable stayed bridge and compression arch suspended-deck bridge
Descendant:	Self-anchored suspension bridge
Carries:	Pedestrians, automobiles, trucks, light rail
Span range:	Medium to long
Material:	Steel rope, multiple steel wire strand cables or forged or cast chain links
Movable:	No
Design effort:	medium
Falsework required:	No

A suspension bridge is a type of bridge where the main load-bearing elements are hung from suspension cables. While modern suspension bridges with level decks date from the early 19th century, earlier types are reported from the 3rd century BC. Simple suspension bridges, for use by pedestrians and livestock, are still constructed, based upon the ancient Inca rope bridge.

Suspended well from two high locations over a river or canyon, simple suspension bridges follow a shallow downward arc and are not suited for modern roads and railroads. Advances in materials and design led to the development of the suspended-deck suspension bridge, a modern bridge capable of carrying vehicles and light rail. Instead of the deck following the downward arc of the main load-bearing cables (or chains), these cables are suspended between towers, and vertical suspender cables carry the weight of the deck below, upon which traffic crosses. This arrangement allows the deck to be level or to arc slightly upward for additional clearance.

The suspension cables must be anchored at each end of the bridge, since any load applied to the bridge is transformed into a tension in these main cables. The main cables continue beyond the pillars to deck-level supports, and further continue to connections with anchors in the ground (An exception is the Royal Albert Bridge (1859) where the anchors are replaced by an arch between the columns.) The roadway is supported by vertical suspender cables or rods, called hangers. In some circumstances the towers may sit on a bluff or canyon edge where the road may proceed directly to the main span, otherwise the bridge will usually have two smaller spans, running between either pair of pillars and the highway, which may be supported by suspender cables or may use a truss bridge to make this connection. In the latter case there will be very little arc in the outboard main cables.

Contents 1 History 2 Structural behaviour 2.1 Structural analysis 2.2 Advantages over other bridge types 2.3 Disadvantages compared with other bridge types 3 Variations 3.1 Underspanned suspension bridge 3.2 Suspension cable types 3.3 Deck structure types 3.4 Use other than road and rail 4 Construction sequence (wire strand cable type) 5 Golden Gate Bridge details gallery 6 The longest suspension bridge spans in the world 7 Other famous suspension bridges 8 Infamous suspension bridges 9 Picture Gallery 9.1 References 9.2 See also 9.3 External links

History

The suspension bridge is one of the oldest types of bridge. Early simple, or catenary, suspension bridges consisted of three or more cables made from vines, where people walked directly on the ropes to cross. Simple suspension bridges with decking made from planks resting on two cables date back at least to 285BC in China, and other bridges of similar type are recorded in Tibet. Seven bridges of this type were reportedly built in China in 95BC at Chengdu by Li Bing. A Chinese multi-span simple suspension bridge with bamboo cables is reported at Quan-Xian, documented from 960AD and possibly dating back to the 3rd century BC.

Simple suspension bridges using iron chains are also documented in China and the Himalayas, although their earliest date is unclear. One example, the Luding Bridge, dates from 1703, spanning 100m using eleven iron chains. Several are attributed to Tibetan monk Thang-stong rGyal-po, who reportedly built several in Tibet and Bhutan in the 15th century, including one at Chuka. Claims that more modern suspension bridges with a horizontal deck also originated in Tibet or China remain largely unsubstantiated.

Finly\'s Jacob\'s Creek bridge

The first design for a bridge resembling the modern suspension bridge in the West is attributed to Faust Verantius, whose 1595 book “Machinae Novae” included drawings both for a timber and rope suspension bridge, and a hybrid suspension and cable-stayed bridge using iron chains. However, the first such bridge actually built was James Finley’s iron chain bridge at Jacob’s Creek, in Pennsylvania, in 1801. This was widely publicised from 1810 onwards, beginning a period of rapid development of the modern suspension bridge.

Early British chain bridges included the Dryburgh Abbey Bridge (1817) and 137m Union Bridge (1820), with spans rapidly increasing to 176m with the Menai Suspension Bridge (1826). The Clifton Suspension Bridge shown above (designed in 1831, completed in 1864 with a 214m central span) is one of the longest of the parabolic arc chain type.

Development of wire cable suspension bridges dates to the temporary simple suspension bridge at Annonay built by Marc Seguin and his brothers in 1822. It spanned only 18m. The first permanent wire cable suspension bridge was Guillaume Henri Dufour’s Saint Antoine Bridge in Geneva of 1823, with two 40m spans. The first with cables assembled in mid-air in the modern method was Joseph Chaley’s Grand Pont Suspendu in Fribourg, in 1834.

Structural behaviour

Structural analysis

The main forces in a suspension bridge are tension in the main cables and compression in the pillars. Since almost all the force on the pillars is vertically downwards and they are also stabilized by the main cables, they can be made quite slender, as they have been in, for example, the Severn Bridge, near Bristol, England

The slender lines of the Severn Bridge

Assuming a negligible cable weight compared to the deck and vehicles being supported, a suspension bridge’s main cables will form a parabola (very similar to a catenary, the form the unloaded cables take before the deck is added). This can be seen from the cable’s constant gradient increase with linear (deck) distance, this increase in gradient at each connection with the deck providing a net upward support force. Combined with the relatively simple constraints placed upon the actual deck, this makes the suspension bridge much simpler to design and analyze than a cable-stayed bridge, where the deck is in compression.

Advantages over other bridge types

A suspension bridge can be made out of simple materials such as wood and common wire rope.

• Longer main spans are achievable than with any other type of bridge
• Less material may be required than other bridge types, even at spans those can achieve, leading to a reduced construction cost
• Except for installation of the initial temporary cables, little access from below is required during construction, for example allowing a waterway to remain open while the bridge is built above
• May be better able to withstand seismic movements than heavier and more rigid bridges

Disadvantages compared with other bridge types

• Considerable stiffness or aerodynamic profiling may be required to prevent the bridge deck vibrating under high winds
• The relatively low deck stiffness compared to other types makes it more difficult to carry heavy rail traffic where high concentrated live loads occur
• Some access below may be required during construction, to lift the initial cables or to lift deck units. This access can often be avoided in cable-stayed bridge construction

Variations

Underspanned suspension bridge

Micklewood Bridge as illustrated by Charles Drewry, 1832

In an underspanned suspension bridge, the main cables hang entirely below the bridge deck, but are still anchored into the ground in a similar way to the conventional type. Very few bridges of this nature have been built, as the deck is inherently less stable than when suspended below the cables. Examples include the Pont des Bergues of 1834 designed by Guillaume Henri DufourPeters, Tom F., “Transitions in Engineering: Guillaume Henri Dufour and the Early 19th Century Cable Suspension Bridges”, Birkhauser, 1987, ISBN 3764319291; James Smith’s Micklewood Bridge Drewry, Charles Stewart, “Memoir on Suspension Bridges”, Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green & Longman, London, 1832; and a proposal by Robert Stevenson for a bridge over the River Almond near Edinburgh.

Suspension cable types

The main suspension cable in older bridges was often made from chain or linked bars, but modern bridge cables are made from multiple strands of wire. This is for greater redundancy; a few flawed strands in the hundreds used pose very little threat, whereas a single bad link or eyebar can cause failure of the entire bridge. This was found to be the cause of the collapse of the Silver Bridge over the Ohio river. Another reason is that as spans increased, engineers were unable to lift larger chains into position, whereas parallel-strand cables can be largely prepared in mid-air.

Deck structure types

A plate deck suspension bridge over the Yangtze River in China

Most suspension bridges have open truss structures to support the roadbed (particularly owing to the unfavorable effects of using plate girders, discovered accidentally from the Tacoma Narrows bridge collapse). Recent developments in bridge aerodynamics have allowed the re-introduction of plate structures. In the illustration to the right, note the very sharp entry edge and sloping undergirders in the suspension bridge shown. This enables this type of construction to be used without the danger of vortex shedding and consequent aeroelastic effects, such as those that destroyed the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

Use other than road and rail

Cable-suspended footbridge at Dallas Fort Worth Airport Terminal D

The principles of suspension used on the large scale may also appear in contexts less dramatic than road or rail bridges. Light cable suspension may prove less expensive and seem more elegant for a footbridge than strong girder supports. Where such a bridge spans a gap between two buildings, there is no need to construct special towers, as the buildings can anchor the cables. Cable suspension may also be augmented by the inherent stiffness of a structure that has much in common with a Tubular bridge.

Construction sequence (wire strand cable type)

New Little Belt suspension bridge, 1970 Denmark

• Where the towers are founded on underwater piers, caissons are sunk and any soft bottom is excavated for a foundation. If the bedrock is too deep to be exposed by excavation or the sinking of a caisson, pilings are driven to the bedrock or into overlying hard soil, or a large concrete pad to distribute the weight over less resistant soil may be constructed, first preparing the surface with a bed of compacted gravel. (Such a pad footing can also accommodate the movements of an active earthquake fault, and this has been implemented on the foundations of the cable-stayed Rio-Antirio bridge. The foundation piers are then extended to above water level.
• Where the towers are founded on dry land, deep foundation excavation or pilings are used.
• From the tower foundation, towers of single or multiple columns are erected using concrete, stonework, or steel structures. At some elevation there must be a passage for the deck, with the columns extending high above this level.
• Smooth open cable paths called saddles are anchored atop the towers. These allow for slight movements of the cable as the loads change during construction. The top of these saddles may be closed with an additional part after completion of the bridge.
• Anchorages are constructed to resist the tension of the cables. These are usually anchored in good quality rock, but may consist of massive reinforced concrete deadweights within an excavation. The anchorage structure will have multiple protruding open eyebolts enclosed within a secure space.
• A temporary suspended walkway supported by wire rope follows the curve of the cables to be constructed, mathematically described as a catenary arc.

Manhattan Bridge in New York City with deck under construction from the towers outward.

• Another set of wire ropes are suspended above the walkway and are used to support a traveler that has wheels riding atop these cables. There will be one set of wire ropes and a traveler for each cable to be “spun”.
• Pulling cables attached to winches are capable of pulling the traveler from one anchorage to the other, traveling in arcs to the tops of the two towers.
• High strength wire, typically less than 10 mm in diameter, is pulled in a loop by pulleys on the traveler, with one end affixed at an anchorage. Workers stationed along the walkway attach the passing cable to a bundle with a temporary binding. When the traveler reaches the opposite anchorage the loop is placed over an open anchor eyebar.
• The traveler is returned to the start point to pick up another loop or it is used to carry a new loop from this side.
• As loops are placed, corrosion proofing may be applied.
• In this way a complete sub-cable is created linking the eyebar (or a set of eyebars) from one anchorage to the other. The sub-cables will have a hexagonal cross section and are held together with the temporary bindings.
• Multiple adjacent sub-cables are placed adjacent to each other. While these are on a hexagonal grid, the general form for the larger cable is circular.
• The entire cable is then compressed by a traveling hydraulic press into a closely packed cylinder and tightly wrapped with additional wire to form the final circular cross section.
• Saddles to carry the suspender cables are clamped to the main cables, each with an appropriate shape to conform to the ultimate slope of the main cables. Each saddle is an equal horizontal distance from the next, with spacing appropriate to the design of the deck.
• Suspender cables engineered and cut to precise lengths and carrying swedged ends are looped over the saddles. In some bridges, where the towers are close to or on the shore, the suspender cables may be applied only to the central span.

Lions\' Gate Bridge with deck under construction from the span\'s center

• Special lifting hosts attached to the suspenders or from the main cables are used to lift prefabricated sections of bridge deck to the proper level, provided that the local conditions allow the sections to be carried below the bridge by barge or other means, otherwise a traveling cantilever may be used to extend the deck one section at a time. If the addition of the deck structure extends from the towers the finished portions of the deck will pitch upward rather sharply, as there is no downward force in the center of the span. Upon completion of the deck the added load will pull the main cables into an arc mathematically described as a parabola, while the arc of the deck will be as the designer intended — usually a gentle upward arc for added clearance if over a shipping channel, or flat in other cases such as a span over a canyon.
• With completion of the primary structure various details such as lighting, handrails, finish painting and paving are added.

Golden Gate Bridge details gallery

Drahtseilgoldengatebridge.jpg Demonstration section of main cable showing component wires

GGB cable seat.jpg Main cable seat at top of tower

Golden Gate Bridge architecture 10.jpg Suspender cables and saddle on main cable

The longest suspension bridge spans in the world

The Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge between Akashi and Awaji Island, Japan

Main article: List of longest suspension bridge spans

Suspension bridge are typically ranked by the length of their main span.

1. Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge (Japan), 1991 m — 1998
2. Xihoumen Bridge (China), 1650 m — 2007
3. Great Belt Bridge (Denmark), 1624 m — 1998
4. Runyang Bridge (China), 1490 m — 2005
5. Humber Bridge (England, United Kingdom), 1410 m — 1981. (The longest span from 1981 until 1998.)
6. Jiangyin Suspension Bridge (China), 1385 m — 1997
7. Tsing Ma Bridge (China), 1377 m — 1997 (longest span with both road and metro)
8. Verrazano Narrows Bridge (USA), 1298 m — 1964. (The longest span from 1964 until 1981.)
9. Golden Gate Bridge (USA), 1280 m — 1937. (The longest span from 1937 until 1964.)
10. Yangluo Bridge (China), 1280 m — 2007

The Humber Bridge, UK

Tsing Ma Bridge, Hong Kong

The Strait of Messina Bridge, with a center span of 3300 m, was planned to connect Italy and Sicily but was cancelled shortly before construction was set to begin. Bridges have also been suggested for the Strait of Gibraltar and the Sunda Strait with longest spans of several kilometres. The suspension cables for these longest bridges are suspended from the ends of cable-stayed ties extending diagonally from tall pylons, also called towers.

Other famous suspension bridges

Brooklyn Bridge with Manhattan Bridge in background

Golden Gate Bridge, California, USA

Western portion of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge — two bridges with a common central anchorage

• Union Bridge (England/Scotland), 137 m — 1820. The longest span from 1820 to 1826. The oldest in the world still in use today.
• Menai Suspension Bridge (north Wales), 176 m — 1826, The longest span from 1826 until 1834.
• Zähringen Bridge (Switzerland), 271 m — 1834. The longest span from 1834 until 1849. The bridge was removed in the 1920s.
• Wheeling Suspension Bridge (USA), 308 m — 1849. The longest span from 1849 until 1851 and from 1864 to 1866
• Lewiston-Queenston Bridge (USA and Canada), 316 m — 1851. The longest span from 1851 until it was destroyed by wind in 1864.
• John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge (USA), 322 m — 1866. The longest span from 1866–69.
• Niagara Clifton Bridge, 384 m — 1869. The longest span from 1869 to 1883. Replaced in 1899.
• Brooklyn Bridge (USA), 486 m — 1883. The longest span from 1883 until 1903.
• Williamsburg Bridge (USA), 488 m — 1903. The longest span from 1903 until 1924.
• Bear Mountain Bridge (USA), 497 m — 1924. The longest span from 1924 to 1926. The first suspension bridge to have a concrete deck. The construction methods pioneered in building it would make possible several much larger projects to follow.
• Benjamin Franklin Bridge (USA), 533 m — 1926. The longest span from 1926 until 1929.
• Ambassador Bridge (Michigan-Ontario, USA–Canada), 564 m — 1929. The longest span from 1929 to 1931.
• George Washington Bridge (USA), 1067 m — 1931 The longest span from 1931 until 1937.
• Royal Gorge Bridge (USA) 1929 The highest (384 m) suspension bridge in the world.
• San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge (California, USA), 704 m — 1936. The western portion is two complete two tower bridges end-to-end with a central anchorage, required to avoid dynamic interactions between three main spans between the four towers. Until recently, this was the longest steel high-level bridge in the world.McGloin, Bernard. Symphonies in Steel: Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate. Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco. Retrieved on 2008-01-12. The eastern portion (a cantilever bridge) is currently being replaced with a self-anchored suspension bridge which will be the longest of its type in the world.
• Tacoma Narrows Bridge (USA), 853 m — 1950 & 2007. The largest twin suspension bridge in the world.

Infamous suspension bridges

Hercilio Luz Bridge, Florianópolis, Brazil

• The Bridge of San Luis Rey (Fictional)
• Silver Bridge, a 1928 eyebar chain bridge that collapsed in 1967, killing forty-eight people.
• Tacoma Narrows Bridge, (USA), 853 m — 1940. The Tacoma Narrows are prone to sustained and moderately strong winds, with which the bridge had a tendency to resonate (owing to its unique plate-girder deck structure and ultimately its nickname “The Galloping Gertie”). This led to its collapse only months after completion. The collapse was captured on film.

Picture Gallery

Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge at night	Ponte 25 Abril Lisboa.JPG 25 de Abril Bridge in Lisbon, Portugal	Tacoma Narrows Bridge Falling.png A suspension bridge falls: Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapses	AmbassadorBridgesunsetting1.jpg The Ambassador Bridge — Longest suspension bridge from 1929–1931.
Brooklyn Bridge Postdlf.jpg New York’s famous Brooklyn Bridge	SF-Oakland-Bay-Bridge-Construction.jpg San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge under construction	Great Belt Bridge JvdC.jpg Driving on the 2nd largest suspension bridge, Denmark’s Great Belt Bridge (Storebæltsbroen).	Busan, the Republic of Korea’s Gwangan Grand Bridge, with a suspension section of around 500 meters but with an overall length of 7,420 meters
Golden Gate Bridge Aerial.jpg The famous Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco	Ortakoey Istanbul Bosporusbruecke Mrz2005.jpg Ortaköy Mosque and the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul

References

See also

• Category:Suspension bridges — for all the articles about specific suspension bridges.
• List of longest suspension bridge spans
• Cable-stayed bridge — superficially similar to a suspension bridge, but cables from the towers directly support the roadway, rather than the road being suspended indirect by additional cables from the main cables connecting two towers.
• Inca rope bridge — which have many features in common with a suspension bridge and predates them by at least three hundred years. However in a rope bridge the deck itself is suspended from the anchored piers and the guardrails are non-structural.
• Self-supporting suspension bridge — combining elements of a suspension bridge and a cable-stayed bridge.
• Simple suspension bridge — a modern implementation of the rope bridge using steel cables, although either the upper guardrail or lower footboard cables may be the main structural cables.

v • d • e Bridge-related articles
Types of bridges	Moveable bridge · Beam bridge · Cantilever bridge · Arch bridge · Suspension bridge · Cable-stayed bridge · Truss bridge · Visual index to various types
Lists of Bridges	Notable bridges · By length · Longest suspension bridge spans · Largest cable-stayed bridges · Longest cantilever bridges · Arch bridges · Tallest · Bridge disasters

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Suspension bridges

• New Brunswick Canada Suspension FootBridges
• Structurae: Suspension Bridges
• American Society of Civil Engineers History and Heritage of Civil Engineering — Bridges
• Bridgemeister: Mostly Suspension Bridges

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