bridge, structure: Cable-Stayed, Suspension, and Combination Bridges

The cable-stayed bridge is the most modern type, coming into prominence during the 1950s. The longest is the Russky Bridge, Vladivostok, Russia, which has a main span of 3,622 ft (1,104 m); the Sutong Bridge, Suzhou–Nantong, Jiangsu, China, with a main span of 3,570 ft (1,088 m), and the Stonecutters Bridge, Hong Kong, with a main span of 3,340 ft (1,018 m) are other long cable-stayed bridges. The longest cable-stayed bridge in the United States is the Arthur Ravenel, Jr., Bridge in Charleston, S.C., which has a span of 1,546 ft (471 m).

The suspension bridge is used for the longest spans. The earliest suspension bridges built in America were those constructed by the American builder James Finley. The design of suspension bridges advanced when J. A. Roebling, a German-born engineer who emigrated to the United States, developed the use of wire cables and stiffening trusses. His first completed suspension bridge spanned the Niagara River in 1854. He also designed the Brooklyn Bridge across the East River (completed 1883), which was the world's longest suspension bridge at the time of its construction, having a main span of 1,595.5 ft (487 m).

Today the longest spans in the world are suspended. The longest main spans are the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, Hyogo, Japan, 6,529 ft (1,990 m); the Xihoumen Bridge, Zhoushan Archipelago, China, 5,414 ft (1,650 m); the Store Bælt Bridge, Denmark, 5,328 ft (1,624 m); the south span of the Runyang Bridge, Jiangsu, China, 4,888 ft (1,490 m); and the Humber River Bridge, Hull, England, 4,626 ft (1410 m). The longest suspension bridges in the United States are the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, New York City, 4,260 ft (1,298 m); the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, 4,200 ft (1,280 m); the Mackinac Straits Bridge, Mich., 3,800 ft (1,158 m); George Washington Bridge, New York City, 3,500 ft (1,067 m); and the two Tacoma Narrows Bridges, Tacoma, Wash., 2,800 ft (853 m) each.

Combination spans are often used to bridge even longer stretches of water. The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, noted for its three long spans, of which two are traditional suspension spans and the third a self-anchored single-tower suspension, has a total length of 8.25 mi (13.2 km). The Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge's main section, which links Hong Kong with Macau and Zhuhai, China, across the Pearl River estuary, consists of a 14.2 mi (22.9 km) bridge and 4.2 mi (6.7 km) tunnel; the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel has two 1-mi (1.6-km) tunnels along its 17.6-mi (28.2-km) length; and the 8-mi (12.9-km) Confederation Bridge, linking Prince Edward Island to the Canadian mainland, consists of three bridges. The longest cross-sea bridges are the Hangzhou Bay Bridge, 22.4 mi (36 km) long, which crosses the bay between Zhapu and Cixi, Zhejiang prov., China; the Donghai Bridge, 20.2 mi (32.5 km), which connects Shanghai, China, with the deepwater port on Yangshan Island in Hangzhou Bay; and the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge, 16.6 mi (26.7 km) long, which connects Qingdao with Huangdao, Shangdong prov., China; these bridges combine causeway with cable-stayed spans. The longest combination spans in the United States are the twin Lake Ponchartrain Causeways near New Orleans, Louisiana, whose parallel roadways stretch nearly 24 mi (38 km). Some viaducts carrying high-speed rail lines over land are even longer; the longest is the Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge, a 102.4-mi (164.8-km) viaduct in Jiangsu prov., China.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Military Bridges
• Movable Bridges
• Cable-Stayed, Suspension, and Combination Bridges
• Truss, Arch, and Cantilever Bridges
• Modern Bridge Designs
• Early Bridges
• Bibliography

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Technology: Terms and Concepts