Suspension Bridge

A suspension bridge is a bridge that consists of two pairs of pillars, one on either end of the span, with two or more cables slung between them. The bridge deck is suspended from vertical cables or rods attached to the main cables. The main cables continue beyond the pillars, and are anchored in the ground. The bridge also has two smaller spans, running between either pair of pillars and the land. The design was developed in the 19th century (the first Hammersmith Bridge (1827) in west London was an early example), and has become widely used since.

The slender lines of the Severn Bridge, near Bristol, England (best seen on this Larger version).
For another Severn Bridge picture, click here.

The main forcess in a suspension bridge are the tension in the main cables and the compression in the pillars. Since almost all the force on the pillars is vertically downwards, they can be made quite slender.

Two main reasons for building a suspension bridge, instead of, for instance, a cheaper low bridge, are:

The center span may be made very long, allowing the bridge to span a very wide, deep rift, and
It can be built high over water to allow the passage of very tall ships.

The largest suspension bridges in the world

(by length of centre span)

Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge (Japan) 1,990 meters or 6,529 feet - 1998
Great Belt Bridge (Denmark) 1,624 meters or 5,328 feet - 1998
Humber Bridge (England) 1,410 meters or 4,624 feet - 1981
Jangyn Bridge (China, Yangtse River) 1,385 meters - 1997
Tsing Ma Bridge (Hong Kong) 1,377 meters - 1997
Verrazano Narrows Bridge (USA) 1,298 meters or 4,260 feet - 1964
Golden Gate Bridge (USA) 1,280 meters or 4,200 feet - 1937
Hoga Kusten (Sweden) - 1,210 meters - 1997
Mackinac Bridge (USA) 1,158 meters or 3,800 feet - 1958
Minami Bisan-Seto Bridge (Japan) 1,118 meters or 3,668 feet - 1988
Second Bosporus Bridge (Turkey) 1,090 meters or 3,576 feet - 1988
First Bosporus Bridge (Turkey) 1,074 meters or 3,524 feet - 1973
George Washington Bridge (USA) 1,067 meters or 3,500 feet - 1931
Third Kurushima-Kaikyo Bridge (Japan) 1,030 meters - 1999
Second Kurushima-Kaikyo Bridge (Japan) 1,020 meters - 1999

A bridge with a center span of 3,290 m or 10,800 feet is proposed to connect Italy and Sicily but construction has not yet begun. Another has been proposed for the Strait of Gibraltar.

Other famous suspension bridges

Wheeling Suspension Bridge (USA, 1849)
Brooklyn Bridge (USA, 1883), one of the earliest.
Clifton Suspension Bridge (England, 1864)
Forth Road Bridge (Scotland, 1964)
Tacoma Narrows Bridge, (USA, 1940). The Tacoma Narrows are prone to sustained and moderately strong winds, with which the bridge had a tendency to resonate, leading to its collapse only months after completion.

See also: cable-stayed bridge

Modern Usage: Suspension Bridge

Image Slideshow: Suspension Bridge

Photo Album: Suspension Bridge

Thumbnail	Description & Credit	Thumbnail	Description & Credit
	The easy way - a suspension bridge Triangulation party of William M. Scaife. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.		Newburyport as seen from the northern bank of the Merrimac River. The bridge to the right is a chain suspension bridge. In: Historical Collections ... of Every Town in Massachusetts. 1841. Credit: America's Coastlines.
	View through arch of east tower. Photograph by Jack E. Boucher, March 1977. (Reproduction Number: HAER WVA,35-WHEEL,35-44) The Wheeling Suspension Bridge has been called "the father of American suspension bridges." Designed in 1849 by Charles Ellett as part of the National Road (later U.S. 40), the bridge spans a distance of 1,010 feet across the Ohio River so as to allow boats to pass underneath it. The bridge has been altered several times by noted engineers including Ellett's partner, William McComas, and William Hildenbrand. It remains the oldest vehicular suspension bridge in the world that is still in use. Credit: Library of Congress.		Engineering drawing for a suspension bridge ("Proposed design for Chain Bridge") for George Oakley Totten, Jr., Washington, D.C. Plan and elevation. Credit: Library of Congress.
	The falls from Suspension Bridge / A.C. Credit: Library of Congress.		Looking up East River showing Brooklyn Bridge and the new suspension bridge, New York. Credit: Library of Congress.
	Boulder canyon reclamation project, Arizona and Nevada...General view of Black canyon and operations at the diversion tunnel outlet portals. A steel suspension bridge, being built by six companies, is seen in the foreground / p. Credit: Library of Congress; photo by B.D. Glaha for U.S..		Old chain bridge, Newburyport, Mass., first suspension bridge in America. Credit: Library of Congress.
	Lewiston & Queenston Suspension bridge, Niagara River, New York. Credit: Library of Congress.		Indian troops in East Africa. Indian sappers and miners serving in the Middle East keep in strict training. Here they are bridging a canal in the Nile River. The Egyptian and his camel make use of the suspension bridge, but the camel is not too certain. Credit: Library of Congress.
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Frequency of Internet Keywords: Suspension Bridge

Modern Translation: Suspension Bridge

Language		Translations for "suspension bridge"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Arabic		‏جسر معلق. (various references)

Bulgarian		висящ мост. (various references)

French		pont suspendu. (various references)

German		Hängebrücke. (various references)

Greek		κρεμαστή γέφυρα (drawbridge). (various references)

Italian		ponte sospeso. (various references)

Japanese Kanji		釣り橋 , 吊橋 , 吊り橋 , 掛け橋 (go-between, mediation, temporary bridge, viaduct), 懸け橋 (go-between, mediation, temporary bridge, viaduct). (various references)

Japanese Katakana		つりばし, かけはし (bridge building, cross-linking, go-between, mediation, temporary bridge, viaduct). (various references)

Manx		droghad croghit. (various references)

Pig Latin		uspensionsay idgebray

Portuguese		ponte pênsil (chain bridge). (various references)

Romanian		pod suspendat (flying bridge). (various references)

Russian		висячий мост (hanging bridge). (various references)

Spanish		puente colgante (chain bridge). (various references)

Swedish		hängbro. (various references)

Turkish		asma köprü (drawbridge). (various references)

Vietnamese		cầu treo. (various references)

Welsh		crocbont. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

Anagrams: Suspension Bridge

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "b-d-e-e-g-i-i-n-n-o-p-r-s-s-s-u"
	-4 letters: boringnesses.
	-5 letters: brininesses, depressions, digressions, dinginesses, dispersions, inbreedings, ingressions, prednisones, pudginesses, redisposing, rigidnesses, roundnesses, serpiginous, springiness, superseding, underbosses.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.

Expression	Frequency per Day
suspension bridge	135
capilano suspension bridge	82
clifton suspension bridge	45
longest suspension bridge	8
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Suspension Bridge

Definition: Suspension Bridge