Cable-Stayed Bridge Facts That Will Make You Want To Visit This Place

Devangana Rathore
Jan 17, 2023 By Devangana Rathore
Originally Published on Dec 23, 2021
Edited by Jacob Fitzbright
Bridges help us traverse physical barriers such as rivers, making our lives easier.
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Age: 3-18
Read time: 5.3 Min

One of the gorgeous bridge designs is the cable-stayed bridge.

Following World War II, cable-stayed bridges were common in Europe, and they have since extended to the United States. 'In the United States, they're becoming a go-to type,' says Andrew Herrmann, Ex chairman of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Because the cost is so low, several cities have discovered that building a new bridge using this architecture is less expensive than attempting to maintain an aging bridge operational indefinitely. The architecture of a suspended bridge is similar to that of a cable-stayed bridge.

The longest bridge in New York City is currently in dire straits. The 3 mi (4.8 km) long Tappan Zee Bridge crosses the Hudson River carrying 138,000 vehicles every day. Russky Bridge, in Vladivostok, Russia, has the world's longest cable-stayed bridge, 3622 ft (1104 m), and was finished in 2012. The John James Audubon Bridge is the only bridge that spans the Mississippi River between Natchez and Baton Rouge. Its main span is  1,583 ft (482 m). The maintenance of the cantilever bridge, which distributes weight over spans anchored to the coast, costs $50 million every year.

Cable-Stayed Bridge History Facts

Fausto Veranzio built the first cable-stayed bridge in Venice, Italy, in 1595. Bridges like the James Dredge's Victoria Bridge and the Dryburgh Abbey Bridge in England, however, rendered this sort of bridge practicable in the 19th century. The Barton Creek Bridge, built-in 1889, was the first cable-stayed bridge built in the United States. In addition, several historic suspension bridges, such as the footbridge Dryburgh Abbey Bridge,  Brooklyn Bridge, Albert Bridge, and James Dredge's Victoria Bridge, were cable-stayed in the 19th century.

The modern cable-stayed bridge was invented by Fabrizio de Miranda, Fritz Leonhardt, and Riccardo Morandi. Their designs contained very few modern stay cables, resulting in increased erection costs. Engineers and architects must construct sturdier bridges than beam bridges because automobiles are not intended to float or fly on water surfaces. A truss bridge was one such structure. The Ikitsuki Bridge in Japan is the world's longest truss bridge.

Cable-Stayed Bridge Geographic Location

The cable-stayed bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is sustained by several virtually straight diagonal cables in tension and extends directly with one or more vertical towers. The towers use vertical compression to convey cable pressures to the foundations.

Although cable-stayed bridges resemble suspension bridges in appearance, they are fundamentally different in design and construction. There are two different sets of cables in a suspension structure: primary cables to link the towers and secondary cables that hang from the first pair and maintain the roadbed. In a cable-stayed bridge, on the other hand, cables hold the deck by linking it straight to the towers in place of suspender cables. Pedestrians, cars, bicycles, light rail, and trucks are usually transported. It is utilized when spans must be larger than a cantilever bridge can accomplish (due to its weight). Still, the span is too short for a suspension bridge to be financially sustainable.

The cables, or stays, which usually create a fan-like design or a sequence of parallel lines, are a distinguishing feature. In contrast, the cables holding the deck on modern suspension-type bridges are hung vertically from the primary cable, anchored at both sides of the bridge, and run between the towers. The cable-stayed bridge is ideal for spans longer than those of a cantilever bridge but shorter than those of suspension-type bridges. Within this range, cantilever bridges would become significantly heavier, while suspension bridge wiring would become very expensive. The cable-stayed design is easier and faster to construct than a suspension bridge since it utilizes less steel cable. However, the cables pull the towers down, which should be built to withstand this. In 1988, the Sunshine Skyway bridge of Florida won a Presidential Award for its architecture. This bridge was also among the first to place the cables in the middle of the road.

Cable-Stayed Bridge Material

Prestressed or reinforced concrete, orthotropic steel decks, or composite concrete-steel decks are all materials used to construct decks. Deck girders are steel beams or prestressed concrete beams and concrete or steel box girders. Steel, prestressed or reinforced concrete, and composite steel and concrete are needed for tower construction. In addition, high-strength steel wires, often 270 grade, made from seven-wire, other higher-grade steel strands, composites, or carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRP) are required for cables.

learn about the gorgeous cable stayed bridge

What does a cable-stayed bridge carry?

Cable-stayed bridges use almost straight diagonal cables under tension to carry the vertical main-span stresses. The architects of most cable-stayed bridges offer a wide range of options, not only in terms of deck and cable components but also in terms of cable geometric layout. For example, the Erasmus Bridge in Holland mimics a harp with its cable-stayed design.

Only one tower and one side of a side-spar cable-stayed bridge are supported. A pedestrian bridge in Winnipeg, Canada, is one example of a bridge built on this philosophy. The other is the Jerusalem Chords Bridge and is also bent because of its design.

A single cantilever spar spans one end of a cantilever-spar cable-stayed bridge. Since the cable forces of this bridge are not matched by opposing cables, and the bridge puts a considerable overturning force on its base, its spar is designed to resist bending induced by the cables. This bridge can be found in Spain at the Sundial Bridge, Puente de la Mujer, and Chords Bridge.

A cable-stayed bridge having more than three spans is known as a multiple-span cable-stayed bridge. It is a more complicated bridge because the weights from the major spans are not tied back close to the end abutments.

Extradosed bridges feature a sturdier and sturdier deck than regular cable-stayed bridges, and its cables are linked to the deck farther from towers, which are likewise lower.

One of the most recent variations is the cable-stayed cradle-system bridge. It has a 'cradle system' that transports fibers within the stays through one bridge deck to the next. As a result, the bridge has no anchors in the pylons, and its cables could be withdrawn, inspected, and changed separately because they are continuous.

The Jiaxing-Shaoxing Sea Bridge connects Jiaxing with Shaoxing, two cities in Zhejiang province, and crosses Hangzhou Bay over 6.3 mi (10.1 km). It was inaugurated on July 23, 2013, and it is now the world's longest cable-stayed bridge.

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Written by Devangana Rathore

Bachelor of Arts specializing in English Language, Master of Philosophy

Devangana Rathore picture

Devangana RathoreBachelor of Arts specializing in English Language, Master of Philosophy

Devangana is a highly accomplished content writer and a deep thinker with a Master's degree in Philosophy from Trinity College, Dublin. With a wealth of experience in copywriting, she has worked with The Career Coach in Dublin and is constantly looking to enhance her skills through online courses from some of the world's leading universities. Devangana has a strong background in computer science and is also an accomplished editor and social media manager. Her leadership skills were honed during her time as the literacy society president and student president at the University of Delhi.

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