What Is a Suspension Bridge Made Of?
When designing suspension bridges, engineers consider environmental characteristics, such as weather, navigable obstacles, such as rivers, and available construction resources. Suspension bridges should be light yet strong enough to handle the forces of nature and traffic weight.
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Steel Cables
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Pilot cables stretch from concrete anchors at one end of the bridge, through saddles in the pillars, to anchors on the other end of the bridge. Vertical cables, spaced to evenly distribute the span's weight, are fastened to the pilot cable.
Two Pillars
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Concrete pillars on either end of the span carry the vehicle weights and a majority of the bridge's weight. Steel saddles (cable paths) crown the towers, allowing the cable to shift with changing loads. When a bridge crosses water, the pillars are founded on concrete or bedrock piers; over dry ground, they are secured into the bedrock.
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Anchorages
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Molded concrete forms a suspension bridge's anchorages. Steel eyebars--designed to withstand cable tension and fastened into the blocks--anchor the cables.
Deck
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Vertical cables, attached to the support (pilot) cables, suspend the steel-reinforced concrete deck between the pillars. Deck construction begins at the pillars and balances the weight between the pillars by building outward in both directions at the same pace.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit suspension bridge image by Tammy Mobley from Fotolia.com
