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There are six main processes when it comes to the construction of a suspension bridge.
then the water needs to be dammed and pumped out. This is not the only problem though
as wherever the towers are going to be the foundations need to be on solid ground as it is
the towers that are under compression and transfer the applied loads into the ground as the
The third stage to the construction process is to erect the towers. This is a key stage as
suspension bridges are renowned for spanning long distances and the higher the towers are
Next the main cable needs to be stretched between the two anchor points and over the two
towers. At the top of the two towers sit two saddles. These are joints that the cable can run
freely over and they allow for any slight movement in the bridge. If this movement was not
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allowed for then when the bridge moved the load would no longer run directly down the
towers and there would be a risk of the bridge collapsing. The main two cables are made
from twisted steel cable and the size of them will depend upon factors such as the load the
Following this trusses are attached to the main cable. These are put in place to stiffen the
cable and make sure that in the wind the cable doesn’t move. Smaller cables are then
attached which are known as suspenders. These are joined to the trusses and are the cables
that run from the main cable down to support the deck.
The final part is the process of fixing the deck to the vertical cables and then applying the
finish to the deck. When this has been completed the load path should be as follows. The
load on the deck firstly travels into the deck. From the deck the load will travel through the
suspenders and into the main cable. The load in the cable will then travel to the top of each
of the two towers, through the saddle and down the towers into the ground.
So as you can see the construction process of a suspension bridge is the reverse of the load
path. In principal the stages are straight forward but later you will see some risk and
Construction Problems
There are two different types of construction problem. The first type would be something
such as a bridge being unsuccessful and collapsing after it has been built. Secondly you have
the problems that arise from the construction process and the effect it has on people and
the environment.
A prime example of a construction problem would be the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. This was
a bridge that when completed in 1940 was the third longest suspension bridge in the world.
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Just four months after opening this bridge collapsed in the wind. It was designed to
attempts failed and four months after opening the bridge collapsed as pictured. Some
people have put the collapse down to resonance but one thing that was learnt from the
collapse is that now all new bridges have scale models tested in wind tunnels to make sure
The second type of construction problems are those that arise when the work is being
carried out, these can be anything from disrupting the local residents and the environment
or not having a power source in place to operate machinery. Certain projects that are
carried out could be in rural areas. This means that there may not be any utilities in place
such as electricity to run offices and lighting and any other basic facilities that will be
required for the job and therefore it may mean generators would need to be put into place
first.
Secondly you may find that people and the environment are affected. The environmental
aspects are mentioned later in this report. However an example of how people could be
affected is by the way in which materials are transported to the site. Narrow streets for
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with good infrastructure. When constructing a suspension bridge over a river an alternative
method to transporting materials over land would be to use the river to transport larger
So as you can see some construction problems that occur can be thought through before
they take place such as the transportation of materials and the use of utilities on site.
However some problems are encountered along the way with a far greater impact than
anyone would have expected, for example the wind affecting the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
Even after strengthening the bridge the problem was not resolved which ultimately lead to
its collapse.
Safety Aspects
Bridge safety is a very important factor in bridge design, construction, maintenance and
repair. In America one of the organisations that carry out the above jobs is the Washington
State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). They inspect their bridges fully and carry out
any repairs that may be required. Some examples of the types of work that they carry out
include repainting steel work that is exposed to the elements as well as repairing joints such
In Minneapolis, August 2007, the Interstate 35W Bridge collapsed into the Mississippi river.
Although this wasn’t a suspension bridge it brought about questions on the federal
government’s ability to regulate health and safety of their bridges. Federal funding to assist
with continuing inspections, repairing and replacing of bridges is provided under a scheme
in America called the Highway Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation Program (HBRRP).
State and local governments assess different bridges and then if they feel that work is
needed on those bridges they apply for funds to carry the work out. It was in 1978 that the
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government felt that many bridges were becoming unsafe and that more money was
needed to be put towards making bridges safer for the use of the public. What the above
example shows you is that there are schemes in place to maintain the safety of older
bridges as well as regularly assessing newer bridges to keep the public safe and to prevent
Environmental Aspects
There are many environmental aspects to consider when designing bridges. For example
most modern bridges are made from steel and concrete which are not very sustainable
materials, although a great deal of thought does go into how these materials can be re-
used. Secondly, the transportation of these materials can not only be costly but vehicles
tend to contribute a large amount of pollution such as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
In addition waste materials and packaging can be left behind on site or buried somewhere
causing land contamination. Sometimes this can be done accidentally for example in the
case of a bridge over a waterway harmful substances or materials could be dropped into the
water causing an impact on the ecosystems. Equipment used on site is also an issue, not
Another factor to consider is wildlife. Birds often use bridges for nesting and as a
birds are nesting, carrying out work on bridges can cause harm to the offspring. As a result
work can be delayed until professional bodies have been consulted and the appropriate
action taken. This in turn could cause bridges to be shut if they are deemed unsafe to use
until the maintenance has been completed. One example of a species commonly found on
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Value Considerations
With suspension bridges it is possible to achieve much longer spans using less construction
materials than most other bridge designs. As fewer materials are used suspension bridges
are quite often more cost effective than many other bridge types. It is also possible that due
to a suspension bridge’s design, they may be a better approach than other bridge types
when considering earthquakes. This is because other bridge types tend to be heavier and
more rigid. However due to the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in 1940 suspension
bridges have since been re-designed more aerodynamically and made more rigid to prevent
the deck from moving under high winds. Suspension bridges also tend not to hold any other
forms of traffic such as trains because they are not designed to carry high concentrated
loads.
Risk Conditions
There are many different sorts of risks when constructing a bridge. The first of which is to
the workers constructing the bridge and the general public. The second type of risk is the
type involved in the actual construction such as risk of using new or different materials and
Some examples of methods used to try and keep the public and workers safe are listed
below:
• Training
• Audits
• Incident investigations
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• Project reviews
bridges. They used to be made using chain or linked bars but since there is a much greater
risk of failure with these methods, a more modern approach means that cables are made
from multiple strands of wire. This is because if a few strands fail the bridge will still be
completely safe due to other strands still connected and wound together. Whereas, one
Furthermore suspension bridges also have open truss structures to support the deck; this
has changed from plate girders in the past that were used on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge
References
• http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/
• http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspension_bridge
• http://www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Suspension-Bridge.html
• http://www.howstuffworks.com/