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John A. Weeks III
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          — — — — — — — —
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          — — — — — — — —
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        › Ronald Reagan Mem
          — — — — — — — —
        › Charles W. Dean Br
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          — — — — — — — —
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          — — — — — — — —
        › Bluff Dale Bridge
          — — — — — — — —
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Highways, Byways, And Bridge Photography

Field Guide To
Cable Stayed Bridges
Of North America


Bridge building has had two time periods that can be looked at as golden ages. The first is in the late 19th century as the explosive growth of the railroads resulted in building a large number of big metal monsters to cross the untamed rivers of both the US and Europe. Prime examples of these include the Eads Bridge in Saint Louis, and the Forth Rail Bridge over the Firth Of Forth near Edinburgh, Scotland.

The second golden age of bridge construction was in the middle half of the 20th century as many monumental suspension bridges were built. These were all national landmarks, giant works of industrial art, and epic construction projects. This was an era when technologies and materials were rapidly advancing, but modeling, testing, and computers were still decades in the future. This era saw successes like the Golden Gate Bridge and Oakland Bay Bridge, both in San Francisco, and colossal failures like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

Following World War II, Europe needed to build a large number of big bridges very quickly in order to get its economy back up and running. Steel was in short supply, so large metal bridges were out of the question. Suspension bridges were too costly, in both time and materials, so they were not practical to construct. This left a major issue of how to build badly needed bridges with resources that were available at the time.

To solve this problem, transportation engineers developed the Cable Stayed Bridge. In a cable stayed bridge, the roadway is supported by cables that run directly to the suspension towers. This differs from a suspension bridge in that a suspension bridge has a suspension cable that runs from tower to tower, and the roadway is carried by down cables that link to the suspension cable. A cable stayed bridge has only one set of cables. This results in a bridge that is relatively lightweight in construction, is far less costly than a metal cantilever brides, and uses far less cable than a suspension bridge. These advantages result in a far less costly bridge that can still span a surprisingly long distance.

While cable stayed bridges are popular in Europe and Asia, they are just starting to catch on in North America. The Hale Boggs Bridge near New Orleans was a pioneer in the early 1980's. A few other smaller bridges were built in the late 1980's. The art of the cable stayed bridge took on momentum with the Clark super bridge in Alton, Illinois, in the early 1990's. Since then, one or two major cable stayed bridges are completed each year. So far, nearly all are on the Mississippi River, Ohio River, and the eastern seaboard.

Cable stayed bridges are also becoming popular for shorter bridges and for pedestrian and trail usage. Freeway footbridge overpasses can be built to specification in a factory, then rapidly erected on site.

Note — here is a link to Per Wahlin's site on European cable stayed bridges.


Major Cable Stayed Bridges

Alex Fraser Bridge Vancouver Skybridge Ed Hendler Bridge O'COnnell Bridge Fred Hartman Bridge Veterans Memorial Bridge Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge John James Audubon Bridge Cochrane-Africatown USA Bridge Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge Dames Point Bridge Sidney Lanier Bridge Talmadge Memorial Bridge Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge Varina-Enon Bridge Indian River Inlet Bridge Senator William V. Roth Jr. Bridge Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge Penobscot Narrows Bridge The Great River Bridge Quincy Bayview Bridge Clark Bridge Bill Emerson Bridge Greenville Bridge William H. Natcher Bridge William H. Harsha Bridge US Grant Bridge Frank Gunner Gatski Memorial Bridge Weirton-Steubenville Bridge Veterans Glass City Skyway Charles W. Dean Bridge Ronald Wilson Reagan Memorial Bridge Ironton-Russell Bridge Ohio River Bridges Project - Downtown Span Ohio River Bridges Project - East End Span Pomeroy-Mason Bridge Christopher S. Bond Bridge
United States Map
Legend: Black ⇒ Open To Traffic, Red ⇒ Under Construction, White ⇒ Proposed, × ⇒ Photography Available.

Major Cable Stayed Bridges:
United States
City State Photos
Cochrane-Africatown USA Bridge Mobile Alabama
O'Connell Bridge Sitka Alaska
Senator William V. Roth Jr. Bridge Saint Georges Delaware
Dames Point Bridge Jacksonville Florida
Bob Graham Sunshine
Skyway Bridge
Tampa Bay Florida
Sidney Lanier Bridge Brunswick Georgia
Talmadge Memorial Bridge Savannah Georgia
Clark Bridge Alton Illinois
Quincy Bayview Bridge Quincy Illinois
William H. Natcher Bridge Rockport Indiana
The Great River Bridge Burlington Iowa
William H. Harsha Bridge Maysville Kentucky
Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge New Orleans Louisiana
John James Audubon Bridge New Roads Louisiana
Penobscot Narrows Bridge Prospect Maine
Leonard P. Zakim
Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge
Boston Massachusetts
Greenville Bridge Greenville Mississippi
Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge Cape Girardeau Missouri
Christopher S. Bond Bridge Kansas City Missouri
US Grant Bridge Portsmouth Ohio
Veterans Glass City Skyway Toledo Ohio
Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge Charleston South Carolina
Fred Hartman Bridge Baytown Texas
Veterans Memorial Bridge Port Arthur Texas
Varina-Enon Bridge Richmond Virginia
Ed Hendler Bridge Kennewick Washington
Frank Gunner Gatski
Memorial Bridge
Huntington West Virginia
Weirton-Steubenville Bridge Weirton West Virginia

Major Cable Stayed Bridges:
North America
City Country Photos
Alex Fraser Bridge Richmond Canada
Vancouver Skybridge Vancouver Canada
Barranca El Canon Bridge Mexico
Barranca El Zapote Bridge Mexico
Calapa Bridge Calapa Mexico
Coatzacoalcos II Bridge Minatitlan Mexico
Grijalva River Bridge Villahermosa Mexico
Mezcala Solidaridad Bridge Guerrero Mexico
Papaloapan Bridge Cosamaloupan Mexico
Puente de Tampico Tampico Mexico
Quetzalapa Bridge Mexico
Unidad Bridge Monterrey Mexico
Centennial Bridge Paraiso Panama
La Plata River Bridge Naranjito Puerto Rico

Major Cable Stayed Bridges:
Under Construction
City State Photos
Indian River Inlet Bridge Bethany Beach Delaware
Ronald Wilson Reagan
Memorial Bridge
Saint Louis Missouri
Pomeroy-Mason Bridge Pomeroy Ohio

Major Cable Stayed Bridges:
Proposed
City State Photos
Charles W. Dean Bridge Arkansas City Arkansas
Ohio River Bridges Project -
- Downtown Span
Louisville Kentucky
Ohio River Bridges Project -
- East End Span
Louisville Kentucky
Ironton-Russell Bridge Ironton Ohio


Secondary Cable Stayed Bridges

Secondary Cable Stayed Bridges City State Photos
Lake Underhill Bridge Orlando Florida
North Avenue Bridge Chicago Illinois
East Fork Bridge Columbus Indiana
Arthur DiTommaso Bridge Fitchburg Massachusetts
East 153rd Street Bridge New York New York
Beach Road Bridge Columbus Ohio
Lane Avenue Bridge Columbus Ohio
21th Street Bridge Tacoma Washington
6th Street Viaduct (North Span) Milwaukee Wisconsin
6th Street Viaduct (South Span) Milwaukee Wisconsin
Badger Road Bridge Town Of Madison Wisconsin


Historic Cable Stayed Bridges

Historic Cable Stayed Bridges City State Photos
Bluff Dale Bridge Bluff Dale Texas
Belgo Log Conveyor Bridge Shawinigan Quebec
Canada


Selected Interesting Cable Stayed Pedestrian Bridges

Other Cable Stayed Bridges City State Photos
Sundial Bridge Redding California
Gold Strike Park Bridge Arvada Colorado
Denver Millennium Bridge Denver Colorado
Platte River Bridge Denver Colorado
William H. Mortensen Riverfront Plaza Hartford Connecticut
Cross Seminole Trail Overpass Sanford Florida
Big Rock Creek Bridge Big Rock Illinois
Rhythm City Skybridge Davenport Iowa
Keeper Of The Plains Bridge Wichita Kansas
First Avenue Skyway Minneapolis Minnesota
Hennepin County Medical Center Minneapolis Minnesota
Martin Olav Sabo Bridge Minneapolis Minnesota
MSP Airport Skyway Minneapolis Minnesota
Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge Omaha Nebraska
USS Intrepid Walkway New York City New York
Erie & Ohio Canal Towpath
Granger Road Overpass
Cleveland Ohio
Erie & Ohio Canal Towpath
Warner Road Overpass
Cleveland Ohio
US-41/US-45 Pedestrian Bridge Menomonee Falls Wisconsin
Reiman Bridge Milwaukee Wisconsin
Esplanade Riel
(Provencher Pedestrian Bridge)
Winnipeg Manitoba
Canada

Made With Macintosh
Authored by John A. Weeks III, Copyright © 1996—2016, all rights reserved.
For further information, contact: john@johnweeks.com