The most incredible bridges Suspension bridge on Ai-Petri - an adrenaline attraction above the clouds

Even the images of these bridges will make you dizzy.

Among the highest and most terrible bridges you will find the Millau Viaduct in France, which is the most high bridge on the planet and high suspension bridge Hussaini in Pakistan with large gaps between thin wooden boards.

You will also hardly forget the emotions that you experienced when visiting the cable bridges of the Incas and the glass bridge in China, through which you can see a kilometer-long abyss under your feet.

1. Bridges on Mount Ai-Petri, Crimea

If you want to experience incredible feelings, then you should take a look at Mount Ai-Petri, located in the Crimean Mountains. It is part of the Ai-Petri Yayla massif. You also have to have incredible courage to walk on wooden suspension bridges, which are set at a height of 1230 meters.

It is worth noting that it is quite safe to walk along such a bridge, because. it has continuous lines of insurance. This place also offers rope jumping - you jump from a height of 1230 meters, with a rope tied to your feet, flying 110 meters in 4 seconds.

2. Dangerous bridge over Huashan, China

You must have nerves of steel to risk walking on one of the most dangerous paths in the world, going through Huashan - one of the 5 Sacred Mountains Taoism in China.

The mountain became known to everyone tourist world not only thanks to the incredible beautiful rocks, but also a very difficult and dangerous ascent to its summit.

A narrow mountain path with a low railing is a bridge between several peaks. She will take you lead up and down with large height differences. On this bridge you can reach a height of 2130 meters. If you dare to cross this bridge, you will be able to see many Taoist monasteries, pagodas, temples, and a bridge along the way.

3. The Hussaini Bridge is the most dangerous bridge in the world

lovers extreme entertainment they will definitely not pass by the Hussaini Bridge, located in Pakistan. This active bridge allows crossing the Guntsy River. If you want to cross this bridge, then get ready for the fact that a strong wind will rock you, and huge gaps between the boards will not allow you to move quickly.

Throughout the history of the bridge perished many locals trying to cross it. It is worth noting that this is the second bridge, and the first one was destroyed, as it was built a long time ago, and for many years strong winds severely damaged thin ropes and boards.

A few elements of the old bridge still remain and can be seen next to the newer bridge. Despite the fact that the second bridge was built later, it can hardly be called reliable, because. it was also made of ropes and planks.

The bridge is so old that even the locals don't know when it was built. Time and weather also do not spare him - many boards have already failed, which significantly increased the gaps between the boards.

4. Trift Bridge - the longest suspension bridge in the Alps

This bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the Alps. It is located at an altitude of about 100 meters above Lake Trift in the canton of Bern, Switzerland. Initially, the bridge was built for electrical and hydraulic work near the Trift glacier.

To make the bridge safer, it was modernized in 2009 - several parts were improved, in particular the steel rope system. Since June 12, 2009, the bridge has been open to everyone.

5. Titlis Cliff Walk - the highest suspension bridge in the world, Swiss Alps

This suspension bridge is the highest of its kind in Europe. Its construction was completed in December 2012. The height of the bridge is about 3,000 meters, its length is about 100 meters, and its width is less than a meter - 91.4 cm.

The bridge was built in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Ice Flyer Chairlift, which is located next to it, and which was opened back in 1913.

Almost all building materials were delivered by cable car, with larger parts delivered by helicopter. One side of the bridge leads to the cable car station, and the other to a 140-meter passage, located on south side Titlis, which was cut right in the glacier.

It is worth noting that the bridge is so strong that it is capable of withstand a weight of more than 500 tons and wind gusts of more than 190 km/h. This makes the bridge very safe, but not everyone will dare to cross it.

The bridge is open around the clock all year round and is free to visit.

6. The longest glass bridge in the world over China's Pinyang Valley

This glass bridge connects two peaks and extends over chinese valley Pinyan at an altitude of about 180 meters. The floor is transparent, as it is made of glass, which can withstand large overloads.

The bridge itself is strong enough to withstand big fluctuations temperatures (up to 60 C), as well as strong winds (up to 220 km/h). In order not to have to constantly wipe the bridge after the tourists, it was decided to offer shoe covers in which they are allowed to walk on the bridge.

It is worth noting that, despite their reliability, not everyone dares to walk across the bridge.

Once the tourists were frightened in earnest after one of them dropped a metal mug on the glass, and it slightly cracked underfoot. After that, the bridge was closed for repairs.

7. Sky Bridge (Langkawi Sky Bridge) - the most beautiful bridge in the world

Off the northwest coast of Malaysia, you can find the island of Langkawi. This is very a nice place where you can enjoy the rainforest, sandy beaches And clear waters Andaman Sea.

So that all visitors to the island could see its beauty from a bird's eye view, it was decided to build a bridge over the gorge. The bridge has 125 meters long and located at an altitude of 700 meters, which allows tourists to see the entire island at a glance. Its width is 1.8 meters.

The bridge was built with safety in the first place - double steel railings, wire mesh, as well as a wooden deck below the parapet. It even has escape routes. With the help of this bridge, tourists can go from one peak of the Gunung Mountains to another, stopping at triangular observation platforms.

To climb this bridge, you will need a cable car, which consists of 2 sections, and has a length of 2,200 meters.

8. Suspension bridge over the river Oia

This bridge is one of three unique suspension bridges in Shikoku, made of wooden boards, the distance between which is 20-30 cm, fastened with two solid pieces of vine.

This bridge is 45 meters long and 2 meters wide. The bridge whist over the river at a height of 14 meters.

9. Geumgang Suspension Bridge over a precipice in Deidongsan National Nature Park

Daedunsan Park is located in the Jeollabuk-do province of South Korea.

To get to the main attraction - high rocky peaks - you need to go through a narrow bridge, which not only can stagger a lot, but also includes a vertical staircase.

When you get to the top, you can enjoy amazing view on beautiful forests, green in summer and crimson in the autumn months.

10. Viaduc de Millau - the highest transport bridge in the world

This viaduct passes through the valley of the Tarn river, near the town of Millau in southern France. Millau is the terminus of the A75, which was built to provide high-speed traffic from the capital to the city of Béziers.

The bridge is so large that sometimes clouds float under it and at its highest point the height of the bridge exceeds the height of the Eiffel Tower.

11. Suspension bridges in Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park

Tsingy de Bemaraha Park is located in the western part of Madagascar. In fact, the park is a large limestone plateau covered with sharp spiers.

Suspended wooden bridges hang over sharp geological formations, which outwardly are not very safe.

12. Royal Gorge Bridge - the tallest bridge in the US

The bridge stands over the Arkansas River, Colorado, at a height of 291 meters. It was built in 1929 and until 2003 was considered the highest bridge in the world. On this moment it is the tallest bridge in the US.

The goal was to create a commercial attraction, and it worked - the bridge is the state's most popular attraction.

It is worth noting that the Roya Bridge is surrounded by the park of the same name. Here you can walk around a small zoo, take a ride on a small suspension tram that allows you to see the entire canyon, and also go down to the Arkansas River.

13. Ubein, Amarapur, Myanmar - the oldest teak bridge in the world

This wooden bridge is the longest and oldest teak bridge in the world. It connects the city of Amarapura with a small suburban village and also crosses Lake Tauntome.

The Ubein Bridge is made of two parts and its total length is about 1.2 km. The segments are located so that an angle of 150 degrees is formed between them.

Initially, the bridge stood on some logs. There are now 1,086, but some have been replaced with concrete poles as the wood is rotting and needs to be replaced. Over time, all logs will be replaced with stronger poles.

On the bridge you can find covered verandas with benches, and in some places there are special passages for boats.

According to some reports, the bridge was built in the middle of the 19th century, and the main material for its construction at that time was teak wood.

In 2013, it was decided to install guards on the bridge, as some local residents commit illegal acts against tourists.

14. Unusual monkey bridges in Vietnam

These bridges can be found in the southern part of Vietnam near the Mekong Delta. Some believe that these bridges were built for the monkeys, but in fact they help the locals a lot.

To build such a bridge, the inhabitants used thick bamboo stalks. Since such stems are quite slippery, it becomes difficult to move across the bridge. The railings are more for decoration, as they don't help much for those who decide to cross the bridge.

During the passage of the bridge, tourists have to hunch over, and from a distance they look a bit like monkeys. There are short monkey bridges , there are long, there are high and low, but they all have the same shape.

It is also worth adding that these bridges are quite fragile, and can break at any time, so walking on them is doubly dangerous.

15. Beautiful suspension rope bridge Carrick-Red (Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge)

The photo shows the bridge in 1888 and 2015. This suspension rope bridge can be found in Northern Ireland.

Over the past couple of centuries, the bridge has been fortified and rebuilt several times. Carrick Red acquired its present appearance in 2008.

When it was first built, the bridge had a railing on one side only, but after it was strengthened, railings were made on both sides for safety. And yet, not everyone dares to walk along it, because. located below blocks of stones, and the bridge itself is at a decent height.

16. Old Bridge Qeswachaka, Peru

Its length is 36.6 meters, and this bridge is thrown over the Apurimac River, which flows through the Peruvian province of Canas. The bridge also hangs over canyons and gorges, so the view is very beautiful. However not everyone will be able to enjoy these views, aswalking on the bridge is dangerous.

The Keswachaka Rope Bridge is hand-woven by local Indians. About once every two years (sometimes more often) locals come to the bridge building festival and start weaving the bridge again.

Weaving techniques are passed down from generation to generation. It is assumed that the very first sample of Kesvachaka was created by the Incas.

17. Bridge over the abyss at the top of the Aiguille du Midi, France

Although this bridge is very high - 3,842 meters above sea level- it's pretty short. In addition, it offers a wonderful view of the Alps.

And yet, to get to the Aiguille du Midi bridge, you will need to climb the cable car, which is about 3 km long.

On the bridge itself there is a platform where you can stop and enjoy the views.

If you are not a particularly risky person, you are afraid of heights and dangerous turns, then you will probably never find yourself in the places that we want to tell you about in real life. For now we will talk about the most terrible roads and bridges on earth. Some of these designs seem to break all the laws of physics. And about individual roads, one can only throw up their hands, unable to understand how they were originally created. Over raging oceans, vast chasms, in the distant mountainous areas and the jungle, they carry the power of human thought and courage, remaining a mystery how once a simple person who did not have specific equipment, computer technology and drones could create something like this. We invite you to an amazing journey along the "dizzying" roads, only the sight of which takes your breath away.

The Atlantic Road is an 8.3 km road that connects several islands in Norway. As early as the beginning of the 20th century, this route was proposed as a railway line, however, it was abandoned rather quickly. Complete planning and construction began on August 1, 1983, ended on July 7, 1989. At the same time, during the construction of the road, its area suffered from 12 severe ocean storms.

Extravagant videos about cars are often filmed here, and the road itself is called the most beautiful in the world.

Those who suffer from panic attacks at the sight of great heights should stay away from the Millau Viaduct in Southern France. It is the second highest transport bridge in the world, hanging over the abyss at a height of 472 meters.

One of its pillars is higher than the Eiffel Tower - 341 meters, another one is a little short of the height of the famous Empire State Building skyscraper. The roadbed of the bridge weighs 36,000 tons, and the road itself is under a slight slope and has a specific curvature. This was done on purpose so that drivers traveling on the bridge would have best review for safe driving.

The construction of the viaduct was completed at the end of 2004. When it was created, 60-ton sections were assembled directly on site. First, the columns were mounted, then parts of the roadway were advanced through the supports using hydraulic jacks, which were controlled from the satellite.

Interestingly, this viaduct is part of a concession road, which is currently managed by a private company.

We present to your attention the most difficult road in the world. This is a piece of the route passing through the mountain pass of Christ the Savior, it connects Chile and Argentina.

It has 29 such sharp turns that you never dreamed of. At the same time, the road is quite busy, because it leaves the Chilean capital - Santiago. However, this liveliness is very relative, because the cars on the road move at the speed of a turtle, being afraid and not having time to pick up speed from turn to turn.

They say that the feeling of driving on it is akin to an extreme roller coaster. The first 20 turns are only 4 km away and the altitude (if you go up the road) will range from 2275 to 2550 meters. After that, on the next 9 turns you will rise to a height of 2,800 meters. Thus, the total drop of the road is 525 meters. As you can see, in order to drive through it, you need to have not only excellent extreme driving skills, but also simply not be afraid to look at the gorge, which goes further and further down from you.

suspension bridges

One of the scariest suspension structures in the world is the Hussaini Suspension Bridge in Pakistan in the Karokorum Mountains over the fast-flowing Hunza River, which is made of many ropes and thin wooden planks.

It was built by the locals, and mostly only they walk on it. Since looking at its unsteady structure, not a single tourist will dare to overcome it.

But, this is not the only bridge that can scare even the most hardened tourists. Perhaps the most famous and dangerous handmade suspension structures were the Inca wicker bridges. Woven from vines, they were very strong, but intimidating in appearance. To date, only one such bridge has survived - in the mountains of the Peruvian Andes.

Every year, local residents repair it themselves by patching and fastening the ropes. In the village, which is located near the bridge, there are special people who are only engaged in its repair and are exempt from any other activity.

In order to pass on this bridge, local residents charge tourists not a very large fee, it is this money that goes to pay the labor of repair workers.

The Stelvio Pass Road is a 24 km stretch of road that connects Switzerland to Italy. This road is so winding that not every motorist can overcome it. They say that when a person first gets on it, after a short time he begins to feel real bouts of dizziness from so many loops, bends and turns.

In addition, it descends steeply from the mountain and can cause panic among those tourists who are afraid of heights. She is saved only by the fact that the roadbed of the road itself is almost ideal.

Previously, few people in the world knew and heard about this route. But after the host of the famous Top Gear show once drove over it, calling it automotive perfection, many people appeared on the pass who wanted to test their driving skills. Now the locals do not know how to cope with this flow, and are thinking of making it paid.

Many Ukrainians who have not yet visited the annexed Crimea managed to visit Mount Ai-Petri, located near Yalta. But, in order to enjoy the panoramic views from its peak, you will have to walk along a suspension wooden bridge located at an altitude of 1200 meters above sea level. The height of its placement above the ground is 70 meters, and the length is 40 meters.

These bridges are strong, they are equipped with thick steel cables with the ability to withstand 10 times the load. But, anyway, you will be able to get through them only using climbing equipment and insurance, otherwise they won't let you in.

Funny moment: with the advent of Russian authorities in Crimea, in early 2014, all suspension bridges on Ai-Petri were declared dangerous and closed. But already in the spring of 2015, they again became available for tourists to visit, while structurally they did not change anything.

Swiss footbridges

No less scary seems to be the world's longest hanging pedestrian bridge Thrift in Switzerland.

It was erected in 2004 at an altitude of about 100 meters above Trift Lake, by a company that needed to stretch electrical cables across the abyss to a tourist point - the so-called Trift Glacier. In 2009, it was modernized with the strengthening of the cable rope system. The work took only six weeks, and by mid-summer the bridge was again open to the public. About 20,000 tourists pass through it every year.

A bit similar to this design is the bridge called Titlis Cliff Walk, also located in Switzerland, in the ski resort of Engelberg. This real miracle of engineering hangs over the abyss at an altitude of 3020 meters above sea level and 500 meters above ground level.

It got its name in honor of the mountain peak Titlis, on which, back in 1913, one of the first cable cars in the world was opened. And a hundred years later, in 2013, this steel bridge was also built. Travelers say that walking along it brings a sea of ​​​​fear and pleasure. It sways noticeably in the wind, but underneath it opens incredible panoramas of blinding eyes of snow-covered glaciers. Its length is 100 meters, and the width is only a meter, so two people on it will miss each other with difficulty.

In order to decide to follow the trails on Mount Huashan, you must be a desperate daredevil, not be afraid of heights and have nerves of steel. These bridges, which are called the Path of Death, will turn your stomach inside out, because they are simply attached to sheer cliffs, have no fences and railings, and the wildest abyss opens up under you. The first such path was built by the locals in the 3rd-4th century, carving it into the rocks by hand. Newer trails have already been built in our days, but also using only manual labor.

In some places on the Huashan bridge there are even no wooden boards, and you can only put your feet on hollowed-out stone ledges. At the same time, you will have to travel along it with your back to the abyss, looking back in horror. The only consolation is the insurance that will keep you going. However, it is also attached exclusively to steel cables, stretching along the same sheer cliffs.

By the way, the steel chains that you see in the photo were attached quite recently - for Western tourists. Previously, travelers on the Death Trail did without them.

Rumor has it that even those desperate brave men who seemed to initially feel the strength to walk along the Huashan bridge, often stepping on it, do not dare to take the second step after the first step. Rumor has it that up to 100 people manage to fall off the trail a year, but it is quite possible that this is just idle talk.

Langkawi sky bridge is a curved pedestrian cable-stayed bridge in Malaysia, which was built in 2004 at an altitude of 357 meters above sea level. It passes through the peak of Mount Gunung Mat Chinchang and the island of Pulau in the Kedah archipelago. At the same time, up to 200 people can fit on it, giving the opportunity to enjoy the views of magnificent nature.

The 125-meter long bridge has a specially curved design in order to provide tourists with the best visualization of the viewed landscapes. It is made of steel and reinforced concrete panels mounted on top of an inverted triangular truss and suspended from 8 strong steel cables.

It was built by bringing to the area separate prefabricated ready-made blocks, for which helicopters were used to lift them to a height. The construction of this structure took only 12 months, and since August 2004, the bridge has been open to the public.

Those crazy photo loops are nothing but expensive.

An absolutely incredible 11-kilometer section of the road is located in the Tianmen Mountains in China. It has 99 sharp turns, so before you hit the road on this highway, make sure that your car is in good condition so that the brakes do not fail at the most unnecessary moment. The Tianmen route, perhaps, can be called one of the most dangerous in the world, it is clearly not for the faint of heart. But if you're willing to take the risk, stock up on motion sickness pills.

Well, we will end our journey in British Columbia Canada, deep in the woods on a suspension bridge called Capilano.

The bridge was, for a second, built back in 1889 by George Grant McKay, a Vancouver Scottish engineer. It was originally made from hemp fibers and cedar planks, but in 1903 the grassy fibers were replaced with a cable-stayed system. Its complete restructuring took place only in 1956. It is now privately owned, and about 800,000 people cross the bridge every year.

This attraction consists of seven footbridges, between which several incredibly old and huge trees, mainly firs, are "switched on".

And the bridges themselves are located at an altitude of about 30 meters above the green sea of ​​the forest.

At night, it is beautifully illuminated, hung with garlands of multi-colored lights.

And for those who want to experience an adrenaline rush, they will even provide viewing transparent platforms where you can look at the ancient Canadian forest from a bird's eye view.

Suspension bridges in which the stiffening beam is supported by a freely sagging rope (cable, chain) have been known for a very long time. But in its modern form, this design first appeared in America.

In 1801, in the state of Pennsylvania, Justice of the Peace James Finley (James Finley) built the first bridge suspended on iron chains, with a span of 21 m, in 1808 he received a patent for his system, and in 1810 he published the work "Description of the Chain Bridge Patent" . Before his death in 1828, Finlay designed about 13 more bridges, most of which collapsed. His second bridge in 1807 was a bridge with a span of 39 m. Further construction suspension bridges went very fast, especially in America.

The first suspension bridges in Europe were built in Russia in St. Petersburg. The French engineer P.P. Bazin in 1823 built a pedestrian bridge with a span of 15.25 m in the Ekateringof park. Engineer Colonel G.M. Tretter together with major engineer V.A. Khristianovich built 2 chain bridges across the Fontanka. In 1824, the Panteleymonovsky bridge was built with a span of 43 m and a width of 10.7 m. Chain boom = 1/10 of the span.

In the cross section on the Panteleymonovsky bridge, five planes of chains were placed - two at the edges and one in the center. The bridge was demolished in 1907.

The cost of the bridge was 161,260 rubles. In 1826, the Egyptian Bridge was built with a span of 54.8 m and a width of 11.7 m, and with an arrow of chains = 1/10 of the span. Three planes of chains were placed in the cross section. The structures of both bridges were manufactured at the Byrd plant in St. Petersburg.

The Egyptian bridge collapsed in 1905 on a frosty day under the weight of a cavalry squadron and 11 sledges, believed to have been caused by a broken chain link. English engineers in the middle of the 19th century built outstanding bridges in Europe. So, in 1849, the famous suspension bridge in Budapest was built by the English engineer Clark with a span of 209 m.

Bridges for horse-drawn transport across big rivers almost no construction was done at that time. But in 1853, the construction of a large chain bridge across the Dnieper in Kyiv was completed. The bridge was 777 m long with spans of 139 m and a separate draw span. Construction lasted 5 years. The cost was 2.35 million rubles.

The width of the bridge is 16 m, the width of the passage is 10 m. All steel structures of 1600 tons were manufactured in Birmingham in England, delivered to the port of Odessa on 16 steamers, and then transported to Kiev by oxen. The bridge was designed for a load of 520 kg/m 2 . A fee was charged for crossing the bridge: 6 kopecks for a cow, 9 for a horse and 15 for a car. In 1912, a tram line was laid across the bridge.

The bridge was designed by the English engineer Charles Vignol. In 1854, a silver model of the bridge was exhibited in London, and researchers believe that this model served as the prototype for the Brooklyn Bridge in New York.

In 1920, Hetman Piłsudski's troops blew up the end span, but after the chain broke, the entire bridge collapsed. The bridge in 1925 was restored according to the project of E. O. Paton and was named the bridge named after. Eugene Bosch. The bridge existed until 1941.

Suspension (suspension) bridge Tower Bridge, London

To increase the rigidity of the suspension bridge and reduce local deflections, a system was used in which the bridge cables were formed from rigid flat trusses. The Tower Bridge in London across the Thames was designed by engineer John Wolfe-Barry and architect Sir Horace Jones.

Hanging side spans of 82.3 m are supported by flat trusses, and the central draw span of the bridge is 79 m.

Suspension bridge cables were formed from trusses, steel strips, chains and, finally, rope elements. Stiffening trusses could have a complex configuration.

Suspension (suspension) bridge Williamsburg Bridge

The figure shows a cross-sectional engraving of the double-deck truss of the Williamsburg Bridge in New York in its original form in 1903. Suspension bridges acquired their modern look and design in the 20th century:

• suspension bridge cable began to consist of wires;
• rope elements became suspensions;
• pylons began to have low bending rigidity;
• the stiffening beam began to have significant bending and torsional rigidity.

The largest suspension (suspension) bridge Veretsano-Nerovz (Verrazano-Narrows Bridge) built in North America. The main span is 1298 m long. The bridge was opened to traffic in 1964. The bridge was laid in New York Harbor, and its 214-meter spans are as high as a seventy-story building.

Four cables, each three feet in diameter, cost more than the entire Golden Gate Bridge. For its construction, about 240 thousand km of wire were needed, enough to circle the Earth almost eight times. The typical cross section of the bridge is a double-deck slab that provides 12 lanes.

The bridge is named after the first European to reach New York Bay and the Hudson River. The construction of the bridge began in August 1959 and 5 years later, in November 1964, traffic was launched on the upper level of the bridge. The movement along the lower level was launched only 10 years later in 1969.

The construction cost was $320 million.
The bridge is two-level, each level has six traffic lanes, three in each direction. Movement freight transport only allowed at the top level

Travel across the bridge towards Staten Island is paid - $ 13, back to Brooklyn travel is free. In 2008, about 190,000 cars passed over the bridge every day.
The height of the bridge above the sea is 69.5 meters and this value is one of the limitations in the design and construction of modern cruise ships.

Hanging (suspension) bridge Humber (Humber Bridge)

Suspension bridge Humber across the river. Severn in England, completed in 1981. It has a main span of 1411 m and was until 1998 the longest suspension bridge in the world. This bridge is more delicate than Veretsano-Nerovs and has four traffic lanes.

The atypical deck, which uses hexagonal box beams instead of conventional truss girders, and slant hangers reduce both weight and cost of the bridge.

Cross section of Humber Bridge

Pylons with a height of 162.5 m and 41.275 m above the water level are offset from the parallel by 34.925 m and take into account the curvature of the earth.
Together with the side spans of the cities, it stretches for 2.2 km

Hanging (suspension) bridge of Tsingma (Tsing Ma bridge)

Suspension bridge with the longest span for joint rail traffic. The Tsing Ma Bridge was built in Hong Kong from 1992-1997.

It was opened to traffic in April 1997, months before Hong Kong was returned to China. The bridge was built on the road to new airport Chek Lap

It has a central span of 1377 m, a side span of 359 m (also of a hanging system) and a 300-meter part - a three-span continuous beam

Suspension bridge (Tsing Ma bridge)

The central span is supported by two cables with a diameter of 1100 mm. The stiffening beam in cross section has dimensions of 41.0 × 7.3 m. It is combined in design and combines a truss with a solid box-shaped beam.

Foundation and support structure of a suspension (suspension) bridge

One pillar is built on the side of Qing Yi Island, and the other is 120 meters from the coast. artificial island Mavan. The pylons are 206 meters above sea level. Pylons (supports) are racks interconnected by crossbars. Supports (pylons) are designed from high-strength concrete using continuous concreting technology using mobile formwork.

Anchoring a suspension bridge

The tension forces in the cables are balanced by large support structures located at both ends of the bridge. These are massive concrete structures buried deep in the ground on the coast of Qing Yi and Ma Wan Islands. The total weight of concrete used to create the two pylons is approximately 300,000 tons.

Suspension bridge main cables

The cables were formed by the hanging method. The pulling process was carried out by feeding the wire with constant tension and pulling from one support to another. 70,000 wires, each with a diameter of 5.38 mm, were combined into a main cable with a diameter of 1.1 meters, passing through a 500-ton cast-iron sled at the top of each support tower of the bridge .

Suspension bridge span

The metal superstructure was made in Great Britain and Japan. After delivery, they were enlarged into assembly blocks in Dongguan, China. A total of 96 mounting elements were prepared, each 18 meters long and weighing 480 tons.

The mounting blocks were delivered to the installation site by barges made specifically for this purpose and were installed by two jib cranes, which moved as the span blocks were enlarged.

Suspension (suspension) bridge Tacoma Narrows Bridge

The torsional vibration frequencies should be greater than the bending ones. The latter requirement has become a determining factor in the design of large bridges, especially after the analysis of the collapse of the Tacoma Bridge.

The bridge was built in July 1940 by Leon Moisseiff in Washington state. The length of the suspension span is 853 m. The initial width and height of the beam were 11.9 and 2.4 m, respectively.

In other words, the beam was very thin and had low bending stiffness and, most importantly, low torsional stiffness. As it turned out later, the frequency of torsional vibrations of the beam was less than the frequency of bending vibrations, which led to the appearance of a bending-torsional flutter (see the chapter "Dynamic calculations").

The destruction of the bridge occurred only four months after its opening under the influence of a crosswind with a speed of 20 m/s as a result of oscillations with large amplitude and low frequency (galloping). After this collapse, aerodynamic testing of bridges with similar center spans became mandatory.

The bridge was restored with a significant change in the parameters of the beam only ten years later (Fig. 2.31). The new width and height of the beam were 18.3 and 10 m, i.e. the height of the beam was increased four times.

Suspension bridge Tacoma Narrows Bridge 1950

Suspension (suspension) Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco

Golden Gate in San Francisco in the USA. The bridge has become a cult building for the United States and Hollywood. The author of the bridge is Charles Ellis, who developed the principal solutions, although the design was led by Joseph Strauss, who had previously put forward the idea of ​​​​closing the bay using a cantilever-suspension system.