Advantages of Suspension Bridges

Suspension bridges are adopted in places where it is difficult to construct other type of bridges. For very large spans, they can be adopted economically.

·         In a suspension bridge, tensile stresses are predominant. Thus it requires high tensile ropes, which are economical than mild steel trusses etc.

·         During construction, temporary central supports do not need to be built, and access to the construction is not required from beneath. This means busy roadways and waterways do not need to be disrupted.

·         The stresses are directly passed to the supports through cables and suspenders, hence slender sections are required effecting overall economy.

·         The area spanned by a suspension bridge is very long in proportion to the amount of materials required to construct bridges.

·         They are light and require no false work.

·         The material of construction can be transported easily.

·         The time of construction is less.

·         They provide the roadway at a low elevation and have low centre of wind pressure.

·         They give good aesthetic appearance.

·         They require no centering for construction.

·         There is no likely hood of failure during erection and after construction.

·         It is the safest structure as cables have vast reserve strength.

·         The chords of the stiffening truss can be repaired without interruption to traffic, while in other bridges the failure of a single truss member causes collapse of the bridge.

  What are the advantages/disadvantages of beam,arch, and suspension bridges?