e-mosty March 2019 Long Span and Multiple Span Bridges | Page 46

Figure 2: The Cuzbac Bridge, France
Figure 3: Loire River Bridge, France
constructed, there has recently been a renewed
interest in this structural form.
The advantage of the multi span suspension
bridges is in the ability to span long distances in
water where conventional long-span bridges or
shorter span viaduct construction is not economic.
If end spans are added the suspended length can
be increased by a factor of 3 or more compared
with a single span.
Multi-span bridges were common in the early
development of suspension bridges.
However, there can be a significant reduction in
stiffness with this type of structure.
The 6-span St Nicholas Bridge (Figure 4) over the
Dnieper (Dnepr) River in Kiev was the longest
length suspension bridge until the construction of
the more famous Brooklyn Bridge.
Most of the 20 th century multi-span bridges such
as San Francisco West Bay Bridge, USA, the Seto-
Chuo Crossing and Kurushima-Kaikyo Bridges in
Japan (see Figures 5 - 7) have used two
conventional 3-span bridges placed end to end
with a common anchorage to overcome the
stiffness problem.
Twin span bridges (often called three tower
bridges in China) can result in bridges that cover
the same distance but are more economic to build.
With the construction of the Taizhou Bridge 3 and
Maanshan Bridges in China and with others being
Figure 4: St Nicholas Bridge, Ukraine
1/2019