Text 5. Cable-stayed bridges

Cable-stayed bridgesresemble suspension bridges. Both have roadways that hang from cables, and both have towers. In a cable-stayed bridge, however, the cables that support the roadway are connected directly to the towers.

A cable-stayed bridge may be used if its foundation can support only one tower. Most cable-stayed bridges have three spans, but some have one tower and two spans. The most efficient cable-stayed bridges have a main span about 700 feet (210 meters) long.

The cables of a cable-stayed bridge may be linked from the roadway to the towers in several ways. The cables may extend from various points on the roadway to the tops of the towers, forming a radiating pattern. The cables form a fan pattern, also called a harp pattern, if they are connected from a variety of points on the roadway to several points on the towers. It the cables are attached from one point on the roadway to various points on the towers, they form a star pattern.