Learn · Suspension Bridge Records

Suspension Bridge Records

Eighteen suspension bridges, from Akashi Kaikyo to the self-anchored Sorok Bridge: the key facts, how each one was built, and the original construction records to read in the browser or download.

Learn · Suspension Bridge Records

Suspension Bridge Records: How 18 Bridges Were Built

Eighteen suspension bridges, from Akashi Kaikyo to the self-anchored Sorok Bridge: the key facts, how each one was built, and the original construction records to read in the browser or download.

Every long suspension bridge is built in roughly the same order: foundations and anchorages, towers, a pilot rope across the water, catwalks, the main cables, cable bands and hangers, and finally the deck. What changes from bridge to bridge is how each step was solved: how the pilot rope crossed a busy strait, whether the cables were spun wire by wire in the air or pulled across as prefabricated strands, whether the deck went up as truss panels or as box girder segments lifted from barges, and how wind, typhoons and even an earthquake were handled on the way.

This section collects the construction records of 18 suspension bridges built between the late 1980s and the 2010s, in Japan, Korea, China and Hong Kong, Europe, Türkiye, the United States and Kazakhstan. Each bridge page gives the key facts, a short account of how it was built, one photograph, and the records themselves: construction books, photo records and reports that you can page through in the browser or download.

Using the records. Most records are large scanned volumes, several in Japanese or Korean. Preview opens them in Google Drive's viewer, page by page, without downloading. Download saves the PDF; for files over 100 MB Google Drive shows a short notice before the download starts.

The bridges

Region
Cable
Anchorage

18 of 18 bridges

Akashi Kaikyo BridgeAkashi Kaikyo BridgeJapan · 1998 · main span 1,991 mPPWSXihoumen BridgeXihoumen BridgeChina · 2009 · main span 1,650 mPPWSGreat Belt East BridgeGreat Belt East BridgeDenmark · 1998 · main span 1,624 mAir spinningYi Sun-sin BridgeYi Sun-sin BridgeSouth Korea · 2013 · main span 1,545 mAir spinningRunyang Yangtze River BridgeRunyang Yangtze River BridgeChina · 2005 · main span 1,490 mPPWSTsing Ma BridgeTsing Ma BridgeChina (Hong Kong SAR) · 1997 · main span 1,377 mAir spinningKita and Minami Bisan-SetoKita and Minami Bisan-SetoJapan · 1988 · main span 1,100 mPPWSFatih Sultan Mehmet BridgeFatih Sultan Mehmet BridgeTürkiye · 1988 · main span 1,090 mAir spinningKurushima Kaikyo BridgesKurushima Kaikyo BridgesJapan · 1999 · main span 1,030 mPPWSShimotsui-Seto BridgeShimotsui-Seto BridgeJapan · 1988 · main span 940 mAir spinningAskøy BridgeAskøy BridgeNorway · 1992 · main span 850 mLocked coil strandsIrtysh River Bridge, SemeyIrtysh River Bridge, SemeyKazakhstan · 2000 · main span 750 mearth-anchoredCarquinez Bridge (Al Zampa)Carquinez Bridge (Al Zampa)United States · 2003 · main span 728 mAir spinningRainbow Bridge, TokyoRainbow Bridge, TokyoJapan · 1993 · main span 570 mPPWSToyoshima BridgeToyoshima BridgeJapan · 2008 · main span 540 mAir spinningGwangan BridgeGwangan BridgeSouth Korea · 2003 · main span 500 mAir spinningYeongjong BridgeYeongjong BridgeSouth Korea · 2000 · main span 300 mAir spinning · self-anchoredSorok BridgeSouth Korea · 2009 · main span 250 mPPWS · self-anchored

Main spans compared

Main span and year of opening, longest first.

Akashi Kaikyo1,991 m · 1998Xihoumen1,650 m · 2009Great Belt East1,624 m · 1998Yi Sun-sin1,545 m · 2013Runyang1,490 m · 2005Tsing Ma1,377 m · 1997Bisan-Seto1,100 m · 1988Fatih Sultan Mehmet1,090 m · 1988Kurushima Kaikyo1,030 m · 1999Shimotsui-Seto940 m · 1988Askøy850 m · 1992Irtysh River750 m · 2000Carquinez728 m · 2003Rainbow Bridge570 m · 1993Toyoshima540 m · 2008Gwangan500 m · 2003Yeongjong300 m · 2000Sorok250 m · 2009

At a glance

All 18 bridges by year of opening. Scroll sideways on a phone.

BridgeCountryOpenedMain spanCableDeckAnchorage
Fatih Sultan Mehmet BridgeTürkiye19881,090 mAir spinningSteel boxEarth-anchored
Kita and Minami Bisan-SetoJapan19881,100 mPPWSSteel truss, road and railEarth-anchored
Shimotsui-Seto BridgeJapan1988940 mAir spinningSteel truss, road and railEarth-anchored
Askøy BridgeNorway1992850 mLocked coil strandsSteel boxEarth-anchored
Rainbow Bridge, TokyoJapan1993570 mPPWSSteel truss, double deckEarth-anchored
Tsing Ma BridgeChina (Hong Kong SAR)19971,377 mAir spinningSteel box truss, road and railEarth-anchored
Akashi Kaikyo BridgeJapan19981,991 mPPWSSteel trussEarth-anchored
Great Belt East BridgeDenmark19981,624 mAir spinningSteel boxEarth-anchored
Kurushima Kaikyo BridgesJapan19991,030 mPPWSSteel boxEarth-anchored
Irtysh River Bridge, SemeyKazakhstan2000750 mNot confirmedSteel girderEarth-anchored
Yeongjong BridgeSouth Korea2000300 mAir spinningSteel truss, double deckSelf-anchored
Carquinez Bridge (Al Zampa)United States2003728 mAir spinningSteel boxEarth-anchored
Gwangan BridgeSouth Korea2003500 mAir spinningSteel truss, double deckEarth-anchored
Runyang Yangtze River BridgeChina20051,490 mPPWSSteel boxEarth-anchored
Toyoshima BridgeJapan2008540 mAir spinningSteel girderEarth-anchored
Sorok BridgeSouth Korea2009250 mPPWSSteel boxSelf-anchored
Xihoumen BridgeChina20091,650 mPPWSSplit twin steel boxEarth-anchored
Yi Sun-sin BridgeSouth Korea20131,545 mAir spinningTwin steel boxEarth-anchored

What to compare across the records

  • Main cable erection. Air spinning builds the cable wire by wire on site; prefabricated parallel wire strands (PPWS) are made to length in a factory and pulled across one strand at a time; a few bridges use locked coil strands. The cable erection page explains each method.
  • Deck type and erection. Stiffening trusses erected panel by panel, against streamlined steel box girders lifted from barges in long segments, and how the deck joints were kept free until the dead load was on.
  • Towers and foundations. Steel towers erected with climbing cranes, against slip-formed concrete towers, and caissons set in deep, fast-flowing straits.
  • Earth-anchored or self-anchored. Most of these bridges anchor their cables in the ground; Yeongjong and Sorok anchor them in the deck, which changes the whole erection sequence. See self-anchored suspension bridges.
  • Geometry control. How the cable sag, tower tops and saddle positions were measured and corrected during erection; see suspension bridge analysis.
Photo credits
TopicSuspension bridge cable erectionTopicSuspension bridge analysisTopicSelf-anchored suspension bridgesTopicBridge cablesExploreBridge rankingsExploreBridges of the world

Questions engineers ask

What is the difference between air spinning and PPWS?
Air spinning builds the main cable on site, wire by wire, with spinning wheels running between the anchorages. In the prefabricated parallel wire strand (PPWS) method, strands of typically 61 to 127 wires are made to length in a factory and pulled across one at a time. Among these records, Shimotsui-Seto, Fatih Sultan Mehmet, Tsing Ma, Great Belt East, Yeongjong, Gwangan, Carquinez, Toyoshima and Yi Sun-sin were air spun, while Akashi Kaikyo, Bisan-Seto, Rainbow, Kurushima Kaikyo, Runyang, Sorok and Xihoumen used PPWS, and Askøy uses locked coil strands.
Can I download the construction records?
Yes. Each bridge page lists its records with a Preview button, which opens the file in the Google Drive viewer, and a Download button. Most are large scanned PDFs; for files over 100 MB Google Drive asks you to confirm the download.
Which of these bridges are self-anchored?
Yeongjong Bridge in Incheon and Sorok Bridge in Goheung anchor their main cables in the deck instead of in the ground. All the other bridges in the collection are earth-anchored.

Updated 2026-11-13 · written by a practising bridge engineer