The Pont de Normandie is a cable-stayed road bridge that spans the river Seine linking Le Havre to Honfleur in Normandy, northern France. Its total length is 2,143.21 metres (7,032 ft) – 856 metres (2,808 ft) between the two piers. It is also the last bridge to cross the Seine before it empties into the ocean. It is a motorway toll bridge with a footpath and a narrow cycle lane in each direction allowing pedestrians and cyclists to cross the bridge free of charge, while motorcycling is also toll-free.
Pont de Normandie
Panoramic view of the Pont de Normandie
From above
From the freeway A29
A cable-stayed bridge has one or more towers, from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern or a series of parallel lines. This is in contrast to the modern suspension bridge, where the cables supporting the deck are suspended vertically from the main cable, anchored at both ends of the bridge and running between the towers. The cable-stayed bridge is optimal for spans longer than cantilever bridges and shorter than suspension bridges. This is the range within which cantilever bridges would rapidly grow heavier, and suspension bridge cabling would be more costly.
The Russky Bridge in Vladivostok has a central span of 1104 metres. It is the world's longest cable-stayed bridge.
Øresund Bridge from Malmö to Copenhagen in Sweden and Denmark
Chain-stayed bridge by the Renaissance polymath Fausto Veranzio, from 1595/1616. Prior to industrial manufacture of heavy wire rope (steel cable), suspended or stayed bridges were firstly constructed with linked rods (chain).
Abdoun Bridge, Amman, Jordan, example of an extradosed bridge