The suspension bridge is a long deck hung by cables on vertical suspenders. In some cases they have a set amount of towers that the main cables are attached too. Also some have vertical suspender cables to further carry the weight of the deck below ensuing more support. In suspension bridges the main cables are anchored on the ends of the bridges on deck level supports, then it anchors to the ground.
Suspension bridges are mostly affected by two main forces; tension and compression. The tension is applied mostly to the cables and the weight is passed onto the main towers to which there is compression. They are anchored to the ground as well and transfer the force to the ground. That’s why suspension bridges are very secure.
Suspensions have many advantages and disadvantages. They are very good in the fact that they can have longer spans than all other types of bridges. Also less material is usually used in construction than others leading to a less expensive build. While there are advantages, suspensions do have disadvantages like they can be very rigid and shaky during high winds and may take more work stabilize it. Also this type of bridge can have trouble carrying lots of heavy rail traffic. Overall the suspension bridge is a cheap, reliable bridge great for spanning large gaps.