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Le Pont de Normandie Bridge |
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PROJECT OVERVIEW Completed in 1995, the Le Pont de Normandie is a cable-stayed bridge that
connects Honfleur and Le Havre, France. The main span is 2800 feet long and raises
165 feet above the water level. The decision to built a cable-stayed bridge instead
of a suspension bridge was based on the three factors. First, the anchorages of a
suspension bridge would have been to heavy and would have not been supported by the soft
river bed. Secondly, the structure would only be required to carry a light traffic
load. Thirdly, which isn't admitted very often, was the motivation of nationalistic
pride in wanting to built the world's longest cable-stayed bridge! The Le Pont de
Normandie had beaten the record held by the Skarnsundet bridge of 1740 feet set in 1991,
and the Quingzhou Minjang bridge built in china in 1996. However the world's record
today is held by the Tartara bridge in Hiroshima, Japan which was completed in 1998. Cost: $465 Million Steel: More than 19,000 tons Number of cable-stays: 184 Date Officially opened: January 20, 1995
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