page_title: Simple suspension bridge
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Simple suspension bridge / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Rope bridge at Jurong BirdPark, Singapore.
context_page_description: A simple suspension bridge is a primitive type of bridge in which the deck of the bridge lies on two parallel load-bearing cables that are anchored at either end. They have no towers or piers. The cables follow a shallow downward catenary arc which moves in response to dynamic loads on the bridge deck.
  The arc of the deck, and its large movement under load make them unsuitable for vehicular, or railroad, traffic. Simple suspension bridges are restricted in their use to foot traffic. For safety, they are built with stout handrail cables, supported on short piers at each end, and running parallel to the load-bearing cables. Sometime these may be the primary load-bearing element, with the deck suspended below. Simple suspension bridges are considered the most efficient, and sustainable design, in rural regions, especially for river crossings that lie in non-floodplain topography such as gorges.
context_section_description: The simple suspension bridge is the oldest known type of suspension bridge and, ignoring the possibility of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact, there were at least two independent inventions of the simple suspension bridge, in the wider Himalaya region and South America.
  The earliest reference to suspension bridges appear in Han dynasty records on the travels of Chinese diplomatic missions to the countries on the western and southern fringe of the Himalaya, namely the Hindukush range in Afghanistan, and the lands of Gandhara and Gilgit. These were simple suspension bridges  of three or more cables made from vines, where people walked directly on the ropes to cross. Later, they also used decking made from planks resting on two cables.
  In South America, Inca rope bridges predate the arrival of the Spanish in the Andes in the 16th century.  The oldest known suspension bridge, reported from ruins, dates from the 7th century in Central America (see Maya Bridge at Yaxchilan).
  Simple suspension bridges using iron chains are also documented in Tibet and China.  One bridge on the upper Yangtze dates back to the 7th century.  Several are attributed to Tibetan monk Thang Tong Gyalpo, who reportedly built several in Tibet and Bhutan in the 15th century, including Chushul Chakzam and one at Chuka. Another example, the Luding Bridge, dates from 1703, spanning 100 m using 11 iron chains.
  Development of wire cable suspension bridges dates to the temporary simple suspension bridge at Annonay built by Marc Seguin and his brothers in 1822. It spanned only 18 m. However, simple suspension bridge designs were made largely obsolete by the 19th century invention and patent of the suspended deck bridge by James Finley.  A late 18th century English painting of a bridge in Srinagar, then part of the Garhwal Kingdom, anticipates the invention of the suspended deck bridge. This unusual bridge, built on a floodplain, had suspended deck ramps used to access a simple suspension bridge supported from towers.
caption: Jurong Bird Park -rope bridge
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