Officially the Napoleon Bonaparte Broward Bridge, it's a cable-stayed bridge over the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida.
Of all the bridges in Jacksonville, Florida, the Dames Point Bridge is by far the most attractive. It spans two miles and was completed in 1989. When I worked for a terpene chemicals company on the northside, I traveled on this bridge twice daily for nearly five years. It was undoubtedly the BEST part of my morning and evening drive ... except when it was foggy!
The cable-stayed bridge is an elegant, economical and efficient structure. Virtually unknown 40 years ago, these bridges have become increasingly important as their properties have been more fully understood. They have recently proved to be highly cost-effective for short to medium spans.
Have you driven the Dames Point Bridge?
"IMHO, the Dames Point Bridge is the most beautiful bridge that Jacksonville, Florida has to offer."
Dames Point Bridge at a glance
The Dames Point Bridge (officially the Napoleon Bonaparte Broward Bridge) is a cable-stayed bridge over the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida on State Road 9A. Construction began in 1985 and it was completed in 1989. Remarkably, no workers were killed during construction. The main span is 1300 feet, and is 175 feet high. The bridge was designed by HNTB Corporation.
Until the completion of the Sidney Lanier Bridge in Brunswick, Georgia in 2003, it was the only bridge in the United States to feature the harp (parallel) stay arrangement. The cables are arranged on multiple vertical planes, making a slight modification to the harp arrangement. Main span cables are paired to anchor into the tower in a vertical plane. Side span cables pair up to anchor in a horizontal plane. By doing this, four cables anchor in the tower at approximately the same elevation.
Longest bridge of its kind
America's longest cable-stayed bridge is two miles long, and 175 feet above the main channel of the river. The central span of the bridge is 1300 feet between the two towers which are 471 feet above the waterline at the top.
More info on a cable-stayed bridge
A cable-stayed bridge is a bridge that consists of one or more columns (normally referred to as towers or pylons), with cables supporting the bridge deck.
There are two major classes of cable-stayed bridges: In a harp design, the cables are made nearly parallel by attaching cables to various points on the tower(s) so that the height of attachment of each cable on the tower is similar to the distance from the tower along the roadway to its lower attachment. In a fan design, the cables all connect to or pass over the top of the tower(s).
The cable-stay design is the optimum bridge for a span length between that of cantilever bridges and suspension bridges. Within this range of span lengths a suspension bridge would require a great deal more cable, while a full cantilever bridge would require considerably more material and be substantially heavier. Of course, such assertions are not absolute for all cases.
"Did you know that the Tatara Bridge over the Seto Inland Sea has been the longest since 1999?"
#1: Tatara Bridge
Did you know that the Tatara Bridge over the Seto Inland Sea in Japan has been the longest since 1999?
List of largest cable-stayed bridges
This list of the largest cable-stayed bridges ranks the world's cable-stayed bridges by the length of main span (distance between the suspension towers). The length of the main span is the most common way to rank cable-stayed bridges. If one bridge has a longer span than another it does not mean that the bridge is the longer from shore to shore or from anchorage to anchorage. However, the size of the main span does often correlate with the height of the towers and the engineering complexity involved in designing and constructing the bridge.
Cable-stayed bridges with more than three spans are generally more complex, and bridges of this type generally represent a more notable engineering achievement even where their spans are shorter.
Cable-stayed bridges have the second-longest spans (after suspended-deck suspension bridges) of the types of bridge.
#2: Pont de Normandie
The Pont de Normandie in Le Havre, France was the longest from 1995 to 1999, and is currently the largest in Europe.
Top cable-stayed bridges worldwide
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History of development of cable-stayed bridges
Cable-stayed bridges can be dated back to the 1784 design of a timber bridge by German carpenter C.T. Loescher. Many early suspension bridges were of hybrid suspension and cable-stayed construction, including the 1817 footbridge at Dryburgh Abbey, and the later Albert Bridge (1872) and Brooklyn Bridge (1883). Their designers found that the combination of technologies created a stiffer bridge, and John A. Roebling took particular advantage of this to limit deformations due to railway loads in the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge.
The earliest known example of a true cable-stayed bridge in the United States is E.E. Runyon's extant steel (or perhaps iron) bridge with wooden stringers and decking in Bluff Dale, Texas (1890). In the twentieth century, early examples of cable-stayed bridges included A. Gisclard's unusual Cassagnes bridge (1899), where the horizontal part of the cable forces is balanced by a separate horizontal tie cable, preventing significant compression in the deck, and G. Leinekugel le Coq's bridge at Lezardrieux in Brittany (1924). Eduardo Torroja designed a cable-stayed aqueduct at Tempul in 1926.
Albert Caquot's 1952 concrete-decked cable-stayed bridge over the Donzére-Mondragon canal at Pierrelatte is one of the first of the modern type, but had little influence on later development. The steel-decked bridge designed at Strömsund by Franz Dischinger (1955) is therefore more often cited as the first modern cable-stayed bridge.
Other key pioneers included Riccardo Morandi and Fritz Leonhardt. Early bridges from this period used very few stay cables, as in the Theodor Heuss Bridge (1958). However, this involves substantial erection costs, and more modern structures tend to use many more cables to ensure greater economy.
Cable Stayed Bridges
by Rene Walther
Cable Stayed Bridges
Amazon Price: $151.00 (as of 11/23/2009)
The cable stayed bridge is an elegant, economical and efficient structure. Virtually unknown 40 years ago, these bridges have become increasingly important as their properties have been more fully understood. They have recently proved to be highly cost-effective for short to medium spans. The second edition of this extremely popular book has been updated and enhanced to cover the rapid technological progress in this field.
Exceptionally well illustrated, the book examines all aspects of the design of cable stayed bridges. Starting with a brief history, it addresses general design criteria and current technology, as well as static and dynamic analysis. The illustrations provide numerous examples of structures already built and document their critical parameters, including examples of outstanding structures that have recently been completed. The chapter dealing with stay technology has been thoroughly updated to take into account the new, better quality products available from cable suppliers.
The results of extensive experimental investigations concerning cable stayed bridges with slender decks, mentioned briefly in the first edition, are also presented here. The state-of-the-art analysis, design and construction associated with this kind of structure is clearly described in this book, making it an invaluable tool for practicing engineers and for students.
Cable Stayed Bridges provides an easy introduction to a new field in bridge construction and is the most comprehensive book available on the subject. Brief contents: Historical review; General design; Parametric study; Stay technology; Static design; Dynamic analysis; Examples of small and medium-span cable stayed bridges; Model tests of a cable stayed bridge with slender concrete deck.
Dames Point Bridge northbound
Dames Point Bridge Factoids
Carries: six general purpose lanes
Crosses: St. Johns River
Locale: Jacksonville, Florida
Maintained by: Florida Department of Transportation
ID number: 720518
Design: continuous prestressed concrete cable-stayed bridge
Longest span: 396.2 meters (1300 feet)
Total length: 3244.9 meters (10646 feet)
Width: 32.2 meters (106 feet)
Vertical clearance: 12.11 meters (39.7 feet)
Clearance below: 48.7 meters (160 feet)
Opening date: March 1989
Drop me a line -- Dames Point Bridge fan are you?
Are you a fan of the Dames Point Bridge? Have any interesting stories to share? Live in Jacksonville?
Great books on bridges
The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge
Amazon Price: $12.96 (as of 11/23/2009)
Bridges of the World: Their Design and Construction
Amazon Price: $19.77 (as of 11/23/2009)
Bridges (True Books : Buildings and Structures)
Amazon Price: $6.95 (as of 11/23/2009)
Bridges: Three Thousand Years of Defying Nature
Amazon Price: $25.60 (as of 11/23/2009)
Bridge Engineering Handbook
Amazon Price: $141.71 (as of 11/23/2009)
The buzz on the Dames Point Bridge
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- River City Marketplace leads a North Jacksonville renaissance ...
- "But Dames Point bridge and other roads helped open access," he said, "and people moving to Jacksonv...
- 11/11 & 12 - Grey...Gray go away!
- We tight-lined and float-rigged all the way to the Dames Point bridge area. And had a small yellowmo...
- 20 Questions…Part 2
- I like driving over the Dames Point Bridge and looking out over the intercoastal + the port. I also...
Other bridges in Jacksonville, Florida
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Fuller Warren Bridge -- Traffic count average daily: 139,000
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Main Street Bridge -- Traffic count average daily: 21,400
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Buckman Bridge -- Traffic count average daily: 119,000
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Mathews Bridge -- Traffic count average daily: 66,500
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The Mathews Bridge in Jacksonville, Florida spans the St. Johns River, bringing traffic along Arlington Expressway between Arlington and Downtown. It was named after John E. Mathews, a Florida state legislator and Chief Justice of the 1955 Florida Su...
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Acosta Bridge -- Traffic count average daily: 32,000
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The often overlooked bridge in Jacksonville
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Hart Bridge -- Traffic count average daily: 47,000
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The Hart Bridge in Jacksonville, Florida is the major bridge we travel when crossing the St. Johns River for Jacksonville Jaguars games. It drops us at the stadium a short distance from our tailgating parking lot. Other traffic usually arrives into d...
One of 'seven bridges' in Jacksonville
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Seven Bridges -- Which city claims this title?
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Figured out which city is home to "seven bridges?" This city is also home to a major river waterway, the St. Johns River and the NFL team the Jaguars. Well, by now you've probably figured out that it's Jacksonville, Florida that I'm talking about! No...
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