12. Reviews and Perspectives for Design of Super-Long-Span Railway Suspension Bridge

Up to now, A number of super long-span road-rail bridges are in service or under construction in the world, include Øresund Bridge between Denmark and Sweden, Great Seto Bridge of the Honshū–Shikoku Bridge Project in Japan, Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge over the Bosporus in Turkey, Pingtan Strait Bridge, Hutong Yangtze River Bridge, and Wufengshan Yangtze River Bridge in China. Also, the design of Messina Strait Bridge in Italy has been completed and the construction is expected to start in the near future. Although there are precedents in the world for the successful application of suspension bridges to railways. However, the development and application of long-span railway suspension bridges have been plagued by unfavorable factors such as low stiffness of suspension bridges, slow attenuation of transverse and longitudinal vibrations during train operation, and large rotation angles at girder ends. With the development of science and technology and transportation needs, how to better apply this kind of bridge structure with strong spanning ability to railway construction is worthy of further research and exploration. This chapter will discuss the novel and unique practices in the design of several world-renowned suspension bridges, and look forward to new technologies and prospects in the future.