Mirage,
What do make of the bridge's design? Is it structurally safe? If it is a suspension design, it does not seem to have tall towers to hang the cables.
Making a short answer a long one, suspension bridges are not my favorite type of bridge design. With that said, there are three major things that affect a suspension bridge:
1) Plate girders line the bridge like a wall, giving it lateral stiffness. They are essentially large, flat pieces of steel that effectively "box" the bridge span, adding stiffness to the roadway. Two positive characteristics of plate girders are cost effectiveness and ease of maintenance. They are effective in the displacing of vertical movements, but do not resist the undulating horizontal movements efficiently. This design is deficient in that.
2) Trusses consist of metal beams arranged in a series of triangular patterns pointing up and down along the sides of and under the roadway. An increased complexity of trusses leads to an increase in design costs and an increase in the difficulty in terms of installation. Trusses are the stronger of the two designs; this is because trusses are attached at several angles, instead of simply being a single, large sheet like a girder. Trusses provide support for the span throughout a larger range of motions, ultimately offering greater stability than plate girders. This bridge has very flimsy looking ones
3) The third factor that bridge designers have to deal with when building the bridge is the length-to-depth ratio. Engineers have settled on the ratio 150 feet long to 1 foot deep in order for a bridge to be safe. An example of a bridge with a low length-to-depth ratio is the Williamsburg Bridge in New York, with a ratio of just 40:1. A huge weight and large stiffening trusses also aid this bridge. Even in large storms with high winds, this structure has never been affected with any undulating motion of its deck. These effects still have to be taken into account. On the other extreme, we have the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, which had a ratio of 350:1. This bridge, with its flat plate girders, low weight, and high length-to-depth ratio, was in danger of succumbing to wind shears. The engineers did not foresee the severity of this potential problem, which became apparent when the bridge swayed violently in even small breezes. The ratio is excessed on this bridge.
To finally answer your question….no, I would not walk across it. For two reasons. First, I am deadly afraid of heights and would probable perform a number one and number two in my pants. Second, my Engineering intuition says no.
Holding on tight to my Malbec
