# Cable-stayed bridges of Asia
A cable-stayed bridge carries its deck on straight stay cables running directly from the deck to one or more towers, and Asia is where the type has been pushed furthest: of the more than 1,000 steel cable-stayed bridges built worldwide since the first modern example was completed in Strömsund, Sweden, in 1955, many cross the rivers and seas of Asia[1](https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14091740). Within 25 years of the first cable-stayed bridge with a span over 500 m, 67 such bridges existed, including three over 1,000 m, with another 29 over 500 m under construction or design[2](https://www.structuremag.org/article/cable-stayed-bridges/). This article surveys the record spans, the national bridge-building programs of East, South, and Southeast Asia, and the engineering and maintenance questions the type raises, stopping short of type-level theory and non-Asian regions.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Sutong Bridge | Over the Yangtze, main span 1,088 m[3](https://www.academia.edu/744961/Recent_evolution_of_cable_stayed_bridges) |
| Yangpu Bridge | China, 602 m, 1994[4](http://freeit.free.fr/Bridge%20Engineering%20HandBook/ch19.pdf) |
| Japanese record | Tatara Bridge, 890 m main span, 1999[5](https://concrete.ethz.ch/assets/brd/autographies/cable-supported-bridges-part-2-cable-stayed-bridges-2024-02-13_notes_inv.pdf) |
| Stonecutters Bridge | 1,018 m main span across Rambler Channel[6](https://www.afgc.asso.fr/app/uploads/2018/05/065-Falbe-Hansen.pdf) |
| Philippine record | Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway, 390 m main span, completed 30 April 2022[7](https://www.academia.edu/122976441/Special_Construction_features_of_the_Cable_Stayed_Bridge_between_the_islands_of_Cebu_and_Mactan_Republic_of_the_Philippines_) • [12](https://www.enr.com/articles/54014-philippines-longest-cable-stayed-bridge-is-inaugurated) |
| Competitive span range | Roughly 200–1,100 m (one source: 300–1,200 m)[5](https://concrete.ethz.ch/assets/brd/autographies/cable-supported-bridges-part-2-cable-stayed-bridges-2024-02-13_notes_inv.pdf) • [1](https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14091740) |
| Theoretical span limit | 2,400–2,600 m, requiring towers about 500–570 m tall[2](https://www.structuremag.org/article/cable-stayed-bridges/) |
## Record spans and how they moved to Asia
The world span record passed through Asia twice in quick succession. The 602-m Yangpu Bridge in China was a large step forward in 1994, surpassing the 465-m Alex Fraser Bridge; it was overtaken within about half a year by the 856-m Normandie Bridge in France, and the 890-m Tatara Bridge then held the record[4](http://freeit.free.fr/Bridge%20Engineering%20HandBook/ch19.pdf). The Tatara, completed in 1999 as part of the Honshu–Shikoku program, has a total length of 1,480 m, a 30.6 m wide four-lane deck, and 220 m pylons[5](https://concrete.ethz.ch/assets/brd/autographies/cable-supported-bridges-part-2-cable-stayed-bridges-2024-02-13_notes_inv.pdf).
[Stonecutters Bridge](https://www.edgepedia.org/stonecutters-bridge) in Hong Kong crosses Rambler Channel with a total length of 1,596 m and a main span of 1,018 m[6](https://www.afgc.asso.fr/app/uploads/2018/05/065-Falbe-Hansen.pdf). The [Sutong Bridge](https://www.edgepedia.org/sutong-bridge) over the Yangtze carries the type past 1,088 m[3](https://www.academia.edu/744961/Recent_evolution_of_cable_stayed_bridges). A Japanese journal review notes that the economic span limit for cable-stayed application was once said to be around 500 m, yet two cable-stayed bridges with spans exceeding 1,000 m existed at the time[8](https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/structcivil/53A/0/53A_0_650/_pdf); a bridge ranking lists seven completed cable-stayed bridges with main spans exceeding 1,000 m, and an American professional magazine counts three over 1,000 m among 67 bridges over 500 m[2](https://www.structuremag.org/article/cable-stayed-bridges/). The earlier French analysis by [Michel Virlogeux](https://www.edgepedia.org/michel-virlogeux) and colleagues recorded the record progressing from 465 m to almost 900 m in a single decade, with 1,200 m expected soon if aerodynamic stability and dynamic wind response were mastered[3](https://www.academia.edu/744961/Recent_evolution_of_cable_stayed_bridges).
## China: Yangtze mega-spans and steel truss practice
China's contribution over the past two decades has been a distinct family of steel truss cable-stayed bridges, covering deck, pylon, and cable configurations, and innovative construction methods[9](https://doi.org/10.1680/jcien.23.00046). With main spans now exceeding 1 km, these sturdy structures are used mainly for combined rail-and-road crossings, in preference to more flexible suspension bridges[9](https://doi.org/10.1680/jcien.23.00046).
The Sutong Bridge is a long-span cable-stayed bridge with a main span of 1,088 m, whose wind-resistant design was carried out at Tongji University[3](https://www.academia.edu/744961/Recent_evolution_of_cable_stayed_bridges). Chinese long-span practice more broadly, including recent projects, deck configuration and materials, and design codes for long-span bridges, is surveyed in a state-of-the-art review by Xiang Haifan and Ge Yaojun[10](https://journal.hep.com.cn/fsce/EN/10.1007/s11709-007-0051-x).
## Japan and the wider East Asian tradition
Japan's Tatara Bridge remains the reference point of the 1990s record era: 890 m main span, 1,480 m total length, 220 m pylons, built under the Honshu–Shikoku Bridge Authority[5](https://concrete.ethz.ch/assets/brd/autographies/cable-supported-bridges-part-2-cable-stayed-bridges-2024-02-13_notes_inv.pdf). In Hong Kong, Stonecutters Bridge shows how the largest spans are detailed: its two planes of stay cables take a modified fan arrangement, anchored at the outer edges of the deck at 18 m spacing in the main span and 10 m in the back spans[6](https://www.afgc.asso.fr/app/uploads/2018/05/065-Falbe-Hansen.pdf).
## South and Southeast Asia
India's cable-stayed stock is led by [Vidyasagar Setu](https://www.edgepedia.org/vidyasagar-setu), the Second Hooghly Bridge, a cable-stayed toll bridge over the [Hooghly River](https://www.edgepedia.org/hooghly-river) in [West Bengal](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-bengal), described in an Indian journal review as the longest cable-stayed bridge in India and one of the longest in Asia[11](https://romanpub.com/resources/ijaet20v5-4-2023-195.pdf). The New Yamuna Bridge, connecting the city of Allahabad, is also cited as one of the longest cable-stayed bridges in India[11](https://romanpub.com/resources/ijaet20v5-4-2023-195.pdf). The sources do not give comparative span data that would place Indian practice against East Asian mega-span projects in detail.
In Vietnam, the Nhat Tan Bridge in Hanoi is a 1,500 m long cable-stayed bridge with eight traffic lanes, four main spans of 300 m, and two side spans of 150 m. Five A-shaped reinforced concrete pylons with embedded steel anchor boxes support the deck via 220 New Parallel Wire Strands in a fan arrangement, erected by the cantilever method[7](https://www.academia.edu/122976441/Special_Construction_features_of_the_Cable_Stayed_Bridge_between_the_islands_of_Cebu_and_Mactan_Republic_of_the_Philippines_).
The Philippines' Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway features the country's longest cable-stayed bridge, with a 390 m main span and a 653.00 m main bridge, completed on 30 April 2022, with 56 stays anchored by 139 m high pylons of complex geometric design[7](https://www.academia.edu/122976441/Special_Construction_features_of_the_Cable_Stayed_Bridge_between_the_islands_of_Cebu_and_Mactan_Republic_of_the_Philippines_).[13](https://structurae.net/en/structures/cebu-cordova-bridge) Its construction faced high seismic activity, geological variability, frequent typhoons, and a navigation channel kept open throughout building, all during the COVID-19 pandemic[7](https://www.academia.edu/122976441/Special_Construction_features_of_the_Cable_Stayed_Bridge_between_the_islands_of_Cebu_and_Mactan_Republic_of_the_Philippines_).
## By the numbers
- **Competitive range.** [ETH Zurich](https://www.edgepedia.org/eth-zurich) lecture notes place cable-stayed bridges as the most competitive typology for spans of roughly 200 to 1,100 m; a peer-reviewed life-cycle study gives 300 to 1,200 m[5](https://concrete.ethz.ch/assets/brd/autographies/cable-supported-bridges-part-2-cable-stayed-bridges-2024-02-13_notes_inv.pdf) • [1](https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14091740). The two credible sources do not settle on a single range.
- **Pylon scaling.** Parametric designs with main spans of 600 m, 1,200 m, and 1,800 m, at a height-to-span ratio of 0.25, need pylon heights above the girder of 150 m, 300 m, and 450 m respectively, covering the currently feasible span range[1](https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14091740).
- **Cable materials.** Stay cables are typically high-strength steel of 270 grade (270 ksi, or 1,860 MPa), built from 7-wire, 9.5 mm strands per ASTM A886, with CFRP an emerging alternative[2](https://www.structuremag.org/article/cable-stayed-bridges/).
- **Theoretical ceiling.** Based on current technical progress, spans of 2,400 to 2,600 m may be reached, requiring towers about 500 to 570 m tall[2](https://www.structuremag.org/article/cable-stayed-bridges/).
- **Typical layout.** Classic cable-stayed bridges with spans above 600 m are typically symmetric, with one central span, two side spans, and two towers[2](https://www.structuremag.org/article/cable-stayed-bridges/).
## Cable-stayed versus suspension for Asian mega-spans
For spans over 500 m, a suspension bridge is not the only alternative to a cable-stayed bridge, since arch bridges and cantilever truss bridges can also exceed 500 m[5](https://concrete.ethz.ch/assets/brd/autographies/cable-supported-bridges-part-2-cable-stayed-bridges-2024-02-13_notes_inv.pdf), and the choice between them is visible across Asia's great river crossings[14](https://www.jb-honshi.co.jp/english/corp_index/technology/lbec/information_center/bridge_ranking.html). Suspension bridges require more cable and decks with higher flexural and torsional stiffness than cable-stayed bridges, while stay-cable erection is faster and proceeds concurrently with deck erection[5](https://concrete.ethz.ch/assets/brd/autographies/cable-supported-bridges-part-2-cable-stayed-bridges-2024-02-13_notes_inv.pdf).
For China's rail-road crossings, the choice has favored cable-stayed: with main spans now exceeding 1 km, steel truss cable-stayed bridges are used mainly for combined rail-and-road traffic in preference to more flexible suspension bridges[9](https://doi.org/10.1680/jcien.23.00046). The sources do not quantify where the crossover to suspension becomes favorable for a given site.
## References
1. [Life-Cycle Cost Analysis of Long-Span CFRP Cable-Stayed Bridges](https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14091740)
2. [Cable-Stayed Bridges (STRUCTURE magazine)](https://www.structuremag.org/article/cable-stayed-bridges/)
3. [Recent evolution of cable-stayed bridges (Virlogeux et al.)](https://www.academia.edu/744961/Recent_evolution_of_cable_stayed_bridges)
4. [Bridge Engineering Handbook, Chapter 19 – Cable-Stayed Bridges](http://freeit.free.fr/Bridge%20Engineering%20HandBook/ch19.pdf)
5. [Cable-Supported Bridges, Part 2: Cable-Stayed Bridges (ETH Zurich lecture notes, Feb 2024)](https://concrete.ethz.ch/assets/brd/autographies/cable-supported-bridges-part-2-cable-stayed-bridges-2024-02-13_notes_inv.pdf)
6. [Stonecutters Bridge – Detailed Design](https://www.afgc.asso.fr/app/uploads/2018/05/065-Falbe-Hansen.pdf)
7. [Special Construction features of the Cable-Stayed Bridge between the islands of Cebu and Mactan (Philippines)](https://www.academia.edu/122976441/Special_Construction_features_of_the_Cable_Stayed_Bridge_between_the_islands_of_Cebu_and_Mactan_Republic_of_the_Philippines_)
8. [Journal of Structural Engineering, Japan (cable-stayed bridge efficiency paper)](https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/structcivil/53A/0/53A_0_650/_pdf)
9. [Review of design and innovative construction of steel truss cable-stayed bridges in China](https://doi.org/10.1680/jcien.23.00046)
10. [State-of-the-art of long-span bridge engineering in China (Xiang Haifan & Ge Yaojun, 2007)](https://journal.hep.com.cn/fsce/EN/10.1007/s11709-007-0051-x)
11. [Cable Stayed Bridges in India (International Journal of Applied Engineering & Technology)](https://romanpub.com/resources/ijaet20v5-4-2023-195.pdf)
12. [54014 philippines longest cable stayed bridge is inaugurated (enr.com)](https://www.enr.com/articles/54014-philippines-longest-cable-stayed-bridge-is-inaugurated)
13. [Cebu cordova bridge (structurae.net)](https://structurae.net/en/structures/cebu-cordova-bridge)
14. [Long-span bridge ranking, Technical information, Long-span Bridge Engineering Center](https://www.jb-honshi.co.jp/english/corp_index/technology/lbec/information_center/bridge_ranking.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Architecture, buildings, and civil works › Civil and water works › Bridges › Bridge structural types › Cable-supported bridges › Cable-stayed and extradosed bridges › Cable-stayed and extradosed bridges of Asia*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Sep 30, 2026*
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