The cables you are talking about were in place and can be seen on some
photos. It looks like the failure was caused by the foundation these
cables were anchored into pulling out of the ground on one side of the
bridge.
SGE Mobile
On Oct 30, 2009, at 6:05, <akester@cfl.rr.com> wrote:
> I am no bridge engineer so forgive my use of improper terminology,
> but I did not see any tension cables going from the top of the tower
> and down to the ground to anchor into a dead man? It looked like
> they were relying on overturning capacity of the foundations of the
> towers, that appeared woefully inadequate. I know traditionally the
> main support cables go over the tower and continue down at an angle
> to anchor to the ground to resist the tensile loads either via a
> massive block of concrete or anchorage into the ground.
>
> Really an avoidable tragedy, they also could have placed strict
> limits on how many people could be on the bridge at one time. Native
> cultures have built vine bridges over canyons for thousands of
> years...
>
> Andrew Kester, PE
>
> ******* ****** ******* ******** ******* ******* ******* ***
> * Read list FAQ at: http://www.seaint.org/list_FAQ.asp
> *
> * This email was sent to you via Structural Engineers
> * Association of Southern California (SEAOSC) server. To
> * subscribe (no fee) or UnSubscribe, please go to:
> *
> * http://www.seaint.org/sealist1.asp
> *
> * Questions to seaint-ad@seaint.org. Remember, any email you
> * send to the list is public domain and may be re-posted
> * without your permission. Make sure you visit our web
> * site at: http://www.seaint.org
> ******* ****** ****** ****** ******* ****** ****** ********
******* ****** ******* ******** ******* ******* ******* ***
* Read list FAQ at: http://www.seaint.org/list_FAQ.asp
*
* This email was sent to you via Structural Engineers
* Association of Southern California (SEAOSC) server. To
* subscribe (no fee) or UnSubscribe, please go to:
*
* http://www.seaint.org/sealist1.asp
*
* Questions to seaint-ad@seaint.org. Remember, any email you
* send to the list is public domain and may be re-posted
* without your permission. Make sure you visit our web
* site at: http://www.seaint.org
******* ****** ****** ****** ******* ****** ****** ********