Pontoon bridge using a single 'o'. The U.S. military differentiated between the bridge itself ("ponton") and the floats used to provide buoyancy ("pontoon"). The original word was derived from Old French "ponton", from Latin "ponto" ("ferryboat"), from "pons" ("bridge"). When designing a pontoon bridge, the civil engineer must take into consideration the Archimedes' principle: Each pontoon can support a load equal to the mass of the water that it displaces. This load includes the mass of the bridge and the pontoon itself. If the maximum load of a bridge section is exceeded, one or more pontoons become submerged. Flexible connections have to
All-dielectric self-supporting cable suspension type, only holding the weight of a span with tension transmitted through the next span of cable. Reinforcing rods are used on either side of a support and at dead-ends. Wind-induced aeolian vibration is a factor since ADSS cables have light weight, relatively high tension, and little self-damping. Anti-vibration dampers are installed on each span near the support points. Accessories must not be clamped directly to the cable but instead over reinforcing rods, to protect the cable from electrical and mechanical damage. Termination boxes are used to enclose and protect splices between the ADSS cable and "inside plant" cable