Humber Bridge single-span suspension bridge for 16 years from its opening in July 1981, until the opening of the Great Belt Bridge in June 1997, and was relegated to third place with the opening of the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge in April 1998. It is now the eighth longest single-span suspension bridge. The central span, at 1410 m (4640 ft), is the UK's longest. It remains the longest single-span suspension bridge in the world that one can cross on foot or by bicycle. The bridge is crossed twice during the annual Humber Bridge half marathon. In July 2013, work began on introducing a
Suspension bridge types are present in the majority of larger suspension bridges. Although the earlier types of suspension bridges are suitable only for relatively short spans, all of the 14 longest bridges in the world are suspension bridges (see List of longest suspension bridge spans). Ignoring the possibility of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact, there were two independent inventions of the suspension bridge, in Eurasia (probably in China) and in Central and South America. Types of suspension bridge include the following: A pure suspension bridge is one without additional stay cables and in which the main cables are anchored in the ground. This includes most