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 Suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (the load-bearing portion) is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridges, which lack vertical suspenders, have a long history in many mountainous parts of the world. This type of bridge has cables suspended between towers, plus vertical "suspender cables" that carry the weight of the deck below, upon which traffic crosses. This arrangement allows the deck to be level or to arc upward for additional clearance. Like other