Taper suspension bridge

[1] On a conventional suspension bridge, the whole deck is suspended by vertical cables, rods or chains from a single cable or chain slung between two supporting towers.

The cantilever half-deck structure of each cantilever is suspended from angled chains, which hang from a tapered main attached to the top of the tower and to the outer end of the half-deck.

The main chain taper is achieved by incrementally reducing the number of links stacked across the chain's width as it moves farther from the support tower.

[2] The advantage of this taper system is that it results in a more cost-effective design compared to conventional suspension bridge of the time because it uses less iron and is quicker to build.

[1] Of the 36 known examples of bridges started or completed by Dredge using this design, 7 are known to have survived.