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The particular integration of a suspension system (eyebar chains) with the truss system (single diagonals and fabricated verticals) used at English Center, Pennsylvania, represents an important step in the evolution of the suspension bridge form through its developmental stages in the late nineteenth century. The English Center bridge, which spans 91.4 m (300 ft.), was constructed in 1891. The structure is a rare survivor of the short-span suspension bridge in Pennsylvania and was part of the Historic Architectural Engineering Record (HAER) Pennsylvania Historic Bridges Recording Project. Due to the complex, apparently dual, structural system of the bridge, identification of the bridge response to loading using analytical techniques was considered inadequate. Controlled load testing consisting of strain response measurements in several key suspension and truss components of the bridge was conducted and the interaction of the bridge truss and suspension systems identified. Field measured response and predicted response derived from analytical models were compared and discussed.
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