Hanger replacement for the Menai Suspension Bridge, Wales

In this article, authors from COWI, Spencer Bridge Engineering and UK Highways A55 Ltd describe their work to replace the hangers on the historic Menai Suspension Bridge in North Wales. The article discusses a review and testing of the existing hangers which led to a recommendation that they be replaced due to the risk of brittle fracture; quantitative analysis of the consequences of a hanger failing in service, which indicated a risk of an unzipping failure of the bridge deck; emergency works to design and install secondary fail-safes at all hanger locations; and permanent works to design and test replacement hangers. Installation of the new hangers is scheduled to take place at the time of publication.