Patent ID: 7003835

Claim:
A method of installing and inspecting a cable stay for supporting a bridge deck of a cable-stayed bridge having at least one pylon, said method comprising the steps of: providing a cable stay including a plurality of cable strands; installing along a length of said cable stay, at least one curved cable-stay cradle system having a predetermined arc-length smaller than the length of said cable stay; threading said cable strands through radially spaced holes provided in a plurality of axially spaced sleeve centering plates disposed in said cable-stay cradle system; attaching one end of said cable stay to a first anchor on the bridge deck; threading said cable stay through an opening in the pylon so as to orient said cable-stay cradle system within the opening; and attaching the other end of said cable stay to a second anchor on the bridge deck, wherein a distance from a center-point of a cable strand disposed in a hole, to a center-point of another cable strand disposed in an adjacent hole, remains essentially constant along the arc-length of said cable-stay cradle system.