This paper discusses advances in evaluation and health monitoring of cable-stayed bridges and available methods. Bridge Engineers and Highway Administrators in the US are gradually becoming more comfortable with cable-stayed bridges, and the past few years has seen a significant increase in construction of these elegant bridges in many parts of this great nation. In the last decade, the author has contributed extensively to advances in cable-stayed bridge construction, design, and health monitoring. Information gathered from evaluation of the strength and reliability of stay cable systems for nearly twenty-five long-span bridges worldwide, and instrumentation, health monitoring, and inspection of more than eight cable-stayed bridges in the US and abroad has helped towards formation and evolvement of a unified approach for in-service evaluation and problem solving of these aesthetic structures. Additionally, discussed in this paper are a series of methods developed or tailored for evaluation of these unique structures. The paper also reviews the typical problems observed in the course of field evaluations for in-service cable-stayed bridges.
