[Alberta's Child]

The suspension support isn't supposed to be designed in place of "center pillars." The main suspension tower is BUILT as a "center pillar," in fact.

A suspension design for a short bridge like this helps eliminate the need for a supporting arch or deep vertical steel/concrete supports to hold up the bridge.

And for clarification, this bridge was not designed as a suspension but as a cable-stayed bridge. They look somewhat similar, but on a cable-stayed bridge the cables run directly from the deck to the tower(s) ... while the main cables are suspended from the towers on a suspension bridge.

[Alberta's Child]

Suspension bridge vs. cable-stayed bridge:

This FIU bridge was designed as a cable-stayed bridge.

[dennisw]

I see where the main suspension tower was going to be and it was not in the center. It was a third or quarter bridge length from one terminus. Cable stayed?.... Would have been less expensive to have two sets of pillars, where the highway median strip is and where the suspension tower was going to be. I am sure that tower’s pillar was in place but obviously not (yet) the cable tower.

Confucius say — Two sets pillar and bridge no fallee down and taxpayers no get screwed.

[tomkat]

cable-stayed bridge

That's the term I couldn't recall .. thanks  :-)