Completed in 1995, the Le Pont de Normandie is a cable-stayed bridge that connects Honfleur and Le Havre, France.  The main span is 2800 feet long and raises 165 feet above the water level.  The decision to built a cable-stayed bridge instead of a suspension bridge was based on the three factors.  First, the anchorages of a suspension bridge would have been to heavy and would have not been supported by the soft river bed.  Secondly, the structure would only be required to carry a light traffic load.  Thirdly, which isn't admitted very often, was the motivation of nationalistic pride in wanting to built the world's longest cable-stayed bridge!  The Le Pont de Normandie had beaten the record held by the Skarnsundet bridge of 1740 feet set in 1991, and the Quingzhou Minjang bridge built in china in 1996.  However the world's record today is held by the Viaduc de Millau, France, which was completed in 2004.