rather than the usual pair of cables, and, rather than being spun in place above the catwalks, substantial bundles of strands were dragged into place with temporary support above the catwalks, eventually suspended by tensioning the strand. These strand bundles were then arranged to be finally compacted to form the completed main cable. Being asymmetrical, the shorter western span must be pulled down against the forces imposed by the longer eastern span. To avoid vertical uplift in the supporting columns (W2), the uplift at pier W2 is fully counterbalanced by a massive concrete end weight, which also carries the turning saddles for the main cables. As seen in the northwest corner image above, there is an upward component to the tension force provided by the main cable, and it is this component that removes most of the weight of the end cap from its columns. (The greater, horizontal, component is countered by the compressive forces exerted by the deck box girders, as is characteristic of this type of bridge.) The segments of each of the two deck spans will be retained in compression during a severe earthquake by post-tensioned internal tendons joining the extreme end caps, carried internally in cable trays. These tendons are required since the eastern end support is both much lighter than the western counterweight and the soil conditions are radically different at each end, the western end being founded in bedrock shale while the eastern end, with vertical supports driven to bedrock, is mostly contained within softer mud deposits, which respond much more actively to seismic shocks than does the shale. The intent is that the combination of the tensioned tendons and the compressive roadbed box structure will keep the two end caps in the same relative position. The bridge segments at each end are not simple repetitions of the central span segments. The extreme deck segments on the eastern end are curved and tilted to fair into the curved portion of the skyway. These extreme segments are also beyond the main cable strand anchors and the eastern support columns and a substantial portion of the bridge joining the skyway is already in place (the grey portion seen above). The extreme east bound deck segments on the western end must fair with the horizontal eastbound portion of the YBITS connector, while the westbound (north side) segments begin a rise to the westbound YBITS, elevating traffic to