The variable cross-section suspenders are adopted for the three-span (30m+120m+30m) continuous steel truss arch bridge in Tingfeng Highway crossing the channel of Pingshen Line in Shanghai. Its accurate identification of cable forces in the construction process has certain technical difficulties, which needs the effective theoretical analysis and practical engineering experience to solve. By using the calculation formulae of cable force for constant-section suspenders and combined with the parameter analysis results of variable cross-section suspenders by SAP2000 finite element model, the benchmark equivalent length of different specifications of suspenders is derived. According to the benchmark equivalent length and measured frequency of suspenders, the cable forces are calculated by the cable force calculation formula with one end fixed and one end hinged, and compared with the design cable forces at the corresponding stage, which can be concluded that the cable forces in suspenders of main bridge basically meet the design requirements.