Engineering Marvels
From the longest and tallest bridges, to the widest and busiest bridges, these impressive structures hold world records for their sheer size and capabilities.
Here are 14 of the most impressive bridges in the world.
Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge, China
The Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge in China is a whopping 102 miles long, making it the world’s longest bridge.
It took over 10,000 people to construct it over just four short years, and cost $8.5 billion.
Elías Cababie Daniel, CC BY-SA 4.0 , Wikimedia Commons
Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge
The Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge opened in 2011 and connects Shanghai to the town of Nanjing, the capital of China’s Jiangsu province.
Millau Viaduct, France
France’s Millau Viaduct bridge holds the current title of the tallest bridge in the world—even surpassing the Eiffel Tower in height. It stands a whopping 343 meters (1,125 feet).
W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0 , Wikimedia Commons
Millau Viaduct
The Millau Viaduct opened in 2004 and straddles the Tarn Valley between Clermont-Ferrand and Béziers and Narbonne.
It’s popular with tourists who like to canoe underneath the bridge for a magnificent view and a different perspective.
Ribblehead Viaduct, North Yorkshire
The Ribblehead Viaduct bridge is comprised of 24 stone archest and sits 32 meters (105 feet) above the moorland below. It stands as one of the UK’s best examples of Victorian engineering.
Ribblehead Viaduct
Built back in the 1870s, the bridge is located in the middle of the Three Peaks Mountain challenge and is on the border of Cumbria and Yorkshire.
Vasco da Gama Bridge, Portugal
The Vasco da Gama Bridge in Portugal measures over seven miles long, making it the longest bridge in Europe. Not only that, this magnificent structure was built to withstand winds of up to 155mph.
Vasco da Gama Bridge
Opened in 1998, the Vasco da Gama Bridge connects northern and southern Portugal, and spans the entire Tagus River. Interestingly enough, the bridge cannot be accessed by foot.
Beipanjiang Bridge, China
The Beipanjiang Bridge measures over 560 meters (1,837 feet) in height, making it the highest bridge in the world.
ShakyIsles, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Beipanjiang Bridge
The Beipanjiang Bridge links the cities of Liupanshui and Qujing, reducing travel time by up to three hours, making it a critical stretch of roadway in China.
HighestBridges, CC BY-SA 4.0 , Wikimedia Commons
Golden Bridge, Vietnam
The Golden Bridge opened in 2018 and instantly became a major tourist attraction with its distinctive design that includes massive hand structures that appears to be holding up the bridge.
Teerachat paibung, Shutterstock
The Golden Bridge
The Golden Bridge is 150 meters (492 feet) long and is for pedestrians only. It was designed to connect the cable car station with the gardens, avoiding a steep incline, and to provide a scenic overlook for tourists.
Pont du Gard Aqueduct, France
The Pont du Gard Aqueduct in France claims the title of one of the world’s oldest bridges. This Roman monument was built in the first century AD, and was declared a historical monument by the French government in 1840.
Pont du Gard Aqueduct
The Pont du Gard Aqueduct bridge was originally designed to supply the city of Nîmes with water. It has three glorious tiers and is 50 meters (164 feet) tall.
Golden Gate Bridge, USA
The Golden Gate Bridge is an easy contender for the world’s most famous bridge. Its opening in 1937 resulted in a week-long celebration in San Francisco.
S.Fujioka, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
The Golden Gate Bridge
This iconic bridge had originally cost $35 million to build, and has now been approved for an additional $400 million project to protect it against earthquakes.
brock brannen, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
Hartland/New Brunswick Bridge, Canada
Built in 1901, the Hartland bridge in Canada is the longest covered bridge in the world. It was declared a National Historic Site in 1980.
Gisling, CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
Hartland/New Brunswick Bridge
Also known as the “kissing bridge”, the 391-meter (1,283 feet) one-way bridge dates back to when young men “trained” their horses to stop halfway across the bridge in order to steal a few kisses in secret, before continuing on the other side.
Dennis Jarvis, CC BY-SA 2.0 , Wikimedia Commons
Eshima Ohashi, Japan
The seemingly incredibly steep Eshima Ohashi bridge is the largest rigid frame bridge in Japan. Evidently, it looks steeper than it really is.
mstk east, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Eshima Ohashi
The Eshima Ohashi bridge has a maximum gradient of 6.1 per cent. It is just over a mile long and connects Matsue and Sakaiminato.
The 1915 Canakkale Bridge, Turkey
Opened in 2022, the 1915 Canakkale Bridge in Turkey is now the longest suspension bridge in the world. Overall, this incredible structure spans over 2.9 miles long and took five years to build.
The 1915 Canakkale Bridge
This massive bridge won the record from the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan, and will serve a connecting link on Turkey’s new Kınalı-Tekirdağ-Çanakkale-Balıkesir motorway.
Sky Bridge, Czech Republic
The Sky Bridge in the Czech Republic is another record breaker, holding the title of the world’s longest suspension footbridge, measuring 721 meters long (2,366 feet) and just 1.2 meters wide (4 feet).
Vladimka production, Shutterstock
Sky Bridge
The Sky Bridge sits 95 meters (312 feet) above a steep valley offering a unique—and possibly unsettling—walk in the Dolni Morava resort.
Lukasz Tyczkowski, Shutterstock
George Washington Bridge, USA
The George Washington bridge is the busiest bridge in the world, reportedly carrying over 250,000 vehicles every day. It is also the world’s only suspension bridge with 14 vehicular lanes, and also has pedestrian and bicycle lanes.
George Washington Bridge
The double-decker suspension bridge crosses the entire Hudson River connecting New Jersey and New York and is one of seven famous bridges in the Big Apple.
Rod El Farag Axis Bridge, Egypt
The Rod El Farag bridge, also known as the Tahya Misr bridge opened in 2019 and immediately became the widest cable-stayed bridge in the world.
Rod El Farag Axis Bridge
The Rod El Farag Axis Bridge stretches for 540 meters (1,772 feet) along the River Nile and contains pedestrian lanes and glass-floored walkways, becoming an impressive tourist attraction for those wanting unimaginable views of the river.
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