How soothing does a drive on the longest bridge in the world sounds? Picture yourself on a road trip, going over the biggest bridge in the world while enjoying your favorite songs and mesmerizing views. Dreamy, right?
The longest bridge in the world spans the gap between creative ideas and technical executions. These are engineering marvels with a designer flair that is not only functional but aesthetic as well. These large spans of metal and concrete save travelers from tricky paths and offer a straight and comforting drive to their destinations.
Here in this article, we will let you know about the top 20 longest bridges in the world. so let’s dive in!
Countdown to the Longest Bridge in the World
20. Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, Kobe
Total length: 3,911m
The Akashi Kaikyo bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the world spanning a stretch of 3911m. The construction of this bridge began in the year 1988 and with the levels of detail required in the project, it took a decade to complete the project.
The bridge connects Kobe city to Awaji Island. Apart from the bridge being the longest suspension bridge in the world, its towers and main supporting cables also hold a world record.
19. Donghai Bridge, China
Total length: 32,500m
Donghai Bridge of China is the longest bridge in the world over the cross-sea. The length of 32.5 km forms connectivity from the mainland of Shanghai to the offshore Yangshan Deepwater port of Shengsi County.
A major portion of the bridge is composed of a low-level viaduct and a few cable-stayed sections enable the ships to pass through. The bridge forms a long and narrow speedway that has restrictions on vehicles to pass based on the weight requirements.
18. Line 1 – Lima Metro, Peru
Total length: 34,600m
The Lima Metro Line 1 serves the South portion of the city and connects it to the core of the city. Line 1 nestles about 16 stations and the project aims at revamping the current conditions of these stations.
17. Runyang Bridge, China
Total length: 35,660m
The Runyang Yangtze River Bridge is one of the biggest bridge in the world with a complex. It runs over Yangtze River and reaches downstream of Nanjing. The total cost of building the bridge was about $700 million.
16. Hangzhou Bay Bridge, China
Total length: 35,673m
The Hangzhou Bay Bridge is a 35.7km long bridge composed of two different cable-stayed portions. The bridge is built over Hangzhou Bay and connects several municipalities in the Zhejiang province.
This bridge has minimized the travel distance between Shanghai to Ningbo and the travel time has been reduced from 4 hours to 2 hours. It was considered the longest bridge in the world under the transoceanic category.
15. Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Causeway Main Link, Kuwait
Total length: 36,140m
Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Causeway Main Link is a causeway situated in Kuwait. This was initiated under China’s Belt and Road Initiative and runs over the Bay of Kuwait. The two directions were considered as two separate projects which run over two artificial islands.
This causeway forms a part of Kuwait Vision 2035 and is one of the extremely challenging infrastructural projects not only in Kuwait but the entire Middle East.
14. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Skyway, Indonesia
Total length: 36,400m
Previously known as Jakarta-Cikampek Elevated Toll Road, the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Skyway is a 36.4km long expressway in Indonesia. This elevated expressway is the longest flyover in Indonesia if not the longest bridge in the world.
The road is specially designed for private vehicles to ease the traffic congestion of the Greater Jakarta area.
13. Manchac Swamp Bridge, United States
Total length: 36,710m
Manchac Swamp Bridge is known to be one of the longest bridges in Louisiana. The bridge is famous not just for its span but for the tales associated with the road. While a few claim the structure to be haunted by Rougarou– a beast from Cajun folklore, others believe that a voodoo princess called Julia Brown cursed this swamp area.
12. Line 1, Wuhan Metro Bridge, China
Total length: 37,788m
Wuhan Metro’s Line 1 is the longest bridge in the world with an unbroken metro viaduct. This bridge is more of an extension to the train system spanning 24 miles. The bridge accommodates 32 railway stations and carries an elevated metro line.
11. Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, United States
Total length: 38,442m
Lake Pontchartrain Causeway holds the title of the longest bridge in the world spanning continuously over a water body. The bridge is located in New Orleans, Louisiana, and runs a span of about 24 miles.
The system is composed of two parallel bridges that aid travelers in minimizing the need to take 1.5-hour long drive. This causeway cuts down the travel time to 25 minutes.
Trivia: The Lake Pontchartrain runs over a large stretch of water body that one can’t witness land for eight miles while looking out into any direction from the bridge. A few motorists are known to have frozen on the bridge due to false seaborne fear.
10. Metro Manila Skyway System, Philippines
Total length: 39,200m
The main expressway of Metro Manila, the Metro Manila Skyway system is an elevated bridge connecting the North with South Luzon Expressways. It is the longest bridge in the world with elevated highways.
This expressway spans over the already existing highways of Metro Manila and the San Juan River. The road passes through the main urbanized zones of the Philippines and the road can be accessed by Class 1 vehicles.
9. Jiaozhou Bay Bridge, China
Total length: 42,325m
The Jiazhou Bay Bridge of China seemed nothing less than a challenge with its unique span and design. The bridge was considered to be capable of being the longest bridge in the world spanning the water. Although the bridge is longer than the current longest bridge, only a part of it is over water.
8. Beijing Grand Bridge, Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway, China
Total length: 48,153m
Beijing Grand Bridge is the eighth longest bridge in the world running a span of 29.92 miles. The viaduct forms a part of the Beijing-Shanghai High-speed railway and connects China’s main business hubs.
Trivia: Beijing Grand Bridge is the largest steel box arch bridge composed of 108 m steel box sections.
7. Bang Na Expressway, Thailand
Total length: 54,000m
Bang Pakong Expressway, popularly known as Bang Na Expressway was titled the longest bridge in the world in the year 2004. The long bridge was opened in 2000 and with the inauguration of other lengthier routes, the bridge lost its title.
The bridge is designed to be extremely utilitarian with a six-lane driving system. One of the interesting facts about this bridge is that even though it was once the longest bridge in the world, it doesn’t cross large water bodies.
6. Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, Hong Kong
Total length: 55,039m
Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge is not only one of the longest bridges in the world but also the lengthiest bridge tunnel across the globe. The viaduct spans a length of 34.2 miles and runs over the Lingdingyang channel.
The route is spanned across four artificial islands, an undersea tunnel, and three cable-stayed bridges. The design of the sixth longest bridge in the world is unique in its form as it takes inspiration from the shape of the traditional Chinese dragon.
5. Weinan Weihe Grand Bridge, Zhengzhou–Xi’an High-Speed Railway, China
Total length: 79,732m
Another of China’s marvels making it to the list of the longest bridge in the world is Weinan Weihe Grand Bridge. This bridge forms a part of the high-speed railway running from Zhengzhou to Xi’an.
This smart bridge spanned several rivers including Wei River, Xi, Shi Di, Ling, and Luofu. For a very short period, this bridge was recognized as the biggest bridge in the world.
4. Cangde Grand Bridge, Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway, China
Total length: 105,881m
The Cangde Grand Bridge is titled the fourth longest bridge in the world. An interesting fact about this bridge is that it is the second subpart of the longest bridge in the world– the Danyang Kunshan Grand Bridge.
This bridge was designed with seismic considerations and with resistance against natural calamities. The 66 miles long bridge is composed of 3,092 piers in total.
Trivia: This series of bridges with railway lines can lead to just 30 minutes of travel time than the 3 hours long journey across Hong Kong, Macau, and China mainland.
3. Tianjin Grand Bridge, Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway, China
Total length: 113,700m
Running between Langfang and Qingxian, Tianjin Grand Bridge is the third longest bridge in the world. This bridge structure carries the high-speed railway track for Beijing and Shanghai. It took a total of four years for the third-biggest bridge in the world to get constructed.
The most fascinating part of this bridge is its structure. It is composed of box girders with a length of more than 100 feet and about 860 tons weight of each piece. Two workshops were set up along the route for the manufacturing of these girders. These were then brought to the installation site.
2. Changhua–Kaohsiung Viaduct, Taiwan High-Speed Rail, Taiwan
Total length: 157,317m
With a span of 157.3 km, the Changhua-Kaohsiung bridge is recognized as the second longest bridge in the world. Before the completion of the Danyang Kunshan Bridge, this was regarded as the longest bridge in the world.
This bridge composes of one of the primary routes of the Taiwan High-speed Rail network which bridges the gap between Zuoying and Baguashan. One of the most interesting features of this bridge is its property of earthquake resistance which enables trains to make a stop in case of a disaster. The second longest bridge in the world is carefully calculated and designed for trains to travel a the maximum speed of 350km/hr.
1. Danyang Kunshan Grand Bridge, China
Total length: 164,800m
Well-planned and laid out in China, Danyang Kunshan Grand Bridge is one of the longest bridge in the world. With a stretch of about 164.8 km, this bridge is in the Jiangsu region of China. The bridge has been noted in the Guinness Book of World Records with the title of the longest bridge in the world.
The structure of this biggest bridge in the world cost about $8.5 billion. A team of 10,000 workers worked on this project for 4 years to complete the construction. The mind-blowing span of this bridge takes you over the Yangtze River and Yangcheng Lake.
Trivia: The subsections of this longest bridge in the world were individually recognized as the longest bridges.
Bridging the Gaps…
The current advancement in technology and construction techniques is bridging the gaps between several cities. The construction of longest bridge in the world not only amuses us with the span but also proves extremely fruitful for travels to save time and cost.
These are engineered with highly-precise details to fight natural calamities in order to continue offering ease to the visitors.
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