The longest bridges in the world are not just constructions connecting point A to point B, but real masterpieces of design thought. Often they impress not only with their size, but also with their appearance, becoming the hallmark of the country. Today we’ll talk about the top ten most pedestrian and car structures, the length of which will surprise you.
List
- 10. Flyover of the First line of the Wuhan subway, 37.788 km
- 9. Dam bridge over Lake Ponchartrain, 38.422 km
- 8. Beijing Viaduct, 48.153 km
- 7. Bang Na Highway, 54 km
- 6. Hong Kong - Zhuhai - Macau Bridge, 55 km
- 5. Bridge over Wei, 79.732 km
- 4. Changdean Viaduct, 105.81 km
- 3. Tianjin Viaduct, 113.7 km
- 2. Zhanghua-Kaohsiung Viaduct, 157.3 km
- 1. Danyang-Kunshan Viaduct 164.8 km
10. Flyover of the First line of the Wuhan subway, 37.788 km
Subway bridge connects together a huge Chinese city Wuhan (10.6 million inhabitants). Wuhan, located in the densely populated Hubei province, was at one time only the fifth city in China, where the metro line was built.
The bridge was built in 2009 (the first line was completed in 2004), and due to the location of the city along the Yangtze and Han rivers, it covers a huge amount of water. Wuhan is a major transportation hub in China and was the country's capital during the Japanese invasion.
9. Dam bridge over Lake Ponchartrain, 38.422 km
Construction was completed in 1969 and the bridge held the world record in length (across water) until 2011, when the Jiaozhao bridge was built in China. Ponchartrain connects the closest suburb of New Orleans with Mandeville in Louisiana, commonly called the North Shore.
For the idea bridge over Ponchartrain Thanks to Bernard de Marigny, who conceived the bridge at the beginning of the XIX century (and he also founded the town of Mandeville). It was he who began the ferry service, which existed until the mid 30-ies of the last century.
In the 1920s, it was proposed to create artificial islands, and then connect them together using bridges. When the question arose of financing the project, they decided to get the funds from the sale of houses on the islands.
The modern cobblestone path began to take shape in 1948, when Ernest M. Loeb Jr. conceived the design of the bridge, which was implemented in 1956.
8. Beijing Viaduct, 48.153 km
This railway viaduct connecting Beijing and Shanghai is also called Beijing Great Bridge (it’s really big, even the photos look extremely impressive).
The length of the structure is slightly more than 48 km, which makes it not only one of the longest bridges in the world, but also one of the most unusual: after all, the Chinese know a lot about architecture.
7. Bang Na Highway, 54 km
it six lane highway in thailand is paid and runs on Route 34 of the National Highway (Bang-on-Trat Highway), which is owned by the Thai Highway Authority (EXAT).
During the construction of the structure, the method of contract design was used, and the columns and superstructure were designed by the American Jean M. Muller. To design the alignment and foundation have already invited "friends" from Thailand.
The project was built jointly by Bilfinger + Berger (Germany) and Ch. Karnchan (Thailand). The bridge was completed in January 2000, and 1,800,000 cubic meters of concrete were required for its construction.
6. Hong Kong - Zhuhai - Macau Bridge, 55 km
The bridge between Hong Kong and Macau - This is a 55-kilometer system, which includes three cable-stayed bridges, an underwater tunnel and four artificial islands.
The bridge runs through canals connecting Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai, three large cities in the Pearl River Delta. It is designed for 120 years of service and during construction cost 127 billion yuan, which is almost 19 billion dollars.
Funding was obtained through bank loans, which were divided by the governments of mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.
5. Bridge over Wei, 79.732 km
Building bridge over wei started in 2009 in China when the country's deputy prime minister Li Keqiang held an opening ceremony. The construction of the Hong Kong section began in 2011 after a delay caused by a legal problem regarding the environmental impact of the bridge.
The last bridge tower was completed in the summer of 2016, the last curved element of the rectilinear section of the underwater tunnel was installed at the same time, and the last connecting tunnel was installed in the spring of 2017.
The construction of the main bridge, consisting of a viaduct and an underwater tunnel, was completed on July 6, 2017, and the entire construction project was completed on February 6, 2018. The construction process was overshadowed by the deaths of workers: for the whole time 19 people died.
4. Changdean Viaduct, 105.81 km
It is not only the fourth longest bridge in the world, but also one of the three longest on the railway. It was built in 2010, becoming an essential part of the high-speed rail link between Beijing and Shanghai.
Given the seismic activity of those places, this bridge was designed taking into account possible earthquakes and is able to withstand them. In the future, this can save not only the equipment and the construction itself, but also hundreds (or even thousands) of human lives.
3. Tianjin Viaduct, 113.7 km
Another a bridge stretching between Beijing and Shanghaibut this time it's a flyover. This design was chosen on the one hand so as not to engage in the construction of numerous individual elements, but on the other hand, to finish the work as soon as possible.
Another plus is that in this case, the railway line needs less land area: for the railway embankment, 28.4 hectares per kilometer traveled, and for the bridge only 10.9 hectares, that is, less than half of the first option.
2. Zhanghua-Kaohsiung Viaduct, 157.3 km
Zhanghua-Kaohsiung Bridge - This is an overpass for part of the Taiwan Railways network.
This high-speed rail is part of Taiwan's road network, which runs up and down the island’s west coast. The entire line (including the bridge) was built by Taiwanese engineers using Japanese technology, which is also designed to withstand tremors and allow trains to make a safe stop during an earthquake.
1. Danyang-Kunshan Viaduct 164.8 km
The winning bridge in the ranking can be found in Jiangsu: Danyang-Kunshan Viaduct lies between Shanghai and Nanjing. The bridge runs almost parallel to the Yangtze River at a distance of 8–80 km to the south. From west to east, it runs through the northern outskirts of the settlements of Danyang, Changzhou, Wuxi, Suzhou and Kunshan.
As many as 9 km of the bridge pass over open water through Yangcheng Lake in Suzhou. The construction was completed in 2010 and already in 2011 the bridge was commissioned. The construction process lasted 4 years and required the involvement of 10 thousand workers. The authorities and private investors spent 8.5 billion dollars on everything about everything.
The construction of the Great Danyang-Kunshan Bridge was not an easy task. As a mega-dream project, it was expected to cause a boom in the country's communications infrastructure.
China has given impetus to its industrial capabilities since the beginning of 2000, planning to build several long bridges. To realize this desire, it was necessary to build the longest bridge in Asia.
With the construction of the Great Danyang-Kunshan Bridge, China has easily overcome the challenges in its vast public and industrial transport system. This bridge plays a key role in connecting well-known industrial centers of the country.