The longest suspension bridge in the world. The very first bridges in history The largest span of bridge in the world
The bridge is one of the most ancient inventions of mankind. Bridges have become a kind of symbol of human self-affirmation and overcoming the forces of nature. Thanks to them, travel time is reduced, and the trade and strategic importance becomes simply colossal.
According to their carrying capacity, bridges are divided into railway, pedestrian, automobile and combined. According to the static design, bridges can be beam, pontoon, spacer or truss. TravelAsk presents the 10 longest suspension bridges included in the category of bracing systems. The main distinguishing feature of such bridges is their supporting structure, which is made of flexible braces. Thanks to it, the roadway can be in a so-called suspended state.
Mackinac Bridge (or "Big Mac")
The bridge is located in America and runs over the Straits of Mackinac, which connects Lakes Huron and Michigan. The length of its main span is 1158 meters.
Hyogakustenbron Bridge
Swiss bridge crossing the Ongermanälven river. The length of the main span is 1210 meters.
Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge was built in . It connects San Francisco in the north of the peninsula with southern Marin County. Its main span is 1280 meters long.
Verrazano Bridge
Another American bridge. Connects the New York boroughs of Brooklyn and Staten Island. The length of the main span is 1298 meters.
Qingma Bridge
The Tsingma Bridge is located in Hong Kong and serves as a connection between Tsing Yi Island in the east and Ma Wan Island in the west. It has a main span of 1377 meters.
Humber Bridge
This single span suspension bridge is located in the UK. It connects East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire. The length of the main span is 1410 meters.
Zhunyang Bridge
The main span of this Chinese bridge is 1490 meters. It connects two ancient cities - Yangzhou and Zhenjiang.
Great Belt Bridge
The Great Belt Bridge in Denmark is really big - its main span is 1624 meters long. It crosses the strait of the same name and connects the islands of Funen and Zealand.
Xihoumen Bridge
The Chinese tried hard and built the second longest bridge in the world, the main span of which is 1650 meters. The bridge connects Jintang Island and Cezi Islands.
Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge
Only the Japanese surpassed China. Their Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, crossing the Akashi Strait, is considered the longest in the world, because its main span reaches 1991 meters.
Bridges are not only original structures, but also masterpieces of construction art. Many buildings are surprising in size, reaching unimaginable heights. Thanks to modern technology, such designs make life easier. The article presents bridges, the creation of which took years of fruitful work by the most talented architects and builders.
Gustave Flaubert Bridge – 91 m
The highest drawbridge in Europe was created in 2008 on the Seine River. The design features allow not only sailing ships, but also motor ships to navigate it. The structure is erected at least 30 times a year. The space between the floors below retains the sun's rays, supporting the natural ecosystem.
Oliveira – 138 m
The beautiful bridge of Brazil is distinguished by a support similar to the silhouette of the letter X. It is considered the main symbol of Sao Paulo. The grand opening took place in 2008. A little later, the cables and masts of the bridge were decorated with light diodes, creating the effect of a Christmas tree. The structure bears the name of the influential publisher of the Fola newspaper.
Harbor Bridge – 139 m
The Australian Arch Bridge is one of the sights of Sydney. Due to its funny shape, residents gave it the name “hanger”. Construction was completed in 1932, using the New York Hell Gate as a model. On hot days, the arch increases by 18 cm, as the metal expands when heated. Since 1998, Sydneysiders have been allowed to climb the structure as a guided tour.
Qingdao Bridge – 149 m
The structure was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest bridge over water. The initial goal is to connect two industrial regions. Thanks to the construction, it is easy to get to the airport and shorten the road to the Yellow and Red Islands. Construction took 4 years, using the amount of steel and concrete equivalent to 65 Eiffel Towers. The bridge, standing on 5,130 concrete piles, can withstand magnitude 8 earthquakes, as well as typhoons and tsunamis.
Interesting!
According to the builders, the structure will last at least 100 years.
Golden Gate – 227 m
The famous San Francisco suspension bridge. Its creation began in 1933 and lasted more than 4 years. The building has a sad record for suicides. According to statistics, one person jumps from the structure every month.
Interesting!
Traveling south on the Golden Gate Highway costs $6, traveling north is free.
Jiujiang Yangtze River Expressway – 244 m
The cable-stayed bridge across the Yangtze River took just over three years to build. The opening took place at the end of October 2013. The structure has 6 traffic lanes, including areas for cyclists, rickshaws, and pedestrians. The floor slabs are supported on both sides by steel strings. From a distance, the base resembles evenly spaced tuning forks.
The construction runs along the Shanghai-Chongqing Highway. The maximum span size is 460 m. The height reached 134 m, but when the dam was built, the distance to the water level increased. The half-kilometer gaps are supported by a network of cables. Molybdenum lubricant was used to weave bridge ropes.
Great Belt – 254 m
Built over the strait of the same name, the construction connects two Danish islands: Funen and Zealand. Officially opened in 1998, but improvement work took another 1.5 years. From an architectural point of view, the bridge is unusual and does not look like other infrastructure highways. High-rise supports were added only in the eastern part. The ends of the bridge are reinforced with reinforced concrete beams.
– 256 mThe construction of the automobile viaduct lasted 7 years. The crossing connects the provinces of Yueyang and Hubei. In terms of technical indicators, it is the leader in the ranking of suspension bridges. Half of the arc-shaped structure stretches out over the shallow water. At the bottom of the main 500-meter span, cargo and passenger ships ply.
Tsiubey – 262 m
Represents part of the route of the Nanning-Kunming Railway. A vast arc stretches over the Nanpanjiang River, decorating the 710 km long road. The central span of the bridge is the third longest concrete vault in the world. The state allocated 400 million yuan for the construction of the bridge.
Jingyue – 264 m
The Chinese structure resembles a bridge connecting Yueyang and Jingzhou counties. It is a cable-stayed type where H-shaped pylons are installed. The total size is 1120 m, the length of the main span is 816. The highway is divided into six lanes. The final construction period ended in 2010.
Named after the South Korean general. The preparation was carried out by the Yooshino company, and the construction by Daelim Industrial. The structure is a decoration of the sea harbor; at night thousands of lights light up here. Thanks to the transport line, the road between Yeosu and Gwangyang shopping centers has been shortened.
Shuihai – 275 m
The structure extends on the road connecting the towns of Baigou and Liupanshui. It is thrown across the Beipanjiang River, which flows through a deep gorge. In 2001, the bridge occupied the second position among structures of this type. The length of the railway line is 118 cm, but 65% is viaducts and tunnels.
Akashi-Kaikyo – 282 m
The cable-stayed bridge connecting the islands of Shikoku and Honshu is the largest in Asia. The decision to build it was made in the 80s of the 20th century, after a ferry crash and loss of life. During the project, they found a formula for concrete that does not dissolve when it gets into a liquid. The material was used for columns placed at the bottom of the strait. The structure is characterized by resistance to storms and earthquakes of 8.5 points.
Stonecutters – 298 m
Located in Khuai Ching County, crossing the Rambler Strait. The construction of the canvas was completed in 2009, and in 2010 it was awarded an award at an engineering competition. The Stone Cutting Bridge connects Lantau Island Airport with parts of Hong Kong. The cable-stayed structure combines rigid supports and steel cables. Construction costs amounted to $3 billion.
Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge – 300 m
A pedestrian viaduct has been built in Hunan National Park. The amazing design consists of 99 translucent tiles. An Israeli architect was responsible for the luxurious construction. Testing included the following stages:
- Reliability test. They hit the slabs with a sledgehammer, drove in cars with passengers;
- Swaying in windy conditions;
- Changes in ambient temperature.
Interesting!
More than 800 visitors at a time are not allowed to enter the bridge.
Sutun – 306 m
The viaduct was built in the Yangtze River Delta 11 years ago. The Chinese government allocated $1.7 billion for the bridge. The combined structure connects the urban counties of Changshu and Nantong. River shipping vessels ply the waters below. The highway is popular with tourists who come to admire the picturesque panorama.
The longest pedestrian suspension bridge was opened in Germany, which surpassed the 439-meter long Sochi bridge in the Akhshtyr Gorge. The new record holder is located above the Rappbode River valley, its length is 483 meters, MDR reports.
The world's longest pedestrian suspension bridge "Titan RT" | Photo: mdr.de / MITTELDEUTSCHER RUNDFUNK
The grand opening of the world's longest suspended pedestrian bridge, Titan RT, took place on Sunday.
The bridge was built in the German Harz region near the largest dam in Germany with a height of 106 meters. With the help of which in the 1950s a lake was formed, one of the main drinking reservoirs of Germany. Nearby is Mount Brocken, described by Goethe in the tragedy “Faust”.
According to the builders, it has now become the longest such pedestrian bridge in the world.
Pedestrian bridge "Titan RT" | Photo: mdr.de / MDR/Rainer Knoblauch
The opening of the Titan RT bridge in the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt was preceded by five years of calculations and engineering work.
“I feel a resolution, because it took so long. This is the longest bridge of its type. I really hope people leave with smiles on their faces,” said operator Maik Berke.
The bridge's cables are embedded in the rock on both sides and are tensioned with a force of 947 tons. Thanks to this, up to 210 people can be on the suspended structure at the same time.
Titan RT Bridge | Photo: mdr.de / MDR/Rainer Knoblauch
This pedestrian suspension bridge "Titan RT" will allow you to walk at an altitude of one hundred meters above the valley of the Rappbode River, a tributary of the Saale.
The 1.30 high bridge railings are additionally protected by a mesh made of stainless wire. Thanks to this, with good shoes and a sufficient supply of courage, extreme sports enthusiasts will be able to move across the bridge without special equipment.
There is also a bungee jumping area. Extreme sports enthusiasts will be able to make rope jumps from a height of 75 meters from the bridge.
The Titan RT Bridge will be open daily from 10.00 to 22.00.
Tickets cost 6 euros for adults, 4 euros for children.
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Construction stages can be divided into the following stages:
1. Creation of supports for pylons
2. Creation of coastal supports
3. Construction of pylons
4. Pulling the supporting cables
5. Suspension of bridge trusses
Let's start with the first stage.
The bridge pylons are located in the sea strait, more than 60 meters deep. First of all, special vessels extracted bottom soil in the areas where the supports would be installed.
At the same time, huge floating hollow cylinders were built on the shore, which were transported by water and sunk in dug pits. The height of the cylinders exceeded sixty meters, so that they rose above the water. Moreover, such colossuses had to be installed in the required positions with centimeter precision, which was successfully accomplished by Japanese engineers.
After installing the forms of future supports, special water-insoluble concrete began to be poured inside them.
At the same time, the construction of foundations for coastal supports - anchors for securing cables - took place on the shore. They differ slightly in design depending on the coast. For the western support, a very deep seventy-meter pit was dug, the walls of which, as they walked, were encased in concrete. This depth, if my memory serves me correctly, is due to the desire to go through sedimentary rocks to solid layers. By the way, on the other side, the depth of the pit was only twenty-three and a half meters.
After excavation, a metal frame-foundation was built in the shaft and filled with concrete. Then the already assembled future cable-stay fastening unit was installed at the top, tightly connecting it to the foundation.
And immediately they began to build walls around it.
At the same time, pylons were built. They were not cast from concrete, but assembled from metal elements. Inside there are elevators, stairs, and vibration compensation pendulums. The latter is an important element of almost all modern Japanese high-rise structures, due to high seismicity. By moving a massive load, such a device allows you to eliminate dangerous deviations from the vertical, maintaining the strength and integrity of the structure.
After completing the installation of both pylons, workers began pulling the cables. The very first thing, a helicopter transferred the primary cable - essentially a strong centimeter-long plastic rope, onto which, later, they began to gradually hang all the others, increasing the number of threads. To do this, the cable being pulled was attached to the primary cable and began to be pulled. Unwinding from the reel, he pulled the attached cable along with him. After pulling several parallel threads, a temporary canvas was laid on them, along which the workers could walk. After installing the walkways, they began to stretch the threads of the supporting cables and so, gradually, the main cables were assembled, holding the entire weight of the canvas. They have a diameter of 1122 mm and consist of many hexagonal elements, each of which, in turn, consists of 127 steel threads, each with a diameter of 5.23 mm. The total length of all threads (on two cables) is one light second.
The outside of the cables is wrapped with several layers of insulation. At ground supports, the threads are separated, attaching their ends to the attachment points.
The final stage was the suspension of the roadway trusses. Farms are very complex, because inside them there is a place for the prospect of a railway line. The truss elements were transported by sea, then lifted up by cranes, where they were assembled and mounted to the suspension points.
Today, the bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the world: its total length is 3911 meters, the central span is 1991 meters long, and the side spans are 960 meters long. The height of the pylons is 298 meters, which is higher than a 90-story building. Due to its size, the Pearl Bridge was twice included in the Guinness Book of Records. The bridge design has a system of double-hinged stiffening beams, which allows it to withstand wind speeds of up to 80 m/s, earthquakes of magnitude up to 8.5 and resist strong sea currents. Special pendulum systems are also used that operate at the resonant frequency of the bridge structure.
Photo 6. 
Currently, only the upper part of the span structures is used to move cars, but there is also a lower technical floor, where, in the future, a railway track can be laid. From the lower level you can get inside the pylons, and then go out to their tops, from where you can see a beautiful view of Kobe and the sea. On the Kobe side there is a specially built concrete promenade 317 meters long so that you can admire the views from the bridge and the bridge itself. In Japan, when something huge is built, a museum of this structure appears nearby. The Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge Museum also appeared, in which the Japanese reproduced in models the entire history of construction from the beginning of digging pits to tensioning the cables. The operation of this miracle bridge is designed for at least 200 years.
The world's longest pedestrian bridge will allow you to admire the Swiss Alps. Traveling across the Charles Kuonen Bridge will take at least 10 minutes, during which you will enjoy magnificent views of snow-capped mountain peaks. This attraction is definitely not for the faint of heart, but for lovers of heights and thrills, this bridge will come in handy.
While there are already many ways to enjoy the beauty of the Swiss Alps, the discovery of the world's longest pedestrian suspension bridge in Switzerland takes this adventure to a whole new level! Stretching almost 500 meters, the suspension bridge opened in Rand near the city of Zermatt, becoming one of the most beautiful pedestrian bridges in the world.
The Charles Kuonen suspension bridge stretches across the valley, which connects Grächen with the popular ski resort of Zermatt. The bridge has already become the most exciting tourist destination in the region. If you're brave enough to take the 10-minute walk across the bridge, you'll also get breathtaking views of the mountains, including the world-famous Matterhorn.
It took Swissrope about 10 weeks to build the longest suspension bridge in the world. Construction began after a landslide damaged a previous bridge in the region. Before the Charles Kuonen Bridge, the longest pedestrian bridge in the world was the Dragon Cliff Skywalk in China with a length of 430 meters and a glass bottom.
And while it's not the tallest bridge in the world, it's definitely a technological masterpiece overlooking a deep valley where you can admire the breathtaking Swiss landscape. If you love adrenaline, thrills and edge treks, then the Charles Kuonen Bridge in the Swiss Alps is a place you should definitely add to your Switzerland itinerary. We hope your trip will be exciting and memorable for a lifetime!