The longest bridges in the world

Bridges are massive structures made of concrete and metal, weighing thousands of tons, and remain standing even during devastating natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes. Bridges allow people to cross numerous natural obstacles, such as lakes and rivers, and are an integral part of modern rail transportation.

Despite all their importance, you probably haven't read many books or articles extolling the greatness of bridges. Let's correct that oversight. Here the longest bridges in the world, the length of which exceeds even Russia’s latest achievement – the 19-kilometer Crimean Bridge.

10. Hangzhou Bay Bridge – 35.6 km

This cable-stayed bridge runs from Jiaxing to Ningbo in China's Zhejiang Province. The longest pedestrian bridge in the world, designed in Switzerland and proudly named "The European Bridge," is dwarfed by the Chinese bridge, which is only 494 meters long.

Due to the many challenges facing such a massive structure, 600 experts spent nearly ten years designing the bridge. One of the main challenges was constructing it on an offshore site. As a solution, several sections of the bridge were built on land and then transported to the designated area.

A 10,000-square-meter service center called "Land Between Sea and Sky" has been built in the center of the bridge. This center includes shops, parking, a restaurant, a hotel, and a 145.6-meter observation tower, which serves as a tourist attraction. The center is built on an island, a platform resting on stilts to avoid interfering with the sea currents in the bay.

9. Yangcun Bridge – 35.8 km

Built as part of the Beijing-Tianjin railway link, this elevated bridge is used for high-speed trains that travel at speeds of 350 kilometers per hour.

8. Mancheck Swamp Bridge – 36.7 km

The first, but not the last, bridge built in the United States on our list. Although its daily traffic (around 2,250 vehicles) pales in comparison to some of the country's newer bridges, this structure remains an engineering feat. After all, the Mancheck Swamp was built in 1979.

The bridge crosses swamps where, according to legend, the werewolf Lugaru haunted and a voodoo priestess lived. Legend has it that the priestess placed a curse on the area, and indeed, a hurricane destroyed three towns on the day of her funeral in 1915. Although the previous Manchek Swamp Bridge collapsed in 1976, the current structure successfully resists any curse and remains impenetrably reliable.

7. Lake Pontchartrain Causeway – 38.4 km

Although the Chinese hold the top spot on our list, an American bridge holds the title of the longest continuous span over water. This elevated bridge bisects Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana and is supported by 9,000 concrete piles.

6. Qingdao Bridge – 42.5 km

Construction of the highway connecting the Chinese port city of Qingdao with the suburb of Huangdao took place from 2007 to 2011 and cost approximately 60 billion yuan (US$9.35 billion). The Qingdao Bridge is divided into six lanes, and over 5,200 piers support the multi-ton structure. 300,000 vehicles cross the bridge daily.

5. Bang Na Highway – 54 km

The six-lane bridge is located in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. Construction of the highway was completed in 2000, after five long years of work and a billion dollars in funding. The structure required a total of 1,800,000 cubic meters of concrete.

4. Bridge over the Wei – 79.7 km

Part of a major railway line connecting east and west China, the bridge connects Zhengzhou in Henan Province and Xi'an in Shaanxi Province. It was the first high-speed passenger railway in western China and cost approximately 35.3 billion yuan (US$5.4 billion).

3. Tianjin Grand Bridge – 113.7 km

The third longest viaduct bridge is part of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail link. It runs between Langfang County and Qingxian County.

2. Zhanghua-Kaohsiung Viaduct, 157.3 km

This bridge is only a few meters shorter than the world's longest over-water bridge. It is part of Taiwan's high-speed rail network and carries over 200 million passengers monthly.

1. The longest bridge in the world: Danyang–Kunshan Viaduct – 164.8 km

China isn't the only country building large and expensive bridges. However, China alone has built the three longest over-water bridges in the world. The longest of these is the viaduct connecting Shanghai and Nanjing. This grandiose structure is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The bridge, which opened in 2011, cost between $8.5 and $10 billion, according to various estimates. Ten thousand people were involved in its construction. A total of 9,500 concrete piles supported the bridge.

The Danyang-Kunshan Bridge is unique in that it crosses a variety of terrains. It spans rivers, canals, chasms, streams, plains, hills, lakes, and rice paddies. The largest body of water it crosses is Yangcheng Lake in Suzhou. The builders faced a challenging task: making the bridge versatile and as stable as possible. After all, the vast majority of the river's floodplain consists of soft soils, not hard rock. Therefore, the designers opted for a viaduct design—a bridge consisting of numerous short spans rather than a few very long ones. This design allows the spans to provide the flexibility necessary for ascents, descents, and turns. At the same time, the viaduct remains extremely strong throughout its entire length.

However, the title of "longest suspension bridge in the world" currently belongs to a creation of Japanese engineers. The total length of the Pearl Bridge (Akashi Kaikyo) is 39.1 km. The world's longest suspension bridge spans the Akashi Strait and connects the city of Kobe on Honshu Island with Awaji Island. It is resistant to strong underwater currents and, if necessary, can withstand earthquakes of magnitude 8.5.