bridges

The world’s highest bridge

The Duge Beipanjiang Bridge (also called the Beipanjiang Bridge or the Duge Bridge) is a concrete cable-stayed bridge that carries four lanes across the Beipan River. Connecting Xuanwei in the Yunnan Province and Liupanshui in Guizhou, the bridge reduces travel times between the two cities from four hours to just over an hour.

It was a massive construction project, and the designers kept having to move the final location of the bridge higher and higher to avoid caves and cracking in the karst mountains at either side of the valley.

The eastern tower of the bridge is 883 feet tall, which is up there among the tallest bridges in the world. Even more impressive, however, is the huge expanse between the road deck and the river below. The deck is 1,854 feet—or over a third of a mile—above the average water level of the river. For perspective, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco has a clearance of about 220 feet. Chicago’s Sears Tower would fit under the Beipanjiang Bridge with 400 feet to spare, while London’s 30 St Mary Axe (The Gherkin) would fit under the bridge three times over.

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Five most famous bridges

We just love bridges. They come in all shapes and sizes and play a major role in uniting our communities and enhancing our everyday life. Here we highlight five of the most famous bridges in our world today starting with our very own Coathanger.

Sydney Harbour Bridge

The Sydney Harbour Bridge links Sydney’s two major commercial centres and forms a daily orientation point for millions. It is a living landmark, a tourist experience and an essential transport line for Sydneysiders. It is a cultural landscape that people actively experience: driving, walking, sailing, flying, cycling, ferry and train commuting, as well as passively observe – from the foreshores, from a distance, as a distinctive landmark – or examine in detail as a marvel of engineering technology.

Golden Gate

The Golden Gate bridge is still considered one of the world’s engineering masterpieces. Today it carries over 100,000 vehicles per day (northbound and southbound). The Golden Gate has endured as a marvel of modern engineering; its 4,200-foot main span was the longest for a suspension bridge until 1981, while its 746-foot towers made it the tallest bridge of any type until 1993. It withstood the destructive Loma Pieta earthquake of 1989, and was closed to traffic only three times in its first 75 years due to weather conditions. Believed to be the most photographed bridge in the world, this landmark was named one of the seven civil engineering wonders of the United States by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1994.

Qingdao Haiwan Bridge

In 2011, the Qingdao Haiwan Bridge became the world’s longest sea bridge. At 42.6 km long, it is nearly 5 kilometers longer than the previous record-holder, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, in Louisiana, USA. Costing $8.6 billion, the bridge links Qingdao city in China’s eastern Shandong province with the Huangdao district. The former is considered as the national tourism city of China and Huangdao is a suburban region which is moving towards becoming the next booming economic region. And the bridge is, therefore, is a great asset for tourism and trade.

 

oresund-bridge

Øresund Bridge

The Øresund Bridge is an approximately 16-kilometer long road and rail link between Sweden and Denmark. It connects Copenhagen to Malmö fostering economic growth and cooperation for both cities. The link consists of three sections, a bridge, an artificial island and a tunnel, and the bridge accounts for half the length, with a railway and motorway running on separate levels. The bridge has provided a foundation for stronger and more extensive cooperation regarding economy, education, research and culture between Sweden and Denmark.

Millau Viaduct

Millau Viaduct is ranked as one of the great engineering achievements of all time. It opened in 2004 and was built across the Tarn valley to alleviate holiday traffic between France and Spain. This bridge broke several records. It has the highest pylons in the world (245 meters and 221 meters), the highest bridge tower in the world (343 meters) and the highest road bridge deck in Europe (270 meters). Millau Viaduct is so high that it glides above the clouds.  In 2006, Millau Viaduct received the Outstanding Structure Award by the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering.

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