Bridges are structures built over a body of water or other obstacles. Almost all bridges are designed to carry land traffics. Some however, carry canals, aircraft runways, or pipelines. Bridges are vital in the economic progress and essential in our daily lives.

The bridges on the list below are noted for the length of their main span, their total length or some other notable feature. (Photos courtesy of Wikipedia)

1. Astoria Bridge: Oregon, USA

   

   Astoria Bridge is 1,232 ft or 376 meters long. It is a continuous truss bridge over the Columbia River near Astoria, Oregon. This bridge was the longest truss span in the world at the time of its completion in 1966. It is the longest truss bridge in North America.

2. New River Gorge Bridge: West Virginia, USA

   

   New River Gorge Bridge is 1,700 ft or 518 meters long. It is a steel arch bridge over the New River near Fayetteville, West Virginia, and was for many years the longest in the world of that type. It is the world’s longest arch span. It was completed in 1977. The roadway is 876 feet or 267 meters above the river. It is the highest vehicular bridge in the Americas, and the second-highest in the world.

3. Bayonne Bridge: New Jersey-New York, USA

   

   Bayonne Bridge is 1,673 ft or 510 meters long. It’s a steel arch bridge over Kill van Kull between New Jersey and New York. It was the longest arch bridge until the completion of the New River Gorge Bridge. The Bayonne Bridge is the third longest steel arch bridge in the world, and was the longest in the world at the time of its completion in 1931.

4. Brooklyn Bridge: New York City, NY, USA

   

   Brooklyn Bridge is 1,595 ft or 510 meters long. It is a suspension bridge over the East River in New York City. It is considered the first major suspension bridge in North America. On completion, it was the largest suspension bridge in the world and the first steel-wire suspension bridge. It was completed in 1883.

5. Costa e Silva Bridge: Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

   

   Costa e Silva Bridge or Rio-Niterói Bridge is 964 ft or 300 meters long. It’s a steel box girder bridge over Guanabara Bay at Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. It has the world’s longest span for beam bridge. It was completed in 1974.

6. Faith Sultan Mehmet Bridge: Istanbul, Turkey

   

   Faith Sultan Mehmet Bridge is 3,597 ft or 1,096 meters long. It is a suspension bridge over the Bosporus Strait at Istanbul, Turkey. It was completed in 1988. It is slightly longer than the nearby Bosporus Bridge which was built in 1973. Trivia: Jumping from the bridge is a rather common method to commit suicide. In 2001, 146 persons attempted to jump from the two Bosphorus bridges, and 24 of them lost their lives. In 2002, 38 persons died after 190 suicide attempts by jumping.

7. El Ferdan Railway Bridge: Suez Canal, Egypt

   

   El Ferdan Railway Bridge is 1100 ft or 340 meters long. It is the world’s longest swing span. The bridge carries railway and a highway. The El Ferdan Railway Bridge is a swing bridge that spans the Suez Canal near Ismailia, Egypt.

8. Golden Gate Bridge: San Francisco Bay, California, USA

   

   Golden Gate Bridge is 4,200 ft or 1,280 meters long. It is a suspension bridge over the entrance to San Francisco Bay at San Francisco, California. The twin towers are 745 feet or 227 meters high – tallest of any bridge in the world that’s why it’s regarded as one of the modern wonders of the world. Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most admired and famous bridges in the world. It has the longest suspended span until the completion of Verrazano- Narrows Bridge. Golden Gate Bridge is completed in 1937.

9. Krk Bridge: Krk Island, Croatia

   

   Krk Bridge is 1,430 meters long. It is a concrete arch bridge and part of crossing between mainland Croatia and Krk Island. This bridge is the world’s second longest arch span made with concrete. It was completed in 1979. The longer of the bridge’s two arches is the second longest concrete arch in the world and among the longest arches of any construction.

10. Lake Pontchartrain Causeway II: Louisiana, USA

    

    Lake Pontchatrain Causeway II is a girder bridge over Lake Pontchartrain at New Orleans, Louisiana. With a total length of 126,056 ft or 38,422 meters, it is the longest bridge in the world. It parallels a similar bridge of nearly the same length built 1956. It was completed in 1969.

11. Quebec Bridge: Quebec, Canada

    

    Quebec Bridge is 987 meters (3,239 ft) long, 29 m (94 ft) wide, and 104 m (340 ft) high. It is a cantilever truss bridge over the St. Lawrence River at Quebec, Canada. It has the world’s longest cantilever span. It was completed in 1918.

12. Skarnsundet Bridge: Trondheim Fjord, Norway

    

    Skarnsundet Bridge is 1,739 ft or 530 meters long. It is a cable-stayed bridge over Skarnsundet Strait in Trondheim Fjord, Norway. It is the longest cable-stayed span in the world upon its completion in 1991.

13. Verrazano – Narrows Bridge: New York, USA

    

    Verrazano – Narrows Bridge is 4,260 ft or 1, 298 meters long. It is a suspension bridge over harbor of New York City, New York. It carries 12 lanes of traffics on two decks. It was completed in 1964. It was the largest suspension bridge in the world from the time of its completion in 1964 until 1981. It now has the eighth longest center span in the world, and is the largest suspension bridge in the United States.

14. Millau Viaduct: Millau, France

    

    The Millau Bridge in France is a cable-stayed bridge. It is the tallest vehicular bridge in the world. With its roadway 885 feet above the River Tarn, it became the highest road bridge when it opened in 2004. The top of its highest tower reaches a height of 1,125 feet, higher than the Eiffel Tower.

15. Donghai Bridge: China

    

    The longest bridge in Asia is the Donghai Bridge. Donghai literally means “East Sea Grand Bridge” was the longest cross-sea bridge in the world until Hangzhou Bay Bridge opened on 1 May 2008. It was completed on December 10, 2005. It has a total length of 32.5 kilometers (20.2 miles) and connects mainland Shanghai and the offshore Yangshan deep-water port in China. Most of the bridge is a low-level viaduct. There are also cable-stayed sections to allow for the passage of large ships, largest with span of 420 m.

16. Hangzhou Bay Bridge: China

    

    The second longest bridge in the world and longest trans-oceanic bridge in the world is the Hangzhou Bay Bridge. It is a bridge with cable-stayed bridge portion across Hangzhou Bay off the eastern coast of China. It was linked up on June 14, 2007 and connects the municipalities of Shanghai and Ningbo in Zhejiang province. The bridge is the longest trans-oceanic bridge in the world, although it does not have the longest cable-stayed main span.

17. Kap Shui Mun Bridge: Hong Kong, China

    

    The Kap Shui Mun Bridge in Hong Kong is the longest cable-stayed-bridge in the world that transports both road and railway traffic, with the upper deck for motor vehicles, and the lower deck for both vehicles and the MTR. It has a main span of 430 meters and an overall length of 750 meters. It spans the main marine channel, Kap Shui Mun, between Ma Wan and Lantau and provides vertical clearance of 47 meters above sea level.

18. Lupu Bridge: Shanghai, China

    

    The $302 million Lupu Bridge in Shanghai, China is the world’s longest arch bridge. It has a total length of 3,900-meter or 12,795 ft. The bridge was opened in 2003. Its main span of 550 meters or 1,804 ft over the Huangpu River is 32 meters or 105 ft longer than the previous record holder, the New River Gorge Bridge in the West Virginia, USA.

19. Stonecutters Bridge: Hong Kong, China

    

    The second longest cable-stayed span, after Sudong Bridge is the Stonecutters Bridge. It is a high level cable-stayed bride which spans the Rambler Channel in Hong Kong, connecting Nam Wan Kok, Tsing Yi Island and Stonecutters Island. It costs HK$ 2,760 million. As a result of the difficulty of constructing this bridge, the project was featured on the Discovery Channel’s Extreme Engineering series in 2006.

20. Tsing Ma Bridge: Hong Kong, China

    

    The longest road-rail suspension bridge in the world is a bridge in Hong Kong, China. It is the world’s 7th-longest span suspension bridge. The bridge was named after two of the islands in Hong Kong, namely Tsing Yi andMa Wan. It has two decks and carries both road and rail traffic, which also makes it the largest suspension bridge of this type. The bridge has a main span of 1,377 meters or 4,518 ft and a height of 206 meters or 676 ft. The span is the largest of all bridges in the world carrying rail traffic. The 41 meters or 135 ft wide bridge deck carries six lanes of automobile traffic, with three lanes in each direction. The lower level contains two rail tracks.

For more spectacular bridges from around the world see

15 World’s Most Notable Bridges: Architectural and Engineering Feats-2

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