According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, the longest bridge in the world is the DanyangKunshan Grand Bridge, China. It's part of the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway. It spans 102.4 miles (165 km) and was opened in June 2011.
According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, the DanyangKunshan Grand Bridge was built in China in four years and employed 10,000 workers. It cost $8.5 million. It crosses low rice paddies in the Yangtze River Delta. Only a few miles of it crosses the Yangcheng Lake in Suzhou. The bridge is about 100 feet (31.3 meters) above the ground.
Similar: Da Vinci's forgotten design to build the longest bridge on the planet
The Yangtze River is the main route that DanyangKunshan Grand Bridge follows. Its distance from it is between 5 and 50 mi (8 and 80 km). Engineering Clicks reported that the section that crosses Yangcheng Lake, Suzhou, is 5.6 miles (9 km) long and supported by 2,000 columns.
The Dunyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge is the railway link between Shanghai and Nanjing. Image credit to Getty
Which bridge is the longest?
According to BBC Science Focus, the Changhua Kaohsiung Viaduct is Taiwan's second-longest bridge. According to Encyclopaedia Britishnica, this bridge spans 97.8 miles (157.3 km) and was constructed in 2007 to resist earthquakes.
Viaducts are a type of long bridge that is made up of several arches or columns. This bridge is part the Taiwan High Speed Rail. It stretches from Zuoying, Kaohsiung to Baguashan, Chang-hua County.
Weitere notable bridges
According to Guinness World Records, the longest road bridge in the world is the 34-mile (55 km) long Bang Na expressway, Thailand. It was built in 2000. This elevated six-lane highway crosses just a little water, the Bang Pakong River.
According to Transport Research International Documentation, Bang Na became temporarily the longest bridge in the world after the construction of the huge bridge. This database records the total surface area of the bridge at 20,400,000 sq. feet (1,900,000.00 m).
The longest continuous bridge across water is the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. Image credit: Gary Fowler/Shutterstock
The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, located in southern Louisiana, is the longest continuous bridge across water. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, the causeway actually consists of two parallel bridges. The longer one measures close to 24 miles (39km). According to the American Concrete Institute, 9,500 concrete pilings support the bridges.
In 2011, China claimed its Jiaozhou Bay Bridge, Louisiana's most famous bridge, was the longest span water. Guinness World Records split the title in two, declaring that the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge, which spans 26.4 miles (42.5 km) over water, is the longest continuous bridge. The Pontchartrain bridge is, however, the longest continuous bridge according to World Atlas. Parts of Jiaozhou's overall structure are made up land bridges as well as sea tunnels.
Additional resources
Katharine Gammon, a Live Science contributor, originally wrote this article. It has been updated since then
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