10
Akashi Kaikyo Bridge
The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, also known as Marcus Bridge in Japan was completed in 1998 and is the world's longest suspension bridge (measured by the length of the center span of 1,991 metres/6,532 feet). It links the city of Kobe on the mainland of Honshu to Iwaya on Awaji Island by crossing the busy Akashi Strait. It carries the part of the Honshu-Shikoku Highway.
The bridge is one of the key links of the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Project, which created three routes across the Inland Sea.
The bridge has three spans. The central span is 1,991 m (6,532 ft), and the two other sections are each 960 m (3,150 ft). The bridge is 3,911 m (12,831 ft) long overall. The central span was originally only 1,990 m (6,529 ft), but the Kobe earthquake on January 17, 1995, moved the two towers sufficiently (only the towers had been erected at the time) so that it had to be increased by 1 m (3.3 ft).
The bridge was designed with a two-hinged stiffening girder system, allowing the structure to withstand winds of 286 kilometres per hour (178 mph), earthquakes measuring to 8.5 on the Richter scale, and harsh sea currents. The bridge also contains pendulums that are designed to operate at the resonance frequency of the bridge to damp forces. The two main supporting towers rise 298 m (978 ft) above sea level, and the bridge can expand because of heating up to 2 metres (7 ft) over the course of a day. Each anchorage required 350,000 metric tons of concrete. The steel cables have 300,000 km of wire: each cable is over a meter in diameter and contains nearly 40,000 strands of wire.
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9
Sutong Bridge
The Sutong Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge that spans the Yangtze River in People's Republic of China between Nantong and Changshu, a satellite city of Suzhou, in Jiangsu province. With a span of 1,088 metres (3,570 ft), it is the cable-stayed bridge with the longest main span in the world. It's two side-spans are 300 metres (984 ft) each, and there are also four small cable spans.
Two towers of bridge are 306 metres (1,004 ft) high and thus second tallest in the world. Overall the bridge length is 8,206 metres (26,923 ft). Construction began in June 2003 and bridge was linked up in June 2007 . The bridge was opened to traffic on May 25, 2008[3] and was officially opened on the 30th June, 2008. Construction has been estimated to cost about US$1.7 billion.
The completion of the bridge makes the commute between Shanghai and Nantong, originally completed through ferry route, shorten to about an hour. It brings Nantong one step closer to becoming an important part of the Yangtze River Delta economic zone, and has further attracted foreign investors into the city. The bridge is also pivotal in the development of poorer northern Jiangsu regions.
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8
Ðurdevica Tara Bridge
Ðurdevica Tara Bridge is an arch bridge over the Tara River in northern Montenegro. It is located at the crossroads between Mojkovac, Žabljak and Pljevlja, between the villages of Budecevica and Trešnjica.
It was built between 1937 and 1940 and designed by Mijat Trojanovic, who also oversaw the construction. When it was finished, it was the biggest vehicular concrete arch bridge in Europe.
The bridge is 365 m long, and has five arches, the biggest having span of 116 m. The distance between the roadbed and the river is 172 m.
Following the German-led invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, much of Montenegro, including the Tara Canyon, came under Italian occupation, and, due to the suitability of the mountainous terrain to guerilla warfare, became a hotbed of the communist Partisan uprising. The fighting between the Partisans and Italian occupiers aided by Serb-nationalist Chetniks claimed the Tara Bridge in 1942 during an Italian-Chetnik offensive. Aided by one of the bridge engineers, Lazar Jaukovic, a Partisan raiding party blew up the central arch, cutting off the only feasible crossing over the Tara Canyon and thus blocking the Italian/Chetnik advance. It was a heroic act that cost Jaukovic his life: When he was eventually captured, the Italians executed the engineer on his bridge. This events were transferd to the cinema in a movie called "Most", in 1969.
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7
Kochertalbrücke Bridge
On the Kochertalbrücke (literal translation Kocher Valley Bridge) near Schwäbisch Hall in Germany the Autobahn 6 crosses the Kocher valley between Heilbronn and Nuremberg. With its maximum height of 185m above the valley ground it is the highest viaduct in Germany, and the pillar height of 178m is second only to the Viaduc de Millau in France.
The nine spans of this prestressed concrete girder bridge cover a length of 1128m, the individual span lengths being 81m for the outer two and 138m for the remaining seven. Pillar height varies from 40m to 178m. The bridge table is 31m wide. Construction was from 1976 to 1979.
A museum in the village of Geislingen am Kocher below the bridge (visits by prior appointment) not only tells the bridge's story but also displays dinosaur fossils found during the construction of the motorway.
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6
Europabrücke Bridge
Europabrücke, or Europe's bridge, is a 777-m (2,549.2 ft) long bridge spanning the 657-m (2,155.5 ft) Wipp valley just south of Innsbruck, Austria. The A13 Brenner Autobahn passes over this bridge, above the Sill River, forming part of the main route from Austria to Italy across the Alps. Built between 1959 and 1963, it was once Europe's highest bridge, standing 192 m (629.9 ft) high. The Millau Viaduct has taken over this title on December 14, 2004.
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Akashi Kaikyo BridgeThe Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, also known as Marcus Bridge in Japan was completed in 1998 and is the world's longest suspension bridge (measured by the length of the center span of 1,991 metres/6,532 feet). It links the city of Kobe on the mainland of Honshu to Iwaya on Awaji Island by crossing the busy Akashi Strait. It carries the part of the Honshu-Shikoku Highway.
The bridge is one of the key links of the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Project, which created three routes across the Inland Sea.
The bridge has three spans. The central span is 1,991 m (6,532 ft), and the two other sections are each 960 m (3,150 ft). The bridge is 3,911 m (12,831 ft) long overall. The central span was originally only 1,990 m (6,529 ft), but the Kobe earthquake on January 17, 1995, moved the two towers sufficiently (only the towers had been erected at the time) so that it had to be increased by 1 m (3.3 ft).
The bridge was designed with a two-hinged stiffening girder system, allowing the structure to withstand winds of 286 kilometres per hour (178 mph), earthquakes measuring to 8.5 on the Richter scale, and harsh sea currents. The bridge also contains pendulums that are designed to operate at the resonance frequency of the bridge to damp forces. The two main supporting towers rise 298 m (978 ft) above sea level, and the bridge can expand because of heating up to 2 metres (7 ft) over the course of a day. Each anchorage required 350,000 metric tons of concrete. The steel cables have 300,000 km of wire: each cable is over a meter in diameter and contains nearly 40,000 strands of wire.
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9
Sutong BridgeThe Sutong Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge that spans the Yangtze River in People's Republic of China between Nantong and Changshu, a satellite city of Suzhou, in Jiangsu province. With a span of 1,088 metres (3,570 ft), it is the cable-stayed bridge with the longest main span in the world. It's two side-spans are 300 metres (984 ft) each, and there are also four small cable spans.
Two towers of bridge are 306 metres (1,004 ft) high and thus second tallest in the world. Overall the bridge length is 8,206 metres (26,923 ft). Construction began in June 2003 and bridge was linked up in June 2007 . The bridge was opened to traffic on May 25, 2008[3] and was officially opened on the 30th June, 2008. Construction has been estimated to cost about US$1.7 billion.
The completion of the bridge makes the commute between Shanghai and Nantong, originally completed through ferry route, shorten to about an hour. It brings Nantong one step closer to becoming an important part of the Yangtze River Delta economic zone, and has further attracted foreign investors into the city. The bridge is also pivotal in the development of poorer northern Jiangsu regions.
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8
Ðurdevica Tara BridgeÐurdevica Tara Bridge is an arch bridge over the Tara River in northern Montenegro. It is located at the crossroads between Mojkovac, Žabljak and Pljevlja, between the villages of Budecevica and Trešnjica.
It was built between 1937 and 1940 and designed by Mijat Trojanovic, who also oversaw the construction. When it was finished, it was the biggest vehicular concrete arch bridge in Europe.
The bridge is 365 m long, and has five arches, the biggest having span of 116 m. The distance between the roadbed and the river is 172 m.
Following the German-led invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, much of Montenegro, including the Tara Canyon, came under Italian occupation, and, due to the suitability of the mountainous terrain to guerilla warfare, became a hotbed of the communist Partisan uprising. The fighting between the Partisans and Italian occupiers aided by Serb-nationalist Chetniks claimed the Tara Bridge in 1942 during an Italian-Chetnik offensive. Aided by one of the bridge engineers, Lazar Jaukovic, a Partisan raiding party blew up the central arch, cutting off the only feasible crossing over the Tara Canyon and thus blocking the Italian/Chetnik advance. It was a heroic act that cost Jaukovic his life: When he was eventually captured, the Italians executed the engineer on his bridge. This events were transferd to the cinema in a movie called "Most", in 1969.
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7
Kochertalbrücke BridgeOn the Kochertalbrücke (literal translation Kocher Valley Bridge) near Schwäbisch Hall in Germany the Autobahn 6 crosses the Kocher valley between Heilbronn and Nuremberg. With its maximum height of 185m above the valley ground it is the highest viaduct in Germany, and the pillar height of 178m is second only to the Viaduc de Millau in France.
The nine spans of this prestressed concrete girder bridge cover a length of 1128m, the individual span lengths being 81m for the outer two and 138m for the remaining seven. Pillar height varies from 40m to 178m. The bridge table is 31m wide. Construction was from 1976 to 1979.
A museum in the village of Geislingen am Kocher below the bridge (visits by prior appointment) not only tells the bridge's story but also displays dinosaur fossils found during the construction of the motorway.
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6
Europabrücke BridgeEuropabrücke, or Europe's bridge, is a 777-m (2,549.2 ft) long bridge spanning the 657-m (2,155.5 ft) Wipp valley just south of Innsbruck, Austria. The A13 Brenner Autobahn passes over this bridge, above the Sill River, forming part of the main route from Austria to Italy across the Alps. Built between 1959 and 1963, it was once Europe's highest bridge, standing 192 m (629.9 ft) high. The Millau Viaduct has taken over this title on December 14, 2004.
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