What is the Longest Bridge in the World
The ancient Romans were the first to build large and permanent bridges. Most were built with a combination of stone and concrete, with many still standing today. Modern bridge design has certainly come a long way since then, but the general principles and designs used by the ancient Romans, still influence our bridges today. Modern bridges are truly marvels of engineering and can reach lengths that were previously believed to be impossible. Read on to discover which bridge in the longest in the world.
What is the longest bridge in the world?
Officially the two longest bridges in the world are both part of the Beijing – Shanghai High Speed Railway. The longest bridge, called the Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge, is a massive 164 km long. The second longest bridge, the Tianjin Grand Bridge, is 114 km long. However, these bridges are not specifically built to cross a body of water. The longest bridge over water is the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge, which was opened on June 30 2011. This bridge is 42.5 km long and has been ratified as the longest bridge over water by Guinness World Records. Amazingly it took four years and cost over 1 billion dollars to build. The previous holder of this title was the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway at 38km long.
With the ever evolving engineering and construction techniques, there is no doubt that these records will be beaten in the future. In fact, the Qatar Bahrain Causeway project is due to begin in the second half of 2011 and could eventually take the title of the longest bridge over water.
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