Top 25: The most impressive bridges in the world
Bridges are one of humanity’s major engineering achievements. Ever since humans first began trying to cross rivers, lakes, gorges, or any other natural landscape, we have been building bridges. Over time, however, bridges have evolved from simple and practical artificial crossings to complex and huge architectural structures. Below we will tell you about the twenty-five most impressive bridges in the world.
At the moment there are many monumental bridges spanning seas and even oceans, towering over jungles and connecting cities, countries and even continents. Today we are proud to tell you about the most outstanding ones. Some of them were built centuries ago and some are only a few years old, but they are all masterpieces of engineering craftsmanship. From the medieval Ponte Vecchio Bridge in Florence to the futuristic Spiral Bridge in Singapore and the legendary Brooklyn Bridge in New York, here are twenty-five of the world’s most impressive bridges.
25. Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Italy The Ponte Vecchio, built over the Arno River in Florence, is a medieval stone segmental arch bridge with closed lintels, notable for the fact that it still houses stores built along it very many years ago. This 30-meter-long bridge is the only bridge of its kind left intact in Florence after World War II.
24. Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, Kobe, Japan The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, also known as the Pearl Bridge, is a suspension bridge located in Japan that connects the city of Kobe on mainland Honshu with Iwaya on Awaji Island. Since its completion in 1998, this bridge has held the title of the suspension bridge with the longest central span in the world. Its length is equal to 1991 meters.
23. Charles Bridge, Prague, Czech Republic
Charles Bridge built in the 14th century to replace the old Judith Bridge is a huge sandstone bridge crossing the Vltava River in the very center of Prague. Decorated with 30 unique statues and sculptures, this bridge is a well known tourist attraction and one of the world’s most stunning civil engineering structures in the Gothic style.
22. Octavio Frias de Oliveira Bridge, São Paulo, Brazil The Octavio Frias de Oliveira Bridge, named after Octavio Frias de Oliveira, the famous Brazilian businessman, is a large cable-stayed bridge built over the Pinheiros River in São Paulo. The bridge is 138 meters high and connects the Marginal Pinheiros Highway with Jornalista Roberto Marinho Avenue in the southern part of the city.
21. Pont du Gard, Vers Pont du Gard, France The Pont du Gard bridge, near Vers Pont du Gard in southern France, is an ancient Roman aqueduct built in the first century AD. In 1985, UNESCO designated this bridge crossing the Gardon River as a World Heritage Site for its historical importance.
20. The Brooklyn Bridge, New York, USA The Brooklyn Bridge connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn over the East River in New York City is one of the most famous bridges in the world. Since its opening in 1883 it has become one of the most legendary landmarks of New York City and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964.
19. Helix Bridge, Singapore The Helix Bridge, which is shaped like DNA, is an ultra-modern pedestrian bridge linking the central and southern parts of Marina Bay in the Marina Bay area of Singapore. It is 280 meters long and was completed in 2010. It was built with approximately 650 tons of double-phase stainless steel and 1,000 tons of carbon steel.
18. U Bein Bridge, Amarapura, Myanmar The U Bein Bridge, built in the 1850s, is 1.2 kilometers long and spans Taungthaman Lake near Amayapura in central Myanmar. With 1,086 pylons, the Ubayn Bridge is considered the oldest and longest teak bridge in the world.
17. Moses Bridge, Halsteren, Netherlands The Moses Bridge, part of Fort de Roovere, a trench spanning the moat near Halsteren, in the south of the Netherlands, is a unique bridge that divides the water of the moat. The bridge was built entirely of wood and made waterproof with foil. It allows people to cross the moat almost invisibly at water level.
16. Donghai Bridge, Shanghai, China The Donghai Bridge, completed in 2005, connects the mainland to Shanghai’s Pudong New Area and the coastal Yangshan Deep-Water Port in eastern China. Its impressive length of 32.5 kilometers makes it one of the world’s longest bridges crossing the sea.
15. Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge, Cornish, United States The Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge, built in 1866, is a wooden bridge that spans the Connecticut River, connecting the town of Cornish, New Hampshire with Windsor, Vermont. This bridge was considered the longest covered bridge in the United States until the Smolen-Gulf Bridge was built in Ohio in 2008.
14. Bosphorus Bridge, Istanbul, Turkey The Bosphorus Bridge is one of the two suspension bridges spanning the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul, thus connecting Europe with Asia. With its length of 1,560 meters, the Bosphorus Bridge was the fourth longest suspension bridge in the world when it was completed in 1973.
13. The Trift Bridge, Gadmen, Switzerland The Trift Bridge, which crosses the lake of the same name near the town of Gadmen in central Switzerland, is the longest footbridge in the Swiss Alps. Each year about 20,000 visitors pass over the bridge, which is suspended at a height of 100 meters, wishing to look at the Trift Glacier, which is a popular tourist attraction.
The Banpo Bridge, Seoul, South Korea The Rainbow Fountain Bridge connecting Seocho and Yongsan-gu districts in downtown Seoul is one of the city’s most famous landmarks. The bridge is 1,495 meters long and is best known for the Moonlight Rainbow Fountain, the longest fountain in the world, located on the bridge.
Howrah Bridge, Howrah, India The Howrah Bridge, suspended over the Hooghly River in West Bengal, India, is a large single-span bridge built in 1943. With approximately 100,000 vehicles and 150,000 pedestrians crossing the bridge every day, it is possibly the busiest single-span bridge in the world.
The Øresund Bridge, Malmo, Sweden The Øresund Bridge, Europe’s longest combined road and railway bridge, connects two major metropolitan areas: Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, and Malmö, Sweden. The bridge, nearly 8 kilometers long, begins as a bridge in Sweden and ends with a tunnel in Denmark.
9. Tower Bridge, London, United Kingdom The Tower Bridge crossing the River Thames near the Tower of London in downtown London is one of the most famous bridges in the world and an iconic landmark of London. The construction of this combined suspension and drawbridge was completed in 1894. It consists of two bridge towers connected at the upper level by two horizontal passageways.
8. Pont Jacques Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux, France The Pont Jacques Chaban-Delmas is a vertical-lift bridge spanning the Garonne River in Bardot, France. It is the longest vertical-lift bridge in Europe and was inaugurated by French President François Hollande in 2013. This bridge, named after former French Prime Minister Jacques Chaban-Delmas, is made of concrete and steel.
7. Russian Bridge, Vladivostok, Russia The Russian Bridge, spanning the Eastern Bosphorus and built to provide a seamless connection for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference held in Vladivostok in 2012, is the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world. The bridge boasts the longest cable-stayed span and the second tallest bridge piers, second only to the piers of the French Millau Viaduct.
6. Magdeburg Water Bridge, Magdeburg, Germany The Magdeburg Water Bridge, opened in 2003, is a major navigable aqueduct located near the city of Magdeburg in central Germany. The bridge, which connects the Middle German Canal (Mittellandkanal) to the Elbe-Havel Canal on the Elbe River, allows large commercial vessels to pass between the Rhineland and Berlin without having to descend and then ascend from the Elbe itself.
5. Royal Gorge Bridge, Canon City, USA The Royal Gorge Bridge, built in 1929, is a tourist attraction located in Canyon City, Colorado, in the Royal Gorge Bridge & Park theme park. Crossing the Royal Gorge at 291 feet under the Arkansas River, this bridge held the record for the highest bridge in the world from 1929 to 2001 when it was surpassed by China’s Liuguanghe Bridge.
4. Allahverdi Khan Bridge, Isfahan, Iran The Allahverdi Khan Bridge, also known as the “Bridge of 33 Spans” (Si-o-seh pol), is one of 11 bridges located in Isfahan, Iran and is the longest bridge over the Zayandeh River at a total length of almost 300 meters. At night all the arches of the bridge are illuminated and the bridge casts a stunning reflection on the waters of the river flowing underneath it.
3. Sydney Harbor Bridge, Sydney, Australia The Sydney Harbor Bridge, jokingly nicknamed “The Hanger” because of its arched design, is a steel bridge across the Sydney Harbor. It connects the Sydney Central Business District to the North Shore. Located next to the famous Sydney Opera House, this bridge is an iconic landmark of Sydney and Australia.
2. Cize-Bolozon Viaduct, Cize, France The Cize-Bolozon Viaduct is a combination rail and road viaduct that crosses the Ain Gorge in eastern France and connects the towns of Cize and Bolozon. Since the original bridge, built on this site in 1875, was destroyed during the Second World War, the new viaduct was opened in May 1950.
1. Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, USA The Golden Gate Bridge, spanning the Golden Gate Strait, the channel between San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean, is generally considered to be the most famous, beautiful, and most photographed bridge in the world. This bridge, 2,737 meters long, is considered a symbol of San Francisco, California and the United States itself.
17 most beautiful bridges in the world
The editors of the authoritative portal of architecture and design Architectural Digest made a list of the most beautiful bridges in the world. And there are many of them, because architects love to design something special instead of boring road on several supports. From the Charles Bridge in Prague to the Golden Gate in San Francisco, check out where your foot has never set foot.
Seri Wawasan Bridge, Putrajaya, Malaysia
Designed by a firm from Kuala Lumpur and completed in 2003.
Puente de la Mujer Bridge, Buenos Aires, Argentina
The structure was designed by the famous architect Santiago Calatrava. The bridge was opened in 2001.
High Bridge, Amsterdam, Netherlands
The building was designed by West 8, a New York architectural firm. The work was fully completed in 2001.
Nescio, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Completed in 2006 the bridge was so beautiful that it won three major international awards. Designers from the London firm WilkinsonEyre designed the structure. The bridge is about 800 meters long.
Rialto Bridge, Venice, Italy
Rialto Bridge in Venice was built back in 16th century. It is the oldest bridge standing over the Grand Canal.
Subisuri Bridge, Bilbao, Spain
The Subisuri pedestrian bridge, like the Puente de la Mujer in Buenos Aires, was designed by the legendary architect Santiago Calatrava. The structure was opened to citizens in 1997.
Manhattan Bridge, New York, USA
The bridge connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. It was designed by engineer Leon Moisseiff and opened the structure in 1912. To this day the bridge is used daily by thousands of car and public transportation passengers, cyclists and pedestrians.
Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Abu Dhabi, UAE
The bridge was designed by the famous architect Zaha Hadid. Construction was completed in 2010, and the construction cost about $ 300 million.
Széchenyi Chain Bridge, Budapest, Hungary
Designed by British engineer William Tierney Clark, the Szechenyi Chain Bridge opened in 1849. It crosses the mighty Danube River.
Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, USA
One of the most famous bridges in the world was built in 1937. It owes its recognizable shape to architect Irwin Morrow.
Tower Bridge, London, United Kingdom
Another architectural celebrity, Tower Bridge was opened in 1894. Thanks to it, cars and pedestrians can still easily cross the River Thames to this day.
Helix Bridge, Singapore
Helix Bridge, which opened in 2010, is lit up and futuristic-looking. It connects the urban areas of Singapore Marina and Marina South.
Juselinu Kubicek Bridge, Brasilia, Brazil
The bridge was designed by architect Alexander Chen and engineer Mario Vila Verde. When the construction was completed in 2002, the total cost was approximately $57 million.
Millau Viaduct Bridge, Cressel, France
The viaduct of Millau is the highest bridge in the world. Its highest point rises to 340 meters above the base of the structure. The design was developed by the architect Sir Norman Foster and the engineer Michel Wirloge. And the bridge was opened in 2004.
Charles Bridge, Prague, Czech Republic
Charles Bridge, which crosses the Vltava River, was built in the early 1400s. It is constructed entirely of stone and decorated with dozens of ancient statues on both sides.
Brooklyn Bridge, New York, USA
The bridge was opened to the citizens in 1883, and at first New Yorkers were incredulous about the huge construction. Just a week after its opening rumors swept through the city that it might suddenly collapse. This caused a stampede on the bridge and the death of twelve people. To reassure the public of the bridge’s durability, authorities ran 21 elephants from the circus over it. Today 150,000 cars and pedestrians use the bridge every day.
Haju Bridge, Isfahan, Iran
The structure is about 130 meters long and 12 meters wide and accommodates as many as 23 arches. Beautiful by day and by night, the Hajjou Bridge is a popular meeting place for citizens.
