Bridges have been around for centuries but became more advanced during the Roman Times. Bridges have assisted humanity in crossing geological features such as rivers, gorges, and steep terrain, and they have been incorporated into cities and infrastructure networks with an almost limitless range of functions in recent years. From the beginning, these structures have grown into some of the greatest engineering achievements in human history. Here, we will look at the longest and most inspiring bridges in the world, and what makes them also awesome. Hope it brightens your day.
THE DANYANG KUNSHAN GRAND BRIDGE, CHINA
This structure is A Remarkable 160 4.8 kilometers long and has held the Guinness Book of World Records for the world’s longest bridge ever. This Bridge was completed in 2010 and opened in June 2011. Built at a cost of approximately $8.5 billion dollars, it required more than a thousand people to get the work done. This link between Shanghai and Nanjing was opened as a viaduct on the Beijing- Shanghai High- Speed railway. Building the Danyang Kunshan Grand Bridge without concrete reinforcements in the Yangtze River’s floodplain which consists of soft soil instead of form bedrock, could be dangerous because the land might shift, weakening the bridge structure, and leading to a disaster.
To make it safe for visitors and to use this railway more efficiently for traveling in the Jiangsu Province of China, engineers and builders considered all the challenges when designing and constructing this incredibly large bridge. This Bridge was raised and designed by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company, which was originally a Chinese government-funded company and a part of the Foreign Aid Office of the Ministry of Communications of China. An awesome and stunning setting for this bridge is that it’s made of lowland rice paddies, rivers, lakes, and candles, and runs roughly parallel to the Yangtze River, about 8 to 80 kilometers to the south. The people experience an unforgettable train ride as the bridge enhances the natural vistas in the areas that it crosses.
Changhua- Kaohsiung Viaduct, China
Also in China is located the second-longest bridge in the world which comprises a portion of the Taiwan’s high-speed railway network which runs along the West Coast of the island. The construction of this 150 7.3 km long bridge and aid in 2007 and has carried over 200 million passengers by December 2012. The construction of this viaduct cost of whopping $16 billion dollars. This Bridge runs from Zouying in Kao- hsiung to Baguashan in Chang- Hua county, which is prone to seismic activity. As a result, the bridge and train line was built to minimize earthquake damage. And the unique part of this viaduct is that it’s one of a series of bridges designed to be earthquake resistant which also limits damage to individual sections of the viaduct as a result it can be repaid quickly after an earthquake. Its awesomeness also allows for the trains to stop safely during seismic events.
Tianjin Grand Bridge, China
This railroad by the tops to the third position in our list with a massive span of 113 kilometers, or 70 miles. They made this Bridge with great strength to stand earthquake pressure and it stretches between Lang fang and Qing Xian, carrying the Beijing- Shanghai high-speed railway. Construction of this ended on 2010 after four years of work, with the inauguration on June 30, 2011. The engineers opted for an elevated solution hence making it possible to reduce the infrastructure’s physical impact in urban areas as much as possible, without forcing the project designers to change the train’s route.
This unique structure comprises a series of girders, each more than 100 feet long and weighing around 860 tons apiece. To workplaces were used to make this girder and were bought where they needed to be installed and then placed on piers already in place by a special crane. People experience an unforgettable high-speed train ride through thousand faces of China from Beijing to Shanghai. Traveling across the Tianjin Grand Bridge means moving to a landscape that changes constantly, from the most densely populated areas to the expanses of water in the Pearl River Delta and then to the underground.
This route also comprises a tunnel that connects to an artificial island, which is approximately over 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) long. The bridge crosses the city of Tianjin which is home to 15 million people. China prioritized the construction of High- Speed Rail lines when the Tianjin Bridge was built, and in order to achieve all this, the government made a huge investment of around $20 billion dollars, which was made possible by China’s development policies. The X and grand Bridge is one of the longest bridges in the world and one of China’s many impressive viaducts that support its ambitious High- Speed Rail program.
Conclusion
China has 30,000 kilometres (18,641 miles) of high-speed lines and aims to reach 38,000 kilometres (23612 miles) by 2025. It has always been ahead in constructing extraordinary and massive projects. Surely, there are many more bridges in the world which are massive and is holding many records, but for now China is topping in the list of the longest bridges in the world.
-Ekta Verma