15 BIGGEST BRIDGES in the World

expanding vast distances and crossing over formidable obstacles Bridges link Nations and unite communities around the world from towering suspension bridges to massive viaducts bridges are a testament to human Ingenuity so for today's video we're going to explore the top 15 biggest bridges in the world number 15 the kitayita viaduct Japan is a country known for its High-Speed Rail service and few train lines on this planet are quite as advanced as the tohokushinkansen high-speed rail line considered to be the third fastest rail line in the world trains on the track run at speeds of up to 320 kilometers per hour as you might expect such high-speed lines require well-built infrastructure and one of the most important parts of the line is the kitayata viaduct completed in 1982 it comes in at a total length of 114.4 kilometers and has a total of 23 stations on its route between Tokyo and El morib so if you ever decide to travel around Japan there's a good chance you'll take a ride on this incredible Bridge number 14. The Chiang Hua kaushong Viaduct as far as length goes the bridge that holds the record for being the world's second longest is the Cheng walk Viaduct it's located in Taiwan the bridge carries both a highway and a train line that connects the cities of zul ying and bagwashan over a length of 157.2 kilometers now what sets this Viaduct apart from many other Bridges is that it was built in an active seismic Zone while this may sound dangerous it's got several features that ensure it won't be brought down by an earthquake for example it's designed to allow trains to stop safely during seismic events while also having a disconnected design that prevents damage from spreading across the structure this would not only save lives but allow for quick and easy repairs after an earthquake as such despite its location this Viaduct is able to facilitate the passage of tens of millions of vehicles every single year number 13. the Ping Tong Bridge while China does have more than its fair share of long Bridges it has far fewer super tall Bridges however the Ping Tong Bridge puts up a fight against even the tallest of Western Bridges coming in at a height of 332 meters it's just 4.4 meters shy of the world leading malal Viaduct and only two meters shy of the 1915 chamakale Bridge making it the third tallest bridge in the planet constructed in the southwest province of wisho it connects the cities of ping Tong and luo Dion making it an important Regional artery if the bridge is insane high can be largely attributed to its geography located in an extremely mountainous area of China the area has been difficult to Traverse since ancient times and many see the bridge as a way for the areas relatively poor citizens to receive better access to goods and services as such while the Ping Tong Bridge may be relatively unknown it plays an important role in the lives of many of we Show's 38 and a half million citizens number 12. Akashi kaikyo Bridge while the world's longest suspension bridge span belongs to turkey's 1915 chanakale bridge for many years prior it was Japan's Akashi kaikyu bridge that held the top spot completed in 1998 after Decades of calls for a safer alternative to ferries this 3911 meter long structure is part of the Kobe awaji Naruto Expressway this is an important route because it connects the islands of Honshu and shikoku and while its book cost of 6.7 billion dollars in 2023 is rather insane I'd argue that the expenses were Justified see the bridges located in an area that's notorious for seismic activity and storms in order to ensure that it doesn't come crashing down it was designed with a series of counterweights pendulums and steel truss girders to help stabilize the structure in the event of a quake according to reports these are so strong that the bridge can endure Winds of up to 290 kilometers per hour Beyond its strength the bridge also has an aesthetic value too after all the bridges spans resemble a String of Pearls when lit and display a variety of colors depending on the season making them absolutely gorgeous number 11 the Confederation Bridge unless you happen to come from Canada chances are that you've never heard of Prince Edward Island yet the island is famous within Canada for not only being one of the country's 10 provinces but for being home to Anne of Green Gables lots of potato farms and most importantly of all the Confederation Bridge built to connect the island to the rest of Canada it was completed on May 31st of 1997 and ever since it's become extremely important connecting Prince Edward Island to the province of New Brunswick it's ensured that those living there can drive to the mainland instead of taking a ferry which in turn has helped decrease travel times its length of 12.9 kilometers is also significant as it not only makes it the longest bridge in Canada but also the world's longest bridge over ice-covered water due to the Northumberland Strait's tendency to freeze over during winter time when you further consider that the bridge is not only aesthetically pleasing but also the root of a massive increase in tourism to Prince Edward Island it's easy to see why it's now an integral part of this Island's identity number 10. Tianjin Grand Bridge China is known for its expansive Mega projects and Tianjin Grand Bridge was a massive one that sometimes goes under the radar considered to be the fourth longest bridge in the world it comes in at just shy of 114 kilometers in length and plays a vital role in connecting the cities of La Fong and xinjiang with the wider Beijing Shanghai high-speed Railway line but beyond all the stats the Tianjin grandbridge stands apart for being quite difficult to build you see while most bridges are built either over water or through relatively remote areas the area that this bridge is in is jam-packed with urban areas as a result building a rail track on the ground would have been a massive inconvenience and so the decision was made to make an elevated track in order to make the human impact as minimal as possible the bridge was also very complicated to erect as it was put up in 32 separate sections each weighing 860 tons at a cost of 20 billion dollars it also wasn't in any way cheap however given importance to the region it was by most accounts a positive addition to the rail line number nine the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway if you're from New Orleans then chances are that you know Lake Pontchartrain it's a massive Lake on the northern coast of the city it's a large physical barrier that separates New Orleans from many nearby towns as such in the 1950s construction began on a bridge to Traverse it the end result was a 38.4 kilometer long roadway that holds the record for being the longest bridge to run continuously over water with no stops or artificial islands in the way consisting of two parallel Bridges the first was completed in 1956 but when the traffic on it exceeded its capacity a second one was added in 1969 Beyond its length the bridge is also notable due to the fact that it survived several hurricanes the most significant so far has been Hurricane Katrina which somehow only managed to damage the structure minimally while this does make the bridge quite tough what many people don't realize is that you also have to be tough to drive across it since it's very long and rather boring to cross it's easy for drivers to get tired and that's not to mention the fact that heavy fogs and the lack of land and sight has even caused many drivers to panic and stop in the middle of the bridge so a drive across the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway really isn't for everyone number eight manchek swamp Bridge America's interstate highway system is a massive Network that consists of over 78 000 kilometers of Roads yet the structure that holds the title for being the longest bridge to be part of it is the Manchester swamp Bridge while not the busiest bridge on the planet after all it's 2200 daily drivers pale in comparison to the hundreds of thousands that crossed the George Washington Bridge in New York it's nonetheless a solid piece of engineering coming in at just under 36.7 kilometers in length it's considered to be the longest non-toll bridge in the world yet despite this it certainly wasn't cheap located in the middle of a Louisiana swamp piles had to be driven 76 meters deep in order to keep it in place and the result was a bridge that cost the modern equivalent of 17 and a half million dollars per kilometer beyond that insane cost the bridge also stands apart for being pretty dangerous on the mythical side of things the swamped at the bridges cross is rumored to be haunted by a Cajun werewolf known as rugeru and a voodoo priestess who passed away in 1915 while these claims are very much contested a very real danger that is certainly not mythical are the alligators that rest under the Bridge's twin concrete trestles waiting to chop up unsuspecting swimmers so yeah it's fair to say that while the menchac swamp bridge is safe the area around it certainly isn't number seven the danyang kunchan grand Bridge all right when it comes to length the bridge that takes the cake for being the world's longest is the dunyang kunchan grand Bridge it's located in Eastern China this bridge measures in at a massive 164.8 kilometers in length making it seven and a half kilometers longer than its nearest competitor now the bridge was built in an attempt to fix a major transport issue you see its location on the rail line between Shanghai and Nanjing and jiangsu Province and this is relevant because for years it was extremely difficult to get between the cities on the line however thanks to the existence of this bridge roadways and train lines travel times have improved significantly for example the drive between the cities of Hangzhou and Nanjing have gone from around four hours to just over one hour thanks to this bridge given the Bridge's location on the Yangtze River delta this is super important as by most accounts this area is China's most important economic Hub these efficiency savings makes the bridge vital to China's economy and so in order to make sure it stays standing it was built to withstand typhoons magnitude 8 earthquakes and even a direct hit from a 300 000 ton Naval vessel I guess talk about being prepared for the worst as you might expect in order to create this monstrosity it took a lot of resources so much so in fact that the construction effort employed 10 000 workers took four years to build and came in at a staggeringly high price tag of eight and a half billion dollars yet now that it's completed it's evolved into being one of China's most useful infrastructure projects to date number six the rusky bridge on the surface rusky Bridge may seem a bit strange despite costing north of 1.1 billion dollars to build and being the longest cable State bridge in the world this 3100 meter long pathway seems kind of useless after all while it links the city of Vladivostok to rusky island rusky island only has a population of 5400 people so many have accused it of Simply being a vanity project rather than something of any real substance this is by most accounts absolutely correct you see rusky Bridge was built in order to facilitate the 2012 Asia Pacific economic Community Summit that was held at Far Eastern Federal University on rusky island since it could have hypothetically been held anywhere else in Russia the decision to hold a summit in a rural area and build this massive Bridge was by most accounts a display of Russia's supposed economic might and while this economic mud has been called into serious question nowadays there's no denying that rusky bridge is an impressive engineering Marvel built with the help of 324 meter tall pylons dug 77 meters into the ground these structures are so large that they're only bested by the world's tallest bridge which is the malaw viaduct in France at night these pylons go to work they're illuminated in red white and blue and homage to the Russian flag making them a clear propaganda symbol Beyond these pylons the bridge is also impressive due to its stability to withstand wind speeds of 36 meters per second six meter high waves 70 centimeter thick ice and temperatures of negative 31 degrees Celsius so yeah I think you'd agree this bridge is nothing short of incredible although a bit of a mystery number five The bjorna Fjord Bridge Norway is a country that's covered with beautiful fjords these are super deep Canyons created by glaciers and while they are very beautiful they also make travel a bit of a problem after all it's very difficult to make infrastructure that can Traverse them so difficult in fact that Norway's national highway is an 1100 kilometer route that features seven Ferry Crossings and takes about 21 hours to cross in its entirety in order to cut down on this ridiculously long commute the Norwegian government is looking to spend 47 billion dollars in order to update their highway system one of the ways that it's going to do this is by finding ways to cut across the fjords that currently require Ferry Crossings and the bjorna Fjord bridge is an example of a clever workaround in action you see due to their height it's proven difficult to build the bridges that reach the bottom of fjords so instead The bjorna Fjord bridge will float slated to be the world's longest Floating Bridge it will function with the help of 38 floating pontoons four of which will be Tethered to to the sea floor with cables the whole thing will then be tied with cables to each side of the Fjord to prevent wobbling and the end result will be a five kilometer Long Bridge the hope is that such a bridge will last for at least a hundred years and this will be possible because each part will be completely replaceable and while this plan does sound a little nuts it turns out that this type of technology has already been used to help support oil Platforms in the past and so Architects are confident that the designs could be used for Bridges however only time will tell whether or not this beautiful bridge will be a success number four malau Viaduct while the Eiffel Tower may be France's most famous landmark the malal viaduct is cool enough to give it a run for its money it's located in the south of France about an hour Northwest of montpelium it's smack dab in the middle of the French Countryside and was made for a very important purpose you see there's a highway that's known as the a-75 that connects Paris to Barcelona when building it all was going well until Builders reached the massive Central mountain range filled with deep valleys it was a nightmare to build across but perhaps the worst Valley of them all was a two kilometer stretch that holds the river Tarn this called for some clever engineering and thus the idea for the malaw viaduct was born spanning across an area of 2.4 kilometers it's long enough to Traverse the entire Valley but what makes it stand apart quite literally is its height that's because at 343 meters it's not only the tallest bridge of the world but an absolute incredible roadway to cross as it offers stunning views of the French Countryside now despite being well built and pretty the Bridge's Engineers had to put in some extra legwork to make the bridge safe after all due to its immense height it can be hit by winds as fast as 150 kilometers per hour to make matters worse it's high enough to disorient drivers as it can often trick them into feeling like they're floating as a result the bridge has a slight curve and incline of three percent and the side screens that reduce the effects of the Wind by about 50 percent in order to make the drive across it safer it's because of all these features that the malal viaduct has won many awards and is ultimately one of the best built bridges in the world number three skybridge 721 nothing quite beats getting around on foot while it may not be the fastest form of transportation it's easily one of the healthiest as it allows you to clear your thoughts get fit and breathe some fresh air however if you want to walk that outclasses a stroll around the neighborhood then you should check out skybridge 721 considered to be the longest Footbridge in the world it stretches for a total of 721 meters across a valley of the kralichi snesnik Mountain at 95 meters above the ground and 1135 meters above sea level walking across this suspension bridge feels a lot like walking through the heavens especially since it's not uncommon for clouds to form underneath the bridge interestingly skybridge 721 is one of the newest bridges on this list first opened on May 13th of 2022. it is a beautiful tourist site as beyond the bridge it also has various other activities on site perhaps the coolest is the treetop path known as the Skywalk raising 18 stories above the ground this warping path looks more like a space age roller coaster than a pathway however despite its strange looks it's a completely safe way to get some great views of the surrounding area once you're done there's even a 100 meter long metal slide that goes right through the heart of the walkway making it a thrilling ride on the more educational side of things you can also visit a nature trail known as The Bridge of time prepared with elements of augmented reality and cooperation with the state-run forests of the Czech Republic organization and the Museum of czechoslovak fortifications of 1935-38 it has a game with 10 educational panels all of which cover topics surrounding Environmental Protection and the history of the region so if you happen to be in checha skybridge 721 and its surroundings are worth checking it out number two the 1915 chanakale Bridge while there are many suspension bridges out there the one that holds the record for having the world's longest span is Turkey's 1915 chanakale Bridge opened on March 18th of 2022. this Bridges one mainspan comes in at an impressive 2023 meters in length and connects two sides of the Dardanelle Strait now what's interesting about this bridge is that it also serves two important purposes the first is practicum you see for most of turkey's history it would take several hours to travel between each side of the Dardanelles however thanks to this bridge the travel time has been cut down to a mere six minutes this should in turn help spur economic activity in the region by allowing cars and trucks to cross from one side to the other without entering istanbulb which has some of the worst traffic in all of Europe however the bridge is an important symbol as well a pride project of Turkish president erdogan is meant to inspire national pride after all the name 1915 chanak kale is a nod to the Turkish name for the Gallipoli campaign of world war one which the ottoman Navy crushed that of France and Britain the 2023 meter length is also symbolic as it commemorates the 100th year anniversary of the Turkish Republic which happened this year in 2023 yet all of this Grandeur came at a price costing a total of 2.7 billion dollars to build and a ridiculously high 15 to cross nothing about this bridge is cheap but this makes sense given the fact that it was extremely difficult to build you see the area is prone to high winds and high seismic activity and so in order to counter this the bridge had to make use of a twin box girder design and other important features in order to stay standing these features are also necessary due to the Bridge's immense height after all the bridges deck height of 73 meters is so tall and its high stack container ships and cruise ships can pass under it with ease meanwhile the Bridge's overall height of 318 meters makes it a sight to behold and by most accounts an example of excellent engineering at work number one magdeburg Water Bridge Germany is one of the most developed countries on the planet and so it makes sense that it's home to a piece of infrastructure that's truly unique known as The magdeburg Water Bridge it's a piece of canal that crosses on top of the Elbow River while putting what looks like a river on top of a bridge may seem kind of silly the reason for this is very sound you see the magdeburg bridge is part of the larger metal and Canal which is a very important waterway that connects East and West Germany while providing connections to France Switzerland Poland and chechia while plans to build this canal date back to the early 1900s small events like World War II and the Soviet takeover of East Germany made it impossible and so it wasn't until 1997 that construction began and 2023 that the Bridge opened now making this bridge wasn't cheap after all it cost the 2023 equivalent of 890 million dollars and required the use of 24 000 tons of steel and 68 000 cubic meters of concrete however the end result was a bridge that connects Berlin's Inland Harbor Network to to the Rhine River allowing the area to be far more economically productive Beyond this the bridge also helps save a lot of time you see with the pre-existing Canal system there was one major problem the Elba river is far lower than the two canals meet in magnaburg which is a city near Berlin as a result the vessels had to climb Upstream from a specific Canal Point travel Downstream parallel to the river's route and then travel Upstream to a very particular docking station the whole process was about 12 kilometers long and as you might expect was very inefficient so the mcenberg Water Bridge has proven to Be an Effective yet relatively Simple Solution since it's elevated to a much higher level than the river as a final note the bridge also is a record holder too that's because its length of 918 meters makes it the largest canal under bridge in Europe and as a result some tourists make the decision to go off the beaten path and check it out I'll see you next time watch our binge watching playlist if you'd like to watch all of our most popular top 15 videos grab a drink grab a snack and get ready to binge the top five show has launched Channel memberships thank you to our channel members

Channel: Top Fives

Views: 35,634

Keywords: bridges, bridge, infrastructure, road, roads

Id: Us6SwhMOw2A

Length: 21min 4sec (1264 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 05 2023