Human possibilities and imagination practically know no boundaries, and numerous architectural objects serve as proof of this. A bridge is the most common crossing over a body of water or a ravine. But, who said that such a structure cannot be unique?
Danyang-Kunshan Viaduct
This is the longest railway bridge in the world. The facility is listed in the Guinness Book of Records and is part of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail line.
The bridge is located in eastern China, between the cities of Shanghai and Nanjing.
The total length of the structure is 164 kilometers and 800 meters. At the same time, only 9 kilometers of the route runs through water bodies, mainly lakes, the largest of which is Yangcheng.
Despite the grandeur of the bridge, it was built in 3 years, from 2008 to 2011. Construction was carried out simultaneously from two sides, and more than 10 thousand workers were involved in the work.
The volume of building materials spent on the construction of the bridge can be compared with the annual size of the salelarge enterprise. Only concrete took about 3 million cubic meters, and steel - half a million tons. The construction was financed at the expense of the state budget and resulted in 10 billion dollars.
Bang Na Highway
Thailand has the longest bridge over land. Its length is 54 kilometers.
In the literal sense, this bridge can hardly be called a crossing, it would be more correct to say that it is a highway elevated above the ground.
The facility is located in the capital of Thailand - Bangkok. It has 3 traffic lanes in both directions. The width of the bridge is about 60 meters.
Compared to the Danyang-Kunshan viaduct, the bridge took 5 years to build, but only $1 billion was spent on its construction.
The Bang Na Highway really helped to deal with traffic jams, but you will have to pay to get there in comfort. There is also a free analogue of the bridge, a surface road.
Crossing the sea
The world's longest bridge over water is to be commissioned in 2018. A structure is being built in China and should connect three major cities of the country:
- Hong Kong;
- Macau;
- Zhuhai.
Total length of 55 kilometers, 7 of which are underground tunnels. Partially, the bridge consists of separate cable-stayed bridges and artificial islands, which will make it possible to realize the cross-country ability of large-sized sea transport. According to the architect and the contractor, all environmental standards have been taken into account, which will allow not to harm the marine fauna.
Construction began back in 2009, by the middle of last year, all the main stages of construction were completed, and about 11 billion dollars were spent. The opening is delayed due to the fact that the authorities can not decide how border control will be carried out, because Hong Kong and Macau are cities with a special regime.
Hangzhou Bay
While the 55-kilometer bridge is not in operation, the Hangzhou Bay crossing, also located in China, is considered the longest bridge over water. The bridge runs over the East China Sea and the Qiantang River and is 36 kilometers long.
However, the crossing is famous for others, first of all, for its S-shape. And in the very middle of the bridge there is an island with a hotel, an observation deck and a restaurant.
The construction of the crossing started back in 2003 and finished 6 years later. About 1.42 billion dollars was spent on the construction of the bridge, of which they even managed to attract 18 million from non-governmental organizations.
According to the architect, the crossing can withstand an earthquake (7 points), and this was achieved due to the cable-stayed structure, which is supported by cables.
Swiss walking wonder
In Switzerland (Valais canton) built the longest bridge in the world for pedestrians. This is a suspended steel structure between two cities:
- Grechen;
- Zermatt.
It is 494 meters long, 80 meters high and 65 cm wide. It was created mainly for tourists who were able to walk andsee the beauty of the local landscape. They erected the structure in just 2.5 months and spent only 730 thousand francs.
Russia
The country has a huge number of crossings, of various shapes and sizes, for cars, trains and pedestrians, among which there are real champions. But until the construction of the Kerch bridge is completed, the crossing over the Kama River is considered the leader.
The Crimean Bridge is scheduled to open in December 2019, and it will become part of two motorways A-290 and O-260. The planned length is 18.1 kilometers (with railway lines), the length of the automobile part is 16.9 kilometers. The crossing will have 6 lanes, 4 for vehicles and 2 for trains.
Crossing the Kama River
So far, the longest bridge in Russia is located in the Republic of Tatarstan, not far from the village of Sorochi Gory. Prior to construction, people crossed the river in boats or on ice, about 7 kilometers.
Nicholas II had plans for the construction of the crossing. The construction was also in the plans of the authorities of the Soviet Union. But it was built only in 2002. The length of the bridge is 13,967 kilometers.
Ulyanovsk crossing
The second place in the ranking of the longest bridges in Russia is occupied by the Ulyanovsk ferry. Its length is 19, 970 kilometers. It is located on the Kuibyshev reservoir and connects the left and right banks of the city of Ulyanovsk. The building was erected in 2009 and in a completely unusual way, starting work from the middle, which allowed them to be completed a year earlier than planned.
Saratov Bridge
The top three of the longest bridges in Russia is the crossing that connected two cities: Saratov and Engels. It runs through three rivers.
The total length of the bridge is 12,670 kilometers, with only 2,350 kilometers above the water. The bridge was opened in 2000.
There are still many interesting and unique architectural objects in Russia, including bridges, the same Volgograd, 7.1 kilometers long, Shegarsky, 5,880 meters long. Therefore, Russia can be called a country of bridges, because there are many reservoirs in it, of different sizes and widths.
