The majority of the world’s 12 longest road bridges are located in China and United States of America. The world’s longest however, is in Southeast Asia.
Roadtraffic-technology.com lists the world’s 12 longest road bridges based on length.
12. Vasco da Gama Bridge, Portugal
Vasco da Gama Bridge, which traverses the River Tagus in Portugal, is the world’s 12th longest road bridge. The cable-stayed bridge has an overall length of 17km and was constructed from 1995 to March 1998.
The bridge construction utilised 700,000m3 of concrete and 100,000t of steel reinforcement.
11. 6th October Bridge, Egypt
The 18.705km long 6th October Bridge is the longest bridge in Egypt and the 11thlongest road bridge in the world. It comprises of a main bridge and causeway, featuring 23 inlet and outlet ramps. The width of the bridge varies from 18m to 35m.
The bridge crosses the Nile River twice and stretches from Agricultural Museum in Dokki to the Autostrade in Nasr City. It was constructed in nine phases from 1969 to 2010, and comprises of a main bridge, elevated roads, and interchanges. Its pier columns are up to 22m high and are laid on foundations of precast piles.
10. Jintang Bridge, China
The cable-stayed Jintang Bridge linking Jintang Island and Ningbo City is 21.029km long making it the world’s tenth longest road bridge. Up to 18.415km stretch of the bridge is located over the sea.
The bridge carries four expressway lanes and is designed for speeds up to 100km/h. It was opened to traffic in 2009 along with the Xihoumen Bridge.
9. Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, US
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel carrying the US 13 is the only direct link between Virginia’s Eastern Shore and south Hampton Roads, Virginia. The bridge-tunnel carries four lanes and has a shore to shore length of 28.32km, which makes it the ninth longest road bridge in the world.
The bridge’s overall length is 37.015km, made up of low-level trestle, tunnels, bridges, causeway, manmade islands and approach roads. The northbound section was opened in April 1964 and the southbound section in 1999. Up to 2,598 concrete piles were laid on the northbound bridge and up to 2,591 concrete piles on the southbound bridge.
8. Atchafalaya Basin Bridge and Louisiana Airborne Memorial Bridge, US
The Atchafalaya Basin Bridge, also known as the Louisiana Airborne Memorial Bridge, carries Interstate 10 over the Atchafalaya Basin.
Comprising of parallel bridges measuring 28.96km in length, it is the world’s eighth longest road bridge and was opened in 1973. It was given the alternative name Louisiana Airborne Memorial Bridge in 1989.
7. Donghai Bridge, China
The 32.5km-long Donghai Bridge, connecting Shanghai and the offshore Yangshan deep-water port in China, is the world’s seventh longest road bridge.
The bridge forms part of the 42.31km long Shanghai-Luchaogang Expressway (Hulu Expressway) and comprises of six lane expressways. Traffic was allowed on the bridge in December 2005.
6. Runyang Bridge, China
The Runyang Yangtze River Highway Bridge, comprising of a northern cable-stayed bridge and a southern suspension bridge, spans the Yangtze River linking the cities of Yangzhou and Zhenjiang.
The bridge, with an overall length of 35.66km, is the world’s sixth longest road bridge and also the fifth longest suspension bridge.
5. Hangzhou Bay Bridge, China
The Hangzhou Bay Bridge is an S-shaped cable-stayed bridge linking Ningbo’s Cixi county in the south to Jiaxing in the north. The 36km long bridge is the world’s fifth longest road bridge and was the longest bridge constructed over ocean waters at that time.
Spanning the Hangzhou Bay, the bridge cuts the distance between Shanghai and Ningbo by 120km.
4. Manchac Swamp Bridge, US
The Manchac Swamp Bridge, also known as I-55 Manchac Swamp Crossing, carries Interstate 55 covering approximately one third of the I-55 in Louisiana.
The bridge spans the Manchac Swamp over a length of 36.69km standing as the world’s fourth longest road bridge. The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) owns the bridge.
3. Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Bridge, US
The 38.62km Lake Pontchartrain Causeway bridge is the world’s third longest road bridge and the longest continuous bridge over water. It is composed of two parallel bridges crossing Lake Pontchartrain in southern Louisiana.
The twin bridges consist of four lanes carrying traffic from New Orleans and Jefferson Parish to the residential communities of St. Tammany Parish in Louisiana.
2. The Qingdao Haiwan Bridge
The Qingdao Haiwan Bridge spans Jiaozhou Bay in the Shadong Province of China and has an aggregate length of more than 41.58km, making it the world’s second longest road bridge.
The oversea bridge, built at a cost of RMB 9.04bn (approximately $1.38bn), was opened to traffic in May 2011, becoming the world’s longest oversea bridge.
1. Bang Na Expressway and Burapha Withi Expressway, Thailand
The Bang Na to Bangpakong Expressway, which runs through Bangkok, is the world’s longest road bridge. The box girder bridge measures 55km long and was opened in February 2000 at a cost of $1bn. The tolled bridge runs above the National Highway route 34 (Bang Na-Bang Pakong Highway) at a height of 30m. A small section of the bridge crosses the Bang Pakong River.
The bridge comprises six lanes covering a total surface area of 1.9 million square metres. It is owned by the Expressway & Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (EXAT) and was constructed by a joint venture of Bilfinger + Berger and Ch. Karnchang (BBCD). The construction used approximately 1.8 million cubic metres of concrete.
The bridge design was provided by J. Muller International and Asian Engineering Consultants (AEC). SEA-Consult in association with Louis Berger International provided technical advisory services for the project.
source : roadtraffic-technology.com | pci.org | livescience.com
