TOP BRIDGES

22nd Feb 2012,Wednesday

Millau Viaduct, France

Designed by the British architect Norman Foster and French structural engineer Michel Virlogeux, the Millau Viaduct spans the valley of the river Tarn near Millau in southern France.

It is the tallest bridge in the world with one mast's summit at 343 metres (1,125 ft) above the base of the structure.

Height: 343 m
Type: Cable-stayed
Use: Motorway

Sutong Bridge, China

The Sutong Yangtze River Bridge that spans the Yangtze River in China received the 2010 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement award (OCEA) from the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Two towers of the bridge are 306 metres (1,004 ft) high and thus the second tallest in the world.
The total bridge length is 8,206 metres (26,923 ft). It cost a whopping $1.7 billion to construct this bridge.

Height: 306 m
Type: Cable-stayed
Use: Motorway

Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, Japan

The Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge also known as the Pearl Bridge, has the longest central span of any suspension bridge, at 1,991 metres (6,532 ft).

The bridge links the city of Kobe on the mainland of Honshu to Iwaya on Awaji Island by crossing the busy Akashi Strait.

Height: 298.3 m
Type: Suspension
Use: Motorway

Stonecutters Bridge, Hong Kong

Stonecutters Bridge is a high level cable-stayed bridge which spans the Rambler Channel in Hong Kong, connecting Nam Wan Kok, Tsing Yi Island and Stonecutters Island.

The bridge deck was completed in April 2009, making this the second longest cable-stayed span in the world, and opened to traffic on 20 December 2009.

The Stonecutters Bridge won the 2010 Supreme Award at the annual Structural Awards presented by the Institution of Structural Engineers, United Kingdom.

Height: 298 m
Type: Cable-stayed
Use: Road