| Bridge | Type | Location | Length (m) | Year Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tower Bridge | Bascule, suspension | London, England | 268 | 1894 |
| Designers | Materials | Facts | ||
| Sir Horace Jones Sir John Wolfe-Barry |
steel masonry |
When it opened, the Tower Bridge was raised over 1,000 times to allow ships to pass. Today, it only opens less than 100 times per year. | The steel towers are covered in decorative masonry and stand 206 feet (63 m) tall. | Originally the bascules (French for see-saw) were operated using steam. They are now operated by oil and electricity. |
| Bridge | Type | Location | Length (m) | Year Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Gate Bridge | Suspension | San Francisco, California, USA | 2737 | 1937 |
| Designers | Materials | Facts | ||
| Joseph Strauss |
steel concrete |
Over one million vehicles have crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. | The bridge is painted orange vermilion, or international orange. The US Navy would have preferred black and yellow stripes for visibility. | Eleven workers died during the bridge construction. A safety net installed under the bridge saved the lives of 19 workers. The survivors were considered members of the "Half-Way-to-Hell Club." |
| Bridge | Type | Location | Length (m) | Year Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn Bridge | Suspension | Brooklyn-Manhattan, New York, USA | 1825 | 1883 |
| Designers | Materials | Facts | ||
| John Roebling Washington Roebling |
steel granite |
The Brooklyn Bridge is the second busiest bridge in New York City, with a traffic volume of 144,000 vehicles per day. When it was built, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. | Engineer John Roebling died during construction. His son Washington took over, but became very ill and bedridden during construction. He relayed instructions to the crew through his wife Emily. | With an admission cost of one cent, over 150,000 people crossed the Brooklyn Bridge on opening day. |
| Bridge | Type | Location | Length (m) | Year Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney Harbour Bridge | Arch | Sydney, Australia | 1149 | 1932 |
| Designers | Materials | Facts | ||
| Dr. J.J.C Bradfield Ralph Freeman Sir Douglas Fox |
steel concrete |
The bridge deck is a whopping 49 meters (160 feet) wide. The eight lanes of traffic carry over 150,000 vehicles per day. | Before the bridge was opened, it was test loaded using up to 96 steam locomotives placed in various configurations. | There are approximately 6,000,000 rivets holding the bridge together. |
| Bridge | Type | Location | Length (m) | Year Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron Bridge | Arch | Shropshire, England | 30 | 1779 |
| Designers | Materials | Facts | ||
| Abraham Darby III Thomas Farnolls Pritchard |
cast iron |
The first bridge in the world made entirely of cast iron. Shropshire was in the center of many iron factories, so the bridge was built with iron. | Due to disrepair, the bridge was closed to vehicular traffic in 1934. | On its 200th birthday so many pedestrians gathered on the bridge and caused pieces to break off. Today, only 200 pedestrians are allowed on the bridge at one time. |
| Bridge | Type | Location | Length (m) | Year Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gladesville Bridge | Arch | Sydney, Australia | 579 | 1964 |
| Designers | Materials | Facts | ||
| J. A. L. Shaw H. M. Sherrard |
reinforced concrete |
The bridge was the longest-spanning single concrete arch bridge when completed. | - | - |
| Bridge | Type | Location | Length (m) | Year Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akashi Kaikyo Bridge | Suspension | Kobe and Awaji-shima, Japan | 3910 | 1998 |
| Designers | Materials | Facts | ||
| Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Authority Matsuo Bridge Company |
steel |
Longest suspension bridge in the world. It's 928 foot towers are the highest in the world. | The bridge is designed to handle 180 mile-per-hour winds and to withstand a 8.5 magnitude earthquake. | 90,000 tons of steel was used to construct the stiffening girders. The total length of cable is 300,000 kilometers which is enough to circle the earth 7.5 times. |
| Bridge | Type | Location | Length (m) | Year Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firth of Forth Bridge | Cantilever | South and North Queensferry, Scotland | 2522 | 1890 |
| Designers | Materials | Facts | ||
| Benjamin Baker John Fowler |
steel |
It was the world's first all-steel long-span bridge and the world's longest bridge. | The bridge consists of three towers supporting two cantilevers and two main spans. | Some of the structural members of the bridge are as large as 12 feet in diameter. |
| Bridge | Type | Location | Length (m) | Year Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Confederation Bridge | Concrete box girder | Borden-Carleton, Prince Edward Island and Cape Jourimain, New-Brunswick, Canada | 12900 | 1997 |
| Designers | Materials | Facts | ||
| Strait Crossing Development |
steel concrete |
Longest bridge over ice covered waters in the world. | There are 34 traffic signals on the bridge; they will be green under normal conditions. | Although the 1.1 m concrete barriers block the motorist view, they act as a windbreak |