Contents of Famous Bridges Sorted.xml

Famous Bridges

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
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
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

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
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
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
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
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
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.