Top 8 Longest Suspension Bridges In The World
3. Great Belt Bridge, 1624 meters, Denmark
Great belt bridge is one of bridges of great belt fixed link system that connects Danish Isands of Zealand and Funen. The bridge system consist of road suspension bridge, a railway tunnel and a box girder bridge. The railway tunnel of great belt bridge connect Zealand with Island Sprogo. Great belt bridge situated in the Eastern side of the bridge system. The longest span of great belt bridge is 1624 meters and It is the third longest main span in the world. It connects small Sprogo Island with Zealand.
The construction of the bridge began in the year 1989 and opened for public in 1998. Great belt bridge have height of 254 meter above water, the highest point in Denmark. The West bridge at great belt link is box girder bridge, actually two separate adjacent bridges, one carries rail traffic and other carries road traffic.
The Great Belt Fixed link is a multi-element fixed link crossing the Great Belt straight between the Danish islands of Zealand and Funen. It consists of five structures: a road suspension bridge and a railway tunnel between Zealand and the small island Sprogø located in the middle of the Great Belt, and a box girder bridge for both road and rail traffic between Sprogø and Funen. The «Great Belt Bridge» commonly refers to the suspension bridge, although it may also be used to mean the box-girder bridge or the link in its entirety.
The suspension bridge, officially known as the East Bridge, has the world’s third longest main span, and the longest outside of Asia. It was designed by the Danish engineering firms COWI and Ramboll. The link replaced the ferry service that had been the primary means of crossing the Great Belt. After more than five decades of speculation and debate, the decision to construct the link was made in 1986; the original intent was to complete the railway link three years before opening the road connection, but the link opened to rail traffic in 1997 and road traffic in 1998. At an estimated cost of DKK 21.4 billion, the link is the largest construction project in Danish history.
Operation and maintenance are performed by A/S Storebælt under Sund & Bælt. Construction and maintenance are financed by tolls on vehicles and trains.