Top 8 Longest Suspension Bridges In The World

1. Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, 1991 meters, Japan

Akashi Kaikayo Bridge is the longest suspension bridge span in the world. The main span of this bridge have length of 1991 meters. The bridge link the Kobe city to Awaji Island, in Japan. The bridge have three span, the central span measures 1991 meters in length and other two have length of 960 meters. The two hinged stiffening girder system help the bridge to withstand with wind speed up to 178 miles per hour and Earthquake measures up to 8.5 in magnitude.

The construction of Akashi Kaikyo bridge started in the year 1988 and took 10 years for the completion. It is estimated that 181000 tons of steel used for it’s construction. The bridge was opened on 5th April 1998 and features six line traffic. The main cables of the bridge also consist of discharge tubes of different colors, illuminated during important occasions such as national day, memorial day or other festivities.

The Akashi Kaikyō Bridge is a suspension bridge, which links the city of Kobe on the Japanese mainland of Honshu to Iwaya on Awaji Island. It crosses the busy Akashi Strait as part of the Honshu-Shikoku Highway. It was completed in 1998, and has the longest central span of any suspension bridge in the world, at 1,991 metres. It is one of the key links of the Honshū-Shikoku Bridge Project, which created three routes across the Inland Sea.

Before the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge was built, ferries carried passengers across the Akashi Strait in Japan. This dangerous waterway often experiences severe storms, and in 1955 two ferries sank in the strait during a storm, killing 168 people. The ensuing shock and public outrage convinced the Japanese government to develop plans for a bridge to cross the strait. The original plan called for a mixed railway-road bridge, but when construction on the bridge began in April 1988, the construction was restricted to road only, with six lanes. Actual construction did not begin until May 1988 and involved more than 100 contractors. The bridge was opened for traffic on April 5, 1998 in a ceremony officiated by the Crown Prince Naruhito and his wife Crown Princess Masako of Japan along with Construction Minister Tsutomu Kawara.