5 Of The World's Longest Bridges You Can Drive Across

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Trigger warning: If you suffer from gephyrophobia — a fearfulness of bridges — you whitethorn want to extremity reference correct now. We're going to beryllium talking astir driving connected immoderate of nan longest bridges successful nan world, and, as experts constituent out, nan phobia is serious. The fearfulness tin beryllium truthful aggravated that immoderate places pinch ample bridges have escort programs wherever you tin put to person constabulary unit thrust you complete their bridges. The Delaware River and Bay Authority Police Department says that astir 450 drivers return advantage of nan work each twelvemonth to navigate nan Delaware Memorial Bridge. On nan different hand, watching large trucks effort to spell nether debased bridges is benignant of satisfying, and they tin create immoderate of the champion span wreck videos of each time.

As for nan bridges themselves, nan absolute longest ones successful nan world are designed for trains, not cars, truthful you won't spot them here. But don't worry, we won't time off you hanging — location are 5 train bridges that are longer than nan longest roadworthy bridge, pinch nan Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge successful China starring nan measurement astatine much than 102 miles. It's much than 3 times longer than nan longest drivable span successful nan world.

Now, among nan drivable bridges, let's commencement successful nan United States pinch nan Manchac Swamp Bridge successful Louisiana. It opened successful 1979 to thief drivers get complete a swampy area connected nan northeastern extremity of Lake Maurepas wherever it flows into nan Pass Manchac — which, successful turn, leads to Lake Pontchartrain, location to an moreover longer span we'll talk later. And to beryllium clear, nan Manchac is nary mean swamp. Legend has it that nan Cajun werewolf, nan Rougarou, prowls nan area. 

The Manchac Swamp Bridge is really 2 parallel roadways covering immoderate 22.8 miles of Louisiana's Interstate 55 and U.S. Route 1. Due to nan marshy quality of nan ground, it's supported by robust pillars that commencement 250 feet beneath nan surface. An costly proposition, this helped push costs up to nan balanced of astir $770 cardinal today. There was a bully logic for going overboard, however. It turns retired that nan existent span is nan 2nd span complete nan swamp — nan first collapsed successful 1976 aft 1 of its supports was deed by a barge. 

The world's longest continuous span complete water, nan Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, can return you to nan extremity of nan world. That said, it was designed to return you from New Orleans to Mandeville by going correct crossed nan reservoir for a region of 23.9 miles. The span started life successful 1956, but a 2nd span had to beryllium added successful nan 1960s to thief easiness postulation congestion. The caller setup opened successful 1969 pinch 3 elevated sections to thief ships walk beneath. While astir of nan causeway is astir 10 feet supra nan water, location are 3 25-foot sections, 1 conception pinch a 50-foot clearance, and moreover a drawbridge (with a 45-foot clearance erstwhile closed).

According to nan American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), nan original causeway marked an innovative caller attack to span building. Per nan ASCE, it was nan first clip a span was built pursuing "assembly-line, mass-production methods," and nan Causeway further marked a awesome beforehand for nan usage of pre-stressed concrete. Without going excessively acold into nan details, nan ASCE reports that it was called "cenviro" and "used centrifugal unit to make a drier, much compact concrete."

From nan lakes and swamps of nan Southeastern United States, we spell to 1 of nan astir densely populated cities successful Southeast Asia for our adjacent stop. The Metro Manila Skyway provides immoderate 24.4 miles of elevated roadworthy done nan Philippines National Capital Area — including nan metropolis of Manila itself, which is location to roughly 189,750 group per quadrate mile. Unsurprisingly, Manila is well-known for having immoderate of nan world's worst postulation arsenic good — and nan bridges person to guidelines up to barge slams from typhoon large wind surges.

The Skyway was developed to thief matters, rolling retired successful 3 phases that lasted from 1995 to 2021. To put nan size of nan task into context, nan foundations for nan 3rd shape unsocial required 255,160 cubic meters (over 9 cardinal cubic feet) of cement reinforced by 44.3 cardinal kilograms (97.7 cardinal pounds) of steel. The full point was successful capable that a 4th shape is being planned. Expected to costs $1 cardinal erstwhile complete, Skyway 4 will link Bicutan successful nan Taguig territory to Batasan successful Quezon City pinch a six-lane freeway and 28 exit/entry ramps. However, while it will link to nan original Skyway and is called its shorter sibling, it will characteristic immoderate non-elevated parts.

There aren't immoderate difficult and accelerated rules for determining nan longest roadworthy bridges successful nan world, truthful we'll slot nan Dhaka Elevated Expressway, located successful nan superior metropolis of Bangladesh, astatine number 2 connected nan database pinch a full magnitude of astir 29 miles. On nan different hand, that technically includes not only nan main route, but besides a short nexus roadworthy and much than 30 on/off ramps accounting for astir 15 miles connected their own. Also, it's not rather done yet. Work began successful 2011 but stopped successful 2024 aft a conflict among nan contractors. The last stages of building began successful August 2025 nether nan guidance of nan China Shandong International Economic & Technical Cooperation Group Limited (CSI) and Sinohydro Corporation Limited.

The activity can't beryllium vanished excessively soon, either, since congestion is truthful bad. Yes, studies show different locations arsenic being nan worst postulation cities successful nan world, but Dhaka is nary slouch. It has nan seventh-worst postulation successful nan world and was rated number 3 for clip spent commuting, according to crowd-based Numbeo. Furthermore, Time mag has called it nan slowest metropolis successful nan world.

For a agelong clip nan longest span of immoderate benignant successful nan world, nan Bang Na Expressway remains nan world's longest elevated road pinch a span of 33.6 miles that took 1.8 cardinal cubic meters (roughly 63.5 cardinal cubic feet) of concrete, 3.5 years of work, and $1 cardinal to complete. Of course, Thailand seems to person a point for costly automotive projects — nan country's $1.2 cardinal F1 title will beryllium nan astir costly ever.

The expressway is yet different task aimed astatine reducing postulation successful a crowded municipality area. Bangkok, nan superior of Thailand, claims astir 11.4 cardinal residents who look their ain stock of notoriously bad traffic. Indeed, nan elevated expressway was built correct complete different grade-level roadworthy for its full distance, fundamentally doubling nan cars that tin beryllium carried. 

That said, nan building is meant to beryllium much than simply functional. According to nan squad astatine Rethinking nan Future, nan roadway adds "to nan artistic entreaty of Bangkok. The soaring flyovers and meticulous municipality readying create a unique skyline, showcasing nan symbiosis betwixt functionality and beauty successful architectural design."