The World’s Most Amazing Bridges

Pedestrian Bridge, Texas

This beautiful arched bridge in Lake Austin was built by Miro Rivera Architects and is used to connect the client's main house to the smaller guest house on the other side of the pond.

To make the bridge seem as natural as possible within its surroundings they made the decking and reed-like hand rails imperfect but still structurally sound.

Pedestrian Bridge, Texas

Kintaikyo, Iwakuni , Japan

The original Kintai Bridge was built in 1673 but collapsed due to flooding. The rebuilt bridge survived for more than 200 years until a typhoon destroyed it in 1950.

Kintaikyo, Iwakuni , Japan

The bridge that stands now over the Nishiki River has five wooden arches displaying an incredible amount of detail and craftmanship. Interesting fact: no nails or bolts have been used to build the arches, only clamps and wires.

Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge, Brasilia, Brazil

The JK Bridge in Brasilia is a lesson in elegant bridge design.

Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge, Brasilia, Brazil

The three huge diagonal arches over the deck of the bridge give the structure an amazing visual fluidity (yeah, but was the designer slightly inebriated when he designed this structure?).

Oliveira Bridge (Brazil): World's First X-shaped Cable Stayed Bridge with two crossed lanes

The Octavio Frias de Oliveira Bridge over the Pinheiros River in São Paulo, Brazil opened in May 2008. It is 450-ft tall and connects Marginal Pinheiros to Jornalista Roberto Marinho Avenue.

Oliveira Bridge (Brazil): World's First X-shaped Cable Stayed Bridge with two crossed lanes

Its design is unique in that the 2 curved decks of the bridge cross each other through its X-shaped supporting tower.

Rolling Bridge, London, UK

Thomas Heatherwick's award-winning rolling bridge is an ingenious and unique addition to the Grand Union Canal System in London.

Rolling Bridge, London, UK

Unlike regular movable canal bridges, the rolling bridge curls up to form an octagon by way of hydraulic jacks to let ships pass.

Beipanjiang River Railroad Bridge, Guizhou, China

Beipanjiang River Railroad Bridge in Guizhou is an enormous railway bridge that was built as part of the “Guizhou-Shuibai Railway Project.” Connecting two mountains over a deep ravine, at its highest point, the bridge's deck sits 918 ft above the ground. Parenthetically the bridge connects two of the country's poorest areas.

Henderson Waves, Southern Ridges, Singapore

“Henderson Waves” is Singapore's highest pedestrian bridge and is at the “Southern Ridges,” a beautiful 9 km (six mile) stretch of gardens and parks.

Henderson Waves, Southern Ridges, Singapore

The deck of the bridge is made from thousands of Balau wood slats, perfectly cut and arranged, and along the length of the deck a snaking, undulating shell forms sheltered seating areas on every upward curve.

Pont Gustave Flaubert, Rouen, France

This incredible vertical lift bridge is in Rouen, France, and its spans weigh 1,200 tons each but can be hoisted 180 ft vertically in an impressive 12 minutes. The angular lift structures at the top of each tower weigh 450 tons. The huge vertical lift allows even the largest cruise liners to sail through.

Hegigio Gorge Pipeline Bridge , Southern Highlands Province, Papua, New Guinea

This bridge supports two pipelines - one gas, the other oil - across the extremely deep gap in Papua, New Guinea .

Hegigio Gorge Pipeline Bridge , Southern Highlands Province, Papua, New Guinea

If this were to be officially recognized as a vehicular or pedestrian bridge, it would rocket to the top of the “world's highest bridge-span” with the pipelines at an impressive height of 1,290 ft above the bottom of the gorge. By comparison, the current highest bridge span belongs to the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado, hanging a mere 1,053 ft above ground level 

This bridge that becomes a tunnel connects Newport News, Sweden, and Suffolk, Denmark.

Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge Tunnel

Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge Tunnel

Banpo Bridge (South Korea): The Fountain Bridge

On September 9, 2008, the Banpo Bridge in Seoul (South Korea) got a major facelift: a 10,000-nozzle fountain that runs all the way on both sides. Immediately after being installed, the bridge turned into a major tourist attraction, as the bridge pumps out 190 tons of water per minute using the water from the river below.

Millau Bridge (France): World's Tallest Vehicular Bridge

Towering 1,125-ft above the Tarn Valley in southern France, this marvel is slightly taller than the Eiffel Tower, took three years to build and opened to the public in 2004. The Millau Bridge has a total length of 8,071-ft with the longest single span at 1,122-ft and a maximum clearance below of 886-ft.

Hangzhou Bay Bridge (China): World's Longest Trans-Oceanic Bridge

Across the Hangzhou Bay extends the longest trans-oceanic bridge in the world, 22 miles long with six expressway lanes in two directions. The bridge was built to address traffic congestion, cutting the driving time between Shanghai and Ningbo from four to two-and-a-half hours.

The bridge underwent various feasibility studies for a decade before it was approved in 2003, and finally opened to the public on May 1, 2008. Total investment on the bridge was RMB 11.8 billion (around US$ 1.4 billion).

Hangzhou Bay Bridge (China): World's Longest Trans-Oceanic Bridge

   Wind and Rain Bridge (China): Dong People's Bridge

The Wind and Rain Bridge is the symbolized architecture of the Dong minority people. The wind and rain bridge in Diping is the largest of its kind in Guizhou Province, where China's biggest Dong community lives. The bridge was first built in 1894 during the Qing Dynasty over 100 years ago. However, the original structure was destroyed in a big fire in 1959 and the one visitors see today was a recreation finished in 1964.

Tower Bridge (UK): Most Famous and Beautiful Victorian Bridge

Completed in 1894 Tower Bridge (so named after the two, striking, 141-ft high towers and the Tower of London close to it) is one of the most famous landmarks in London. The 800-ft long bridge has a 28-ft clearance when closed but raises in the centre to a maximum clearance of 140-ft that allows ships to pass down the Thames. Tower Bridge took 432 workers 8 years to build.

Magdeburg Water Bridge (Germany): Europe's Largest Water Bridge

The Magdeburg Water Bridge connects the former East and West Germany over the Elbe River, and it was made as part of the unification project. 1 km long, the 500 million euros water bridge enables river barges to avoid a lengthy and sometimes unreliable passage along the Elbe. Shipping used to come to a halt on the stretch if the river’s water mark fell to unacceptably low levels.

Ponte Vecchio (Italy): Oldest and Most Famous of its kind

The Ponte Vecchio in Florence is thought to be the oldest wholly-stone built, segmental arch bridge in Europe, although there are many partial segments which date further back. It was originally built of wood until destroyed by floods in 1333, and twelve years later it was rebuilt using stone. The bridge has housed everybody from Medieval merchants and butchers to souvenir stalls and art dealers.

The Millau Viaduct Paris to Barcelona

The bridge with two lanes on each side will cross the river at 270 meters above ground. At its highest point, the viaduct is even higher than the Eiffel Tower.

The total cost of the project was around 310 million euros ($525 million). It opened to traffic in December 2004, just 39 months after work began.

The biggest bridge in the world

2460 meters long

343 meter high