However, the Canakkale 1915 Bridge in Turkey is expected to surpass that center span record once completed. The Akashi Kaikyo currently holds the record for the longest center span of any suspension bridge, measuring in at about 6,500 feet (1.237 miles). It has three different “spans” or distances between bridge towers: a center span and two spans on either side. Akashi Kaikyo Bridge crossing the Akashi Strait. That’s the length of over 42 football fields! And it’s almost 1,000 ft. However, most bridges utilize a combination of both suspension and regular bridge engineering techniques.īut the Akashi Kaikyo is no ordinary suspension bridge-it’s the longest suspension bridge in the world! The bridge measures 12,831 ft. Regular bridges are used for smaller gaps, usually over streams and highways, whereas suspension bridges are usually used to cross larger bodies of water. Suspension bridges are different than regular bridges, where the load is supported by steel supports underneath the bridge.
What that means is that the bridge “deck,” or the load-bearing portion of the bridge, is hung with steel cables that transfer the weight of the load to the bridge towers. The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge is a suspension bridge, meaning it’s held in tension rather than compression. Akashi Kaikyo Bridge under construction in 1995. The bridge was officially opened for traffic in April 1998 and today serves as the safest passage across the Akashi, with over 23,000 vehicles using it daily. Over 100 contractors were hired for the job and construction lasted almost a decade. However, the plan was limited to a road-only bridge with six traffic lanes (three in each direction) by the time construction began in May 1988. The bridge was originally intended to be both a railway as well as a road bridge. It wasn’t until 1955, when a strong storm caused two ferries to sink and the death of 168 people, that the public and Japanese government decided enough was enough. Before the Akashi Kaikyo, boats and ferries were used to carry passengers and vehicles across the waterway. The Akashi Strait, an international shipping canal connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan, proved to be a dangerous crossing point.
Like many feats of transportation before it, the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge was built out of necessity. Linking the Japanese cities of Kobe and Iwaya, crossing over the Akashi Strait, it serves as a critical transportation link across the inland body of water. This time, we’re heading to Japan to visit what is considered this island nation’s finest engineering feat: the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge.Īlso called the “Pearl Bridge” because of its’ light display, the Akashi Kaikyo is the longest suspension bridge in the world, measuring over 12,000 ft. We’re traveling across the globe to highlight the greatest of transportation feats! So, what’s the next stop on GO! Magazine’s tour of the Seven Great Transportation Feats of the World?
0 kommentar(er)
