The world's longest suspension bridges are listed according to the length of their main span (i.e., the length of suspended roadway between the bridge's towers). The length of the main span is the most common method of comparing the sizes of suspension bridges, often correlating with the height of the towers and the engineering complexity involved in designing and constructing the bridge.[4] If one bridge has a longer span than another, it does not necessarily mean that the bridge is longer from shore to shore (or from abutment to abutment).
Suspension bridges have the longest spans of any type of bridge. Cable-stayed bridges, the next longest design, are practical for spans up to just over 1 kilometre. Therefore, as of 2021[update], the 31 longest bridges on this list are the 31 longest spans of all types of vehicular bridges (other than floating pontoon bridges).
Currently, the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge in Turkey holds the record since opening to traffic in March 2022, with a span of 2,023 metres (6,637 ft).[1][3] Since 1998, the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan previously held the record with a span of 1,991 metres (6,532 ft).
Completed suspension bridges
This list includes only completed suspension bridges that carry automobiles or trains that are at least 1,000 m (3,300 ft) long. It does not include cable-stayed bridges, footbridges, or pipeline bridges.
| Green | Denotes bridge that contains or previously contained the longest span in the world |
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Bridges under construction
Most of the large suspension bridges built in recent years have been in the People's Republic of China. As the following list shows, most of the bridges under construction are also in China.
| Name | Main span metres (feet) | Year to open | Location | Country | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zhangjiagang-Jingjiang-Rugao Yangtze River Bridge (South span) 张靖皋长江大桥南航道桥 | 2,300 m (7,550 ft) | 2028 | Zhangjiagang (Jiangsu) 32°1′13″N 120°31′32″E / 32.02028°N 120.52556°E |  China | [65] |
| Shuangyumen Bridge 双屿门特大桥 | 1,768 m (5,800 ft) | 2027 | Zhoushan (Zhejiang) 29°44′29″N 122°02′50.23″E / 29.74139°N 122.0472861°E | China | [66] |
| Nanjing Xianxin Road Yangtze River Bridge 南京仙新路过江通道 | 1,760 m (5,770 ft) | 2024 | Nanjing (Jiangsu) 32°10′55″N 118°53′46″E / 32.18194°N 118.89611°E | China | [67] |
| Lugu Lake Bridge 泸沽湖特大桥 | 1,680 m (5,510 ft)[68] | 2027 | Liangshan (Sichuan) | China | [69] |
| Shenzhen–Zhongshan Bridge 深中通道伶仃航道桥 | 1,666 m (5,466 ft) | 2024 | Shenzhen (Guangdong) 22°35′37.6″N 113°46′05.6″E / 22.593778°N 113.768222°E | China | [70] |
| Yanji Yangtze River Bridge 燕矶长江大桥 | 1,650 m (5,410 ft) | 2025 | Huanggang-Ezhou (Hubei) 30°24′21″N 114°59′22″E / 30.40583°N 114.98944°E | China | [71] |
| Xiaowan Lancang River Bridge 小湾澜沧江特大桥 | 1,575 m (5,170 ft) | Fengqing (Yunnan) | China | [72] | |
| Longtan Yangtze River Bridge 龙潭长江大桥 | 1,560 m (5,120 ft) | 2024 | Nanjing-Yangzhou (Jiangsu) 32°14′40″N 119°05′14″E / 32.24444°N 119.08722°E | China | [73] |
| Dadong Jinsha River Bridge 大东金沙江特大桥 | 1,520 m (4,990 ft) | 2026 | Lijiang, (Yunnan) | China | [74] |
| Shuangliu Yangtze River Bridge 双柳长江大桥 | 1,430 m (4,690 ft) | 2026 | Wuhan-Ezhou (Hubei) 30°36′28″N 114°44′59″E / 30.60778°N 114.74972°E | China | [75] |
| Xihoumen Rail / Road Bridge 西堠门公铁两用大桥 | 1,488 m (4,882 ft) | 2026 | Zhoushan (Zhejiang) 30°4′49.83″N 121°54′12.04″E / 30.0805083°N 121.9033444°E | China | [76] |
| Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge 花江峡谷大桥 | 1,420 m (4,659 ft) | 2025 | Guanling-Zhenfeng (Guizhou) | China | [77][78] |
| Dahe Bridge 大河特大桥 | 1,250 m (4,100 ft) | 2027 | Liupanshui (Guizhou) | China | [79][80] |
| Fuxing Yangtze River Bridge 江龙高速复兴长江大桥 | 1,208 m (3,960 ft) | 2025 | Yunyang, Chongqing | China | [81] |
| Zhangjiagang-Jingjiang-Rugao Yangtze River Bridge (North span) 张靖皋长江大桥北航道桥 | 1,208 m (3,960 ft) | 2028 | Jingjiang (Jiangsu) 32°3′11″N 120°32′54″E / 32.05306°N 120.54833°E | China | [65] |
| Yalong River Bridge 雅砻江特大桥 | 1,200 m (3,940 ft) | 2028 | Liangshan (Sichuan) | China | [69] |
| Wudongde Jinsha River Bridge 乌东德金沙江特大桥 | 1,180 m (3,870 ft) | 2026 | Liangshan (Sichuan) | China | [69] |
| Libu Yangtze River Rail/Road Bridge 李埠长江公铁大桥 | 1,120 m (3,670 ft) | Jingzhou (Hubei) | China | [82] | |
| Chacao Channel bridge | 1,100 m (3,600 ft) | 2025[83] | Calbuco–Chiloé 41°47′38″S 73°31′15″W / 41.79389°S 73.52083°W |  Chile | [84] |
| Longmen Bridge 龙门大桥 | 1,098 m (3,602 ft) | 2024 | Qinzhou (Guangxi) | China | [85] |
| Chuandian Jinsha River Bridge 川滇金沙江特大桥 | 1,060 m (3,480 ft) | 2024 | Yunnan–Sichuan | China | [86] |
| Kahaluo Jinsha River Bridge 卡哈洛金沙江特大桥 | 1,030 m (3,380 ft) | 2024 | Yunnan–Sichuan | China | [87] |
History of longest suspension spans
| Image | Bridge | Location | Length m (ft) | Years of longest span | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Hypothesized support | Maya Bridge at Yaxchilan |  Mexico | 62 m (203 ft) | 600–1430 | Hemp-rope simple suspension footbridge. Existence unproven. No longer standing. Prior longest bridges are located in List of longest arch bridge spans.Exceeded by the masonry arch Trezzo sull'Adda Bridge from 1377 to 1416, with main span of 72 m. |
 | Chushul Chakzam | Tibet, China | 137 m (449 ft) | 1430–1820 | Chain suspension footbridge south of Lhasa, built by Thangtong Gyalpo. Reported by British spies to still be in use in 1878. Later (before 1904) fell into disuse after river course changed, swamping the northern end.[88] Dynamited by Chinese soldiers after the Battle of Chamdo in 1950.[89] |
 | Union Chain Bridge | Scotland–England,  UK | 137 m (449 ft) | 1820–1826 | The oldest in the world still in use today. |
 | Menai Suspension Bridge | Wales, UK | 176 m (577 ft) | 1826–1834 | |
 | Great Suspension Bridge | Fribourg,  Switzerland | 271 m (889 ft) | 1834–1849 | The bridge was replaced by the Zähringen Bridge in the 1920s. |
 | Wheeling Suspension Bridge | West Virginia,  US | 308 m (1,010 ft) | 1849–1866 | The longest deck span from 1849 until 1866, and the oldest vehicular suspension bridge in use in the United States until 2019. |
 | Queenston-Lewiston Bridge | US and  Canada | 317 m (1,040 ft) | 1851–1866 | The longest cable span from 1851 until it was destroyed by wind in 1864. However, the road deck span was only 258 meters long. |
 | John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge | Kentucky–Ohio, US | 322 m (1,056 ft) | 1866–1869 | |
 | Niagara Clifton Bridge | US and Canada | 384 m (1,260 ft) | 1869–1883 | Replaced in 1899. |
 | Brooklyn Bridge | New York City, US | 486 m (1,594 ft) | 1883–1903 | |
 | Williamsburg Bridge | New York City, US | 488 m (1,601 ft) | 1903–1926 | It was the longest suspension span but not the longest span of all bridges. The Forth Bridge, completed in 1890, a cantilever bridge with two spans of 521 m was longer until surpassed by the Quebec Bridge in 1917. |
 | Bear Mountain Bridge | New York, US | 497 m (1,631 ft) | 1924–1926 | It was the longest suspension span but not the longest span of all bridges. The Quebec Bridge completed in 1917, a cantilever bridge with a span of 549 m was longer until surpassed in 1929 by the Ambassador Bridge. The first suspension bridge to have a concrete deck. The construction methods pioneered in building it would make possible several much larger projects to follow. |
 | Benjamin Franklin Bridge | Pennsylvania–New Jersey, US | 533 m (1,749 ft) | 1926–1929 | It was the longest suspension span but not the longest span of all bridges. |
 | Ambassador Bridge | US and Canada | 564 m (1,850 ft) | 1929–1931 | Since this bridge was built, the record for longest bridge span has only been held by suspension bridges. |
 | George Washington Bridge | New York – New Jersey, US | 1,067 m (3,501 ft) | 1931–1937 | The first span longer than 1 km. Nearly double the length of any previously built bridge at the time of its opening. |
 | Golden Gate Bridge | California, US | 1,280 m (4,200 ft) | 1937–1964 | Also the longest bridge span in the world from 1937 to 1964 |
 | Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge | New York City, US | 1,298 m (4,259 ft) | 1964–1981 | Also the longest bridge span in the world from 1964 to 1981 |
 | Humber Bridge | Yorkshire, UK | 1,410 m (4,630 ft) | 1981–1998 | Also the longest bridge span in the world from 1981 to 1998 |
 | Akashi Kaikyo Bridge |  Japan | 1,991 m (6,532 ft) | 1998–2022 | Also the longest bridge span in the world from 1998 to 2022. The largest ever increase in length. |
| | Çanakkale 1915 Bridge |  Turkey | 2,023 m (6,637 ft) | 2022–Present | The longest bridge span in the world since 2022. The first span longer than 2 km. |
Other record-holding suspension bridges
- Sidu River Bridge (China). Opened in 2009, it is the highest suspension bridge in the world at 472 m elevation and the second highest bridge of any type.
- San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge Eastern Span (California, United States). Opened in 2013, it is the widest bridge in the world (78.74 m [258.3 ft]), the most expensive bridge and the largest self-anchored suspension bridge ever constructed.[93][94]
- Tacoma Narrows Bridges (Washington, United States). Opened in 1950 and 2007, the pair of bridges with the longest spans in the world (853 m [2,799 ft]).
- Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge (Turkey). Opened in 2016, it has longest span carrying road and rail traffic (1,408 m [4,619 ft]).
- Yangsigang Yangtze River Bridge (China). Opened in 2019 with the longest double deck span (1,700 m [5,600 ft]).[95]
- George Washington Bridge (New York and New Jersey, United States). Opened in 1931, it is the suspension bridge with the most lanes of traffic (at fourteen total on two levels).
- Kurushima-Kaikyō Bridge (Japan). Opened in 1999, it is the world's longest suspension bridge structure.
- Great Seto Bridge (Japan). Opened in 1978 and 1988, it is the longest two-tiered bridge system (but not all of the spans that make up the bridge system are suspension bridges).
- Sky Bridge 721 (Czech Republic). Opened in 2022, it is the longest suspension pedestrian bridge in the world (721 m).[96]
See also
Notes
References
- Note: Some of the information posted on the following sites may differ from that above. As of 21 February 2006, the sites were out of date or inaccurate as noted in parentheses
- Denenberg, David, Bridgemeister.com (an extensive inventory of more than 4,600 suspension bridges)
- Janberg, Nicolas, Suspension bridges, Structurae.de (an extensive database of structures including many suspension bridges)
- Durkee, Jackson, "World's Longest Bridge Spans", National Steel Bridge Alliance, 24 May 1999 (out of date)
- The World's Greatest Bridges, Archive.org copy of The Bridge over the Strait of Messina website (out of date and other errors)
- List of longest spans, Pub Quiz Help (includes bridges that have not yet been completed)
- Steel bridges in the world, and other bridge statistics, The Swedish Institute of Steel Construction, March 2003 (out of date)
- Virola, Eur Ing Juhani, Two Millennia - Two Long-Span Suspension Bridges, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, ATSE Focus No 124, November/December 2002 (revised information up to date as of 2005)
- Virola, Eur Ing Juhani, World's Longest Bridge Spans Archived 28 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine Laboratory of Bridge Engineering (LBE), Helsinki University of Technology (includes bridges that have not yet been completed)
Further reading
- Podolny, Walter Jr.; Goodyear, David (2006). "Cable-suspended bridges". In Roger L. Brockenbrough (ed.). Structural steel designer's handbook : AISC, AASHTO, AISI, ASTM, AREMA, and ASCE-07 design standards (4 ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. pp. 15.13–15.16. ISBN 0071432183.—includes a list of major suspension bridges by length
External links
Media related to Longest suspension bridges at Wikimedia Commons- Progress of Center Span on Long-Span Bridges at the Honshū—Shikoku Bridge Expressway Co.
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