Bridges

Longest

An incomplete history (in reverse chronological order) of the world's longest single–span suspension bridge:

2022	Turkey	Crosses the eponymous body of water, just south of the towns of Lapseki and Gelibolu		Dardanelles Bridge
1998	Japan	Links Awaji Island to Honshu (Kobe); Awaji lies between Honshu and Shikoku		Akashi–Kaikyo Bridge
1981	UK	Links the towns of Barton (Lincolnshire) and Hessle (East Yorkshire, near Hull)		Humber Bridge
1964	US	Links Brooklyn and Staten Island (New York)		Verrazzano Narrows Bridge
1937	US	Spans the entrance to San Francisco Bay, linking the city to Marin County		Golden Gate Bridge
1931	US	Spans the Hudson River, linking Manhattan to Fort Lee, New Jersey		George Washington Bridge

Types of Bridge

A bridge with a moveable, counterbalanced span – from the French for seesaw and balance; London's Tower Bridge is one of the world's most famous examples		Bascule bridge
The Forth Railway Bridge is one of the world's most famous examples of a		Cantilever bridge
Also known as a ferry bridge or an aerial transfer bridge: examples can be found in Newport (Gwent/Monmouthshire), Warrington and (perhaps most famously) Middlesbrough		Transport bridge

Specific Bridges

Note: Wikipedia makes a distinction between the highest bridges and the tallest bridges.  The height of a bridge is the maximum vertical drop from the deck (or road bed), to the ground or water directly below; the tallest bridges are those with the greatest vertical drop between their uppermost points (typically the top of the tower) and their lowest visible point, where the piers emerge from the surface of the ground or water.

The world's highest cable–stayed bridge (as opposed to suspension bridge; see below) – Mexico, opened in 2012		Baluarte Bridge
San Francisco's second bridge – links San Francisco to Oakland		Bay Bridge
Covered bridge linking the Ducal Palace to the state prison, in Venice; a bridge (also covered, but otherwise completely different) over the River Cam in Cambridge, linking two parts of St. John's College, is informally known by the same name		Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri)
Rail bridge over the Menai Straits, designed by Robert Stephenson, opened in 1850; severely damaged by fire in 1970, reopened in 1980 with a road carriageway above the new railway		Britannia Bridge
New York – opened in 1883 – one of the world's first suspension bridges		Brooklyn Bridge
The world's oldest surviving single–arch railway bridge, and a key element of England's industrial heritage: built in 1725–26, by stonemason Ralph Wood, to link Tanfield collieries with the River Tyne, and named after the burn (stream) that it crosses near Stanley, in Co. Durham		Causey Arch
Historic bridge across the Vltava in Prague, with a line of statues on either side		Charles Bridge
Designed by William Henry Barlow and John Hawkshaw, based on an earlier design by Brunel: opened in 1864, five years after Brunel's death; carries the B3129 road over the Avon Gorge		Clifton Suspension Bridge
The first ever bungee jump was made in 1979 by David Kirke, co–founder of the Dangerous Sports Club (based in Oxford and London), from
Bridge in Glasgow, opened in 2006; previously known as the Finniestown Bridge; nicknamed the Squinty Bridge (because it crosses the river at an angle)		Clyde Arc
Two–hinged double–deck arch bridge over the River Douro, with a similar design to the Maria Pia Bridge; links Porto to its 'twin city' of Vila Nova de Gaia; named after the King of Portugal at the time of its construction (1878)		Dom Luís I Bridge
The last bridge over the Clyde, going downstream – opened in 1971		Erskine Bridge
Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015; voted Scotland's greatest man–made wonder in 2016		Forth (Rail) Bridge
The world's second longest single span suspension bridge (see history above); completed in 1998; named after the strait between the main Danish islands of Zealand and Funen (Danish: Storebaelt), which it spans		Great Belt Bridge
The first suspension bridge over the Thames (1827 – rebuilt in 1877, again as a suspension bridge)		Hammersmith Bridge
Bridge over the Niagara River (a.k.a. Falls View Bridge, officially the Upper Steel Arch Bridge): collapsed in 1938, replaced by the Rainbow Bridge		Honeymoon Bridge
The three cities that are linked by (and gave their name to) a bridge opened in 2018, which became the world's longest sea crossing and its longest fixed link		Hong Kong
		Zhuhai
		Macau
Opened in 1981, was the world's longest single–span suspension bridge until 1997; 4th longest, 2007		Humber Bridge
Completed in 1831 (on a site where there had been a bridge since Roman times); bought by a US oil company in 1968 for £2.4million (reputedly having been mistaken for Tower Bridge); now crosses a narrow channel that leads from Lake Havasu to Thompson Bay (two sections of the Colorado River); the current bridge was completed in 1973		London Bridge
Railway bridge over the River Douro, some 400 metres upstream from the Dom Luis I Bridge and completed nine years earlier; named after Luís's Queen; built by Eiffel & Co.; closed in 1991, but still standing		Maria Pia Bridge
Popular name for the Wooden Bridge across the River Cam in Cambridge, originally built in 1749, linking two parts of Queen's College. Myths about it include its being of Chinese origin, its being designed by Isaac Newton (although he died 22 years before it was built) and that no bolts were used in its construction (there are bolts in it now – allegedly because the dons who took it apart to see how the students had done it couldn't put it back together again)		Mathematical Bridge
Suspension bridge linking Anglesey to the mainland: designed by Thomas Telford, opened in 1826		Menai Bridge
The world's tallest bridge (from ground to the highest part of the bridge) open to vehicular traffic: opened 2004, spans the Tarn valley in southern France; designed by Michel Virlogeux and Sir Norman Foster – see Si Du River Bridge		Millau Viaduct
Road (motorway) bridge in Genoa, Italy, that partially collapsed in 2018, causing the deaths of 43 people		(Ponte) Morandi (Bridge)
Opened in 2000, connecting Copenhagen (Denmark) to Malmo (Sweden) – the longest bridge in the world that crosses a national border; named after the strait that it crosses		Øresund Bridge Oresund
Bridge of the Americas spans		Panama Canal
Telford's famous aqueduct carrying the Llangollen Canal over the River Dee		Pontcyssyllte
The oldest surviving bridge across the Seine in Paris		Pont Neuf (New Bridge)
The Second Severn Crossing was officially renamed in 2018 as the		Prince of Wales Bridge
Bridge in Bath with shops lining both sides (the only one in Europe, apart from the Ponte Vecchio in Florence): designed by Robert Adam, in Palladian style		Pulteney Bridge
The second bridge to be built over the Thames at London (i.e. downstream from Kingston) – opened 1792		Putney Bridge
The last bridge over the Thames – completed in 1990, carries southbound M25 traffic		Queen Elizabeth II Bridge
Britain's tallest bridge: opened in 2017, carries the M90 over the Firth of Forth		Queensferry Crossing
Spans the Niagara River, near the falls; opened in 1941; same name as a national monument in Utah		Rainbow Bridge
Clifton Suspension Bridge spans		River Avon (Somerset)
Brunel's famous bridge carrying the GWR over the River Tamar, between Plymouth (Devon) and Saltash (Cornwall)		Royal Albert Bridge
Replaced the Aust ferry in 1966; runs from Aust to Beachley; since 1996, carries the M48		Severn Bridge
The world's highest bridge (maximum height of deck above ground) – China, opened in 2009; see Millau Viaduct		Si Du River Bridge
Connects Millers Point to Milsons Point (passing over Dawes Point)		Sydney Harbour Bridge
Completed in 1940 as the world's third–longest single span suspension bridge; named after the stretch of the Puget Sound in Washington State, USA, which it spans; nicknamed Galloping Gertie after its tendency to sway and buckle in high winds; spectacularly self–destructed in November 1940, just four months after opening, and was famously filmed doing so		Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Prehistoric (c. 1000 BC) clapper bridge over the River Barle on Exmoor, Somerset – little more than stepping stones		Tarr Steps
Collapsed in a storm on 28 December 1879 – inspiring William McGonagall's most famous poem, "widely considered to be of such a low quality as to be comical" (Wikipedia)		Tay Bridge
Europe's longest bridge: 12.345 km (7.671 miles); opened in 1998, spans the Tagus just north of Lisbon; named after a famous Portuguese explorer		Vasco da Gama Bridge

© Haydn Thompson 2017–22