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China has unveiled the world’s longest sea bridge, which stretches a massive
26.4 miles! The road bridge, which took four years and cost a cool £5.5billion
to build, will be open for use in the New Year and is almost three miles longer
than the previous record-holder, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in Louisiana.
With an overall length of 42.58km, the route between Qingdao and Huangdao will
be shortened by 30km, cutting the travel time by about 20 minutes.
However, the colossal construction is set to hold the record as the longest sea
bridge only for a few years – and it will be bettered by another Chinese bridge
in the next decade.
World's longest sea bridge opens in China ...
(but don't think about crossing it on foot, it's the length of a marathon)
At 26.4 miles long, it is five miles further than the distance between Dover and
Calais
China has opened the world's longest cross-sea bridge - which stretches five
miles further than the distance between Dover and Calais .The Jiaozhou Bay bridge is 26.4 miles long and links China's eastern port city
of Qingdao to the offshore island Huangdao.The road bridge, which is 110ft wide and is the longest of its kind, cost nearly
£1billion to build.
A bridge over misty waters: The immense £1billion structure which is supported
by more than 5,000 pillars stretches for 24 miles along China's eastern
port city of Qingdao to the offshore island Huangdao
Engineering feat: The vast bridge, the largest cross-ocean bridge in the world,
cost £960million and took four years to build
Chinese TV reports said the bridge passed construction appraisals on Monday and
it, along with an undersea tunnel, would be opened for traffic today.
It took four years to build the bridge, which is supported by more than 5,000
pillars across the bay, and it is almost three miles longer than the previous
record-holder - the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in Louisiana .
Lengthy: The bridge stretches into the distance further than the eye can see and
right, the first few cars roll out across the surface
Open road: Drivers pass through the mist as they make some of the first passes
over the 110ft wide bridge which is longer than any others of its kind
Flowers: The first vehicle runs into toll station to the applause of staff and
passers-by after the bridge opened to traffic today
Musical mileage: A brass band plays on the sides of the road as flags and
banners herald in the opening of the bridge
The start of things to come: Two cars edge through the toll gates that will
raise revenue to maintain the £1billion bridge
That structure features two bridges running side by side and is 23.87 miles
long.
The three-way Qingdao Haiwan bridge is 174 times longer than London 's Tower
Bridge , spanning the River Thames, but cuts only 19 miles off the drive from
Qingdao to Huangdao.
Two separate groups of workers have been building it from different ends of the
structure since 2006.
After linking the two ends of the bridge on December 22, one engineer said: 'The
computer models and calculations are all very well but you can't relax until the
two sides are bolted
together.
Don't keep me hanging: The suspension beams form an
imposing sight as the reach through the clouds and look down upon colourful
flags marking the bridge's grand opening
The long road home: The two roads which run alongside each other wind across The
Jiaozhou Bay
'Even a few centimetres out would have been a disaster.'
The engineering feat will only hold the record as the longest sea bridge for a
few years - it will be beaten by another Chinese bridge in the next decade.
Last December officials announced workers had begun constructing a bridge to
link southern Guangdong province with Hong Kong and Macau .
Set to be completed in 2016, officials said the £6.5billion bridge will span
nearly 30 miles.
It will be designed to cope with earthquakes up to magnitude 8.0, strong
typhoons and the impact of a 300,000 tonne vessel.
But both structures will still be dwarfed by the longest bridge in the world,
also in China .
The Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge is an astonishing 102 miles in length.
Record breaker: The Qingdao Jiaozhou bay bridge, spanning 26.4 miles between
Qingdao and Huangdao, will open for traffic today
Impressive: Testing on the bridge was completed on Monday and it is expected to
be opened to traffic for the first time today
A driver's dream: Twenty-four miles of fresh untouched tarmac stretch from
Qingdao to Hungdao
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