Top 3 Cable Suspension Bridge In The World
30-04-2016 10:41am | by Web Desk
Suspension Bridge : The Three Longest Cable Suspension Bridges in the World
A suspension bridge is a type of bridge where the roadway is fixed with vertical suspenders on a suspension cables. Suspension bridges are amazing achievements of mechanical engineering. They may look a bit fragile when observed from a distance, but they are actually very strong structures and are the longest bridge types used till today.
So lets make a list of the longest suspension bridges in the world.
1. The Akashi Kaikyo
Suspension Bridge in Japan is the longest cable suspension bridge in the world today. It was needed around two million workers and ten years to construct this bridge. The construction of the bridge includes the use of two cables extended between two towers.
The towers stand on two large circular foundations that were filled with 265 000 cubic meters of concrete. Because the regular concrete doesn’t mix with sea water, the Japanese had to invent a new type of concrete, capable of mixing with the water. The foundations are 60 meters high and the towers laying on top are 283 meters height, built with astonishing precision.
Than, the main cables were stretched from one tower to the other. The steel cables that were used here may circle the world seven times. After the main cables were in position, the vertical cables were added and the deck was hanged below, 290 sections weighing around 4000 tonnes each. At either end, the bridge is held by large anchor blocks, weighing more than 350 000 tonnes.
The area where the bridge is built is known by the typhoon activity, where winds can reach speeds up to 290 km/h. Japan absolutely pushed the limits of the suspension bridge technology while constructing this mechanical engineering marble called Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge.
2. Xihoumen Bridge
Xihoumen Bridge in the province of Zhejiang in China is the second largest suspension bridge in the world. This suspension bridge is 5.3-kilometre-long and has a 2.6-kilometre-long main bridge with a central span of 1,650 meters. Construction of Xihoumen bridge started in 2005 and it was open for traffic in 2009.
3. Great Belt Bridge
Great Belt Bridge (or Great Belt Fixed Link) is the third-longest suspension bridge in the world today. It connects the Danish islands Funen and Zealand. The bridge construction begun in 1991 and it was finished in 1998. It has a length of 6,790 meters, with longest span of 1,624 meters. The two pylons are 254 meters high, the highest structures in Denmark.
See the below video for Japanese engineering feat of The Akashi Kaikyo bridge