Many tall bridges crossing oceans, canyons or straits cost millions to billions of dollars to build. The WorldAtlas site lists the tallest bridges in the world with the height measured from the ground (or water) to the highest point. With both road and train tracks, these bridges are important for tourism as well as for traffic.
1. Millau Viaduct
In March 2005, the Millau Viaduct (Viaduc de Millau) was recognized by the Guinness World Records as the tallest bridge in the world. With a height of 343 m, this record has not been broken so far. This engineering wonder is located in the province of Aveyron, in the south of France.
Millau is a cable-stayed bridge spanning the Tarn valley. Before the bridge is completed, visitors must drive down the valley. Traffic in the area was severely congested and the construction of the Millau viaduct helped relieve pressure on local highways.
The bridge is part of the A75 to A71 auto route, built of concrete and steel.
The Millau Viaduct is 19 meters higher than the iconic Paris Eiffel Tower.
2. Pingtang Bridge
Pingtang Bridge is 332 m high and is the tallest bridge in China. Located in Guizhou Province, the cable-stayed bridge spans a grand canyon and is a major part of the Pingtang-Ladian Expressway. The main tower of the building is the tallest concrete pier in the world.
The local government spent about $215 million to build the bridge to reduce travel time between Pingtang (Guizhou) and Luodian (Shanghai). The bridge will open in 2020, and visitors can drive through these two points in about an hour. Before the bridge was built, the trip took 2 and a half hours.
The bridge has 3 bearing concrete towers, the largest tower is 332 m high.
3. Bridge over the Yangtze River (Hutong Yangtze River)
The bridge over the Yangtze River was built to withstand natural disasters and accidents, with a height of 325 m. The sturdy bridge, connecting Suzhou to Nantong, can withstand collisions from cargo ships, strong storms and strong earthquakes.
The upper part of the bridge consists of a 6-lane highway and the lower part has 4 tracks. The bridge will be completed in 2020 with towers 330 m high. It is an important part of the Shanghai Nantong Railway, which opened in July.
The bridge is expected to ensure waterway traffic on the Yangtze River, and at the same time relieve the pressure of road and rail traffic in this delta area.
4. Yavuz Sultan Selim . Bridge
The 4.5 billion TRY ($550 million) Yavuz Sultan Selim bridge opened in 2016, named after Selim I, the 9th Ottoman emperor. Located in Istanbul (Turkey), the road and road bridge Iron crosses the Bosphorus Strait, the strait between the two continents Eurasia.
The 322 m high bridge is designed with 8 lanes and 2 railway lines. As the first building in the world to use a hybrid cable system combining cable-stayed bridges and suspension bridges, Yavuz Sultan Selim is considered an impressive engineering feat.
Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge helps relieve traffic pressure in the area.
5. Russky Bridge
The 321-meter-high Russky Bridge was built by the Russian government to promote the Asia-Pacific Economic Community project in 2012 at a cost of $1.1 billion.
Not only is it one of the tallest bridges in the world, Russky is also among the longest. The bridge is nicknamed the "bridge of nowhere" because it connects the city of Vladivostok with the sparsely populated Russky Island. Only about 5,000 people live on Russky Island, so the bridge is barely in use right now.
This is the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world with a length of 1,104 meters.
