List of longest suspension bridge spans

The Akashi-Kaikyō Bridge has the largest span of any bridge

This list ranks the world's suspension bridges by the length of the main span (the length of suspended roadway between the towers). The length of main span is the most common method of comparing the sizes of suspension bridges. The length of the main span often correlates with the height of the towers and the engineering complexity involved in designing and constructing the bridge.

Suspension bridges have the longest spans of any type of bridge. Cable-stayed bridges, the next longest design, are practical for spans up to around one kilometer. Thus, the top 14 bridges on this list are also currently the longest 14 spans of all types of vehicular bridges.

Completed suspension bridges

This list only includes bridges that carry automobiles or trains. It does not include cable-stayed bridges, footbridges or pipeline bridges.

Note: Click on each bridge's rank to go to the bridge's official Web site. Ranks with a red asterisk (*) do not have official Web sites, nor do they have English-language versions and are linked instead to a reference entry.

Note: The main span of The Xihoumen Bridge was completed in 2007, but as of February 24, 2008, it is uncertain if it has been opened for traffic.

	Rank	Name	Location	Main span metres	Main span feet	Year opened
	[1]	Akashi-Kaikyō Bridge (The largest from 1998 to the present)	Kobe- Awaji Route, Japan	1,991	6,529	1998
	[2] *	Xihoumen Bridge	Zhoushan Archipelago, China	1,650	5,414	see note above
	[3]	Great Belt Bridge (also known as the Storebælt Bridge; Danish: Storebæltsbroen)	Halsskov-Sprogø, Denmark	1,624	5,328	1998
	[4]	Runyang Bridge	Yangtze River, China	1,490	4,888	2005
	[5]	Humber Bridge (The longest from 1981 until 1998)	Barton-upon-Humber - Kingston upon Hull, United Kingdom	1,410	4,626	1981
	[6] *	Jiangyin Suspension Bridge	Yangtze River, China	1,385	4,543	1999
	[7]	Tsing Ma Bridge (the largest carrying road and rail traffic)	Tsing Yi-Ma Wan, Hong Kong	1,377	4,518	1997
	[8]	Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (The largest from 1964 until 1981)	New York City (Brooklyn–Staten Island), USA	1,298	4,260	1964
	[9]	Golden Gate Bridge (The largest from 1937 until 1964)	San Francisco-Marin County, CA, USA	1,280	4,200	1937
Linked photo	[10] *	Yangluo Bridge	Yangtze River, China	1,280	4,200	2007
	[11]	Högakustenbron (High Coast Bridge)	Ångermanälven river , Sweden	1,210	3,970	1997
	[12]	Mackinac Bridge	Mackinaw City - St. Ignace, Michigan USA	1,158	3,800	1957
	[13]	Minami Bisan-Seto Bridge (Great Seto Bridge)	Kojima-Sakaide Route, Japan	1,118	3,609	1989
	[14] *	Fatih Sultan Mehmet (Second Bosporus Bridge)	Istanbul, Turkey	1,090	3,576	1988
	[15] *	Boğaziçi (First Bosporus Bridge)	Istanbul, Turkey	1,074	3,524	1973
	[16]	George Washington Bridge (The largest from 1931 until 1937)	Fort Lee, NJ - New York City NY (Manhattan), USA	1,067	3,500	1931
	[17]	Third Kurushima-Kaikyo Bridge	Onomichi-Imabari Route, Japan	1,030	3,379	1999
	[18]	Second Kurushima-Kaikyo Bridge	Onomichi-Imabari Route, Japan	1,020	3,346	1999
	[19] *	Ponte 25 de Abril (Tagus Bridge)	Lisbon, Portugal	1,013	3,323	1966
	[20]	Forth Road Bridge	Firth of Forth, UK	1,006	3,300	1964
	[21]	Kita Bisan-Seto Bridge (Great Seto Bridge)	Kojima-Sakaide Route, Japan	990	3,248	1988
	[22]	Severn Bridge	Bristol Channel, United Kingdom	988	3,240	1966
	[23] *	Yichang Bridge	Yichang (Yangtze River), China	960	3,150	2001
	[24]	Shimotsui-Seto Bridge (Great Seto Bridge)	Kojima-Sakaide Route, Japan	940	3,084	1988
	[25] *	Xiling Bridge	Yichang (Yangtze River), China	900	2,952	1996
	[26] *	Humen Pearl River Bridge	Dongguan (Pearl River), Guangdong province, China	888	2,913	1997
	[27]	Ohnaruto Bridge	Kobe-Naruto Route, Japan	876	2,874	1985
	[28]	Tacoma Narrows Bridge (westbound)	Tacoma, WA, USA	853	2,800	1950
	[29]	Tacoma Narrows Bridge (eastbound)	Tacoma, WA, USA	853	2,800	2007
	[30] *	Askøy Bridge	Bergen, Norway	850	2,789	1992
	[31]	Innoshima Bridge	Onomichi-Imabari Route, Japan	770	2,526	1983
	[32] *	Akinada Bridge	Akinada Islands (Hiroshima Pref.), Japan	750	2,461	2000
	[33] *	Semipalatinsk Bridge	Semipalatinsk (Irtysh river), Kazakhstan	750	2,461	2000
	[34]	Al Zampa Memorial Bridge (New Carquinez Bridge)	Carquinez Strait, CA, USA	728	2,388	2003
	[35] *	Hakucho Bridge	Muroran (Hokkaidō Pref.), Japan	720	2,362	1998
	[36] *	Angostura Bridge	Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela	712	2,336	1967
	[37] *	Kanmonkyo Bridge	Honshū-Kyūshū, Japan	712	2,336	1973
	[38]	San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge (Yerba Buena Island to anchorage)	San Francisco - Oakland, CA, USA	704	2,310	1936
	[39]	San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge (San Francisco to anchorage)	San Francisco - Oakland, CA, USA	704	2,310	1936
	[40]	Bronx-Whitestone Bridge	New York, NY, (The Bronx - Queens) USA	701	2,300	1939
	[41]	Stord Bridge	Stord, Norway	677	2,221	2001
	[42] *	Pierre Laporte Bridge	Quebec City, Canada	668	2,190	1970
	[43]	Delaware Memorial Bridge I	New Castle, DE - Pennsville, NJ, USA	655	2,150	1951
	[44]	Delaware Memorial Bridge II	New Castle, DE - Pennsville, NJ, USA	655	2,150	1968
	[45] *	Haicang Bridge	Xiamen, Fujian Province, China	648	2,126	1999
	[46] *	Gjemnessund Bridge	Kristiansund, Norway	623	2,044	1992
	[47]	Walt Whitman Bridge	Philadelphia, PA - Gloucester City, NJ, USA	610	2,000	1957
	[48] *	Tancarville Bridge	Le Havre, France	608	1,995	1959
	[49] *	New Little Belt Bridge	Little Belt, Denmark	600	1,969	1970
	[50]	First Kurushima-Kaikyo Bridge	Onomichi-Imabari Route, Japan	600	1,969	1999
Linked photo	[51] *	E'gongyan Bridge	Chongqing, Sichuan Province, China (Yangtze River)	600	1,969	2000
	[52] *	Osterøy Bridge	Osterøy, Norway	595	1,952	1997
Linked photo	[53] *	Second Wanxian Bridge	Chongqing, China	580	1,903	2004
	[54]	Bømla Bridge	Bømlo, Norway	577	1,893	2001
	[55] *	Rainbow Bridge	Tokyo, Japan	570	1,870	1993
	[56]	Ambassador Bridge (The largest from 1929 until 1931)	Detroit, Michigan, USA – Windsor, Ontario, Canada	564	1,850	1929
	[57]	Hakata-Ohshima Bridge	Onomichi-Imabari Route, Japan	560	1,837	1988
Linked photo	[58] *	Zhongxian Yangtze River Bridge	Chongqing, China	560	1,837	2001
	[59]	Throgs Neck Bridge	New York, NY, (The Bronx - Queens) USA	549	1,800	1961
	[60]	Benjamin Franklin Bridge (The largest from 1926 until 1929)	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Camden, New Jersey, USA	533	1,750	1926
	[61] *	Skjomen Bridge	Narvik, Norway	525	1,722	1972
	[62] *	Kvalsund Bridge	Hammerfest, Norway	525	1,722	1977
Linked photo	[63] *	Matadi Bridge	Matadi, Democratic Republic of the Congo	520	1,706	1983
	[64] *	Kleve-Emmerich Bridge	Emmerich am Rhein, Germany	500	1,640	1965
Linked photo	[65] *	Dazi Bridge	Dazi, China	500	1,640	1984
	[66] *	Gwangan Bridge	Busan, South Korea	500	1,640	2002
	[67]	Bear Mountain Bridge (The largest from 1924 until 1926)	Peekskill, NY, USA	497	1,632	1924
	[68]	Williamsburg Bridge (The largest from 1903 until 1924)	New York, NY, (Brooklyn - Manhattan) USA	488	1,600	1903
	[69]	W. Preston Lane Memorial Bridge I	Chesapeake Bay, MD, USA	488	1,600	1952
	[70] *	Newport Bridge (Sen. Claiborne Pell Bridge)	Newport, Rhode Island, RI, USA	488	1,600	1969
	[71]	W. Preston Lane Memorial Bridge II	Chesapeake Bay, MD, USA	488	1,600	1973
	[72]	Brooklyn Bridge (The largest from 1883 until 1903.)	New York, NY, (Brooklyn - Manhattan) USA	486	1,596	1883
	[73] *	Lions' Gate Bridge	North Vancouver - Vancouver, British Columbia Canada	473	1,550	1938
	[74] *	Sotra Bridge	Bergen, Norway	468	1,535	1971
	[75] *	Hirado Bridge	Hirado Island, Japan	460	1,509	1977
	[76] *	Vincent Thomas Bridge	San Pedro, CA, USA	457	1,499	1963
	[77]	Mid-Hudson Bridge	Poughkeepsie, NY, USA	456	1,495	1930
Linked photo	[78] *	Shantou Bay Bridge	Guangdong province, China	452	1,483	1996
Linked photo	[79] *	Fengdu Bridge	Sichuan (Yangtze River), China	450	1,476	1996
	[80]	Manhattan Bridge	New York, NY, (Manhattan - Brooklyn) USA	448	1,470	1909
	[81] *	Lysefjord Bridge	Rogaland, Norway	446	1,463	1997
	[82]	Angus L. Macdonald Bridge	Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada	441	1,447	1955
	[83]	A. Murray MacKay Bridge	Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada	427	1,400	1970
	[84]	Triborough Bridge	New York, NY, (Manhattan - The Bronx - Queens) USA	421	1,380	1936
	[85] *	Älvsborg Bridge	Gothenburg, Sweden	417	1,368	1966
Linked photo	[86] *	Namhae Bridge	Namhae, South Korea	404	1,325	1973
Linked photo	[87] *	Aquitaine Bridge	Bordeaux, France	394	1,293	1967
	[88] *	Amu Daria River Bridge	Bukhara, Uzbekistan	390	1,280	1964
	[89] *	Cologne Rodenkirchen Bridge	Cologne, Germany	378	1,240	1954
	[90]	St. Johns Bridge	Portland, OR, USA	368	1,207	1931
	[91] *	Wakato Narrows Bridge	Kitakyūshū, Japan	367	1,204	1962
	[92] *	Mount Hope Bridge	Mount Hope Bay, RI, USA	366	1,200	1929
Linked photo	[93]	Ogdensburg Prescott International Bridge (Seaway Skyway)	Ogdensburg, NY, USA - Prescott, Ontario, Canada	351	1,151	1960
	[94] *	Hercilio Luz Bridge	Florianopolis, Brazil	340	1,115	1926
	[95]	Bidwell Bar Bridge	Oroville, CA, USA	338	1,108	1965
Linked photo	[96] *	Varodd Bridge	Kristiansand, Norway	337	1,106	1956
	[97]	Tamar Bridge	Plymouth-Saltash, United Kingdom	335	1,100	1961
	[98] *	Feda Fjord Bridge	Feda, Vest-Agder, Norway	335	1,100	2006
	[99] *	Deer Isle Bridge	Penobscot Bay, ME, USA	329	1,088	1939
Linked photo	[100] *	Otto Beit Bridge	Chirundu Zambia to Chirundu, Zimbabwe	328	1,085	1939
Linked photo	[101] *	Rombak Bridge	Nordland, Norway	325	1,066	1964
	[102] *	Nærøysund Bridge	Nord-Trøndelag, Norway	325	1,066	1981
	[103] *	Simon Kenton Bridge	Maysville, KY, USA	323	1,060	1932
	[104] *	Île d'Orléans Bridge	Quebec City, Canada	323	1,059	1936
	[105] *	John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge (The largest from 1867 until 1883)	Cincinnati, OH, USA	322	1,057	1867
	[106] *	Dent Bridge	Orofino, ID, USA	320	1,050	1971
	[107] *	Cologne Mulheim Bridge	Cologne, Germany	315	1,033	1951
	[108]	Wheeling Suspension Bridge (The largest from 1849 until 1867)	Wheeling, WV, USA	308	1,010	1849
Linked photo	[109] *	Konohana Bridge	Osaka, Japan	300	984	1987
Linked photo	[110] *	Chavanon Viaduct	Merlines and Messeix, France (Chavanon Valley)	300	984	2000
	[111]	Yeongjong Grand Bridge (the largest self-anchored suspension bridge)	Incheon, South Korea	300	984	2000
	[112] *	Elizabeth Bridge	Budapest, Hungary	290	951	1964
	[113] *	Tjeldsund Bridge	Harstad, Norway	290	951	1967
Linked photo	[114] *	Grand-Mère Bridge	Grand-Mère, Canada	289	948	1929
	[115] *	Puente Colgante de Occidente (West Suspension Bridge)	Santa Fé de Antioquia, Colombia	287	940	1894

Many bridges with shorter span.

Bridges under construction

• Several large suspension bridges are under construction in People's Republic of China. The Nanjing Fourth Yangtze Bridge is under construction with 1,418 m (4,652 ft) main span ^[1], scheduled to be completed in 2010. The Aizhai Bridge is under construction with 1,146 m (3,760 ft) main span ^[2], scheduled to be completed in 2009. The Huangpu Bridge is under construction with 1,108 m (3,635 ft) main span ^[3], scheduled to be completed in 2008. The Balinghe Bridge is under construction near Guanling with 1,088 m (3,570 ft) span ^[4], scheduled to be completed in 2009. The Taizhou Bridge is under construction near Taizhou with two 1,080 m (3,543 ft) spans connecting three towers ^[5], scheduled to be completed in 2010. Similar Ma'anshan Bridge with two 1,000 m (3,281 ft) main spans is scheduled to be completed in 2010 ^[6]. The Beipanjiang Suspension Bridge is under construction with 888 m (2,913 ft) main span ^[7], scheduled to be completed in 2009.
• The reconstructed eastern section of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge will be the largest self-anchored suspension bridge ever constructed. With one tower, it will have two asymmetric spans of 180 and 385 meters. Construction is scheduled to be completed in 2013.

Planned and proposed bridges

• The Sunda Strait Bridge project has been approved by the Indonesian government. If completed, it will not only be the world's longest suspension bridge (26 km), but will also have a main span of about 3,000 m (9,800 ft) — roughly fifty percent longer than the current record.^[8]
• Several large suspension bridges are planned for China. A suspension bridge is being considered to cross the 22.5 kilometer wide Qiongzhou Strait.^[9] One design consists of four bridges strung together with four main-spans of 2,000 meters, two main-spans of 1,800 meters, five anchorages and 10 towers. ^[10] If completed this bridge will assume six of the top seven slots on this list.
• The İzmit Bay Bridge crossing the Marmara Sea in Turkey with a span of 1,668 m is planned, but construction not yet started.
• The Hardanger Bridge, with a main span of 1,310 m, is to be constructed across the fjord Hardangerfjorden in Norway. Construction is estimated to be completed in 2011. ^[11]
• The Chacao Channel bridge connecting the island of Chiloé with mainland Chile. This strange design has two mainspans of 1,055 m and 1,100 m without an anchorage between them. Construction was due to begin in 2007 for completion in 2012, however due to cost overruns the project is now on hold.
• The Strait of Messina Bridge, with a center span of 3,300 m (11,000 ft), was planned to connect Italy and Sicily. The project was cancelled on 11 October 2006 by the Romano Prodi-led government amid controversy concerning the bridge's cost and feared Mafia influence^[12]. The new government from 2008 led by Silvio Berlusconi wants to pick up the project again.
• A suspension bridge had been suggested for the Strait of Gibraltar with a long span of several kilometres. The suspension cables for a very long bridge might be suspended from the ends of cable-stayed struts extending diagonally from huge pylons. However as of 2008 a Tunnel is planned instead.
• In Narvik, Norway plans for the Hålogaland Bridge are under consideration. The bridge will reduce the distance between Narvik and Bjerkvik by 17km, and will have a main span of 1,345m. The government of Norway will decide whether the bridge should be built or not in early 2009. ^[13]

Planned bridges never built

• Construction of the Malta-Gozo Bridge started in the early 1970s, but was stopped after protests from the Gozitans.

Bridges ranked by total length

It is also possible to rank suspension bridges by the total length of suspension. Note that some of these bridges have more than two anchorages, so these are actually multiple bridges. Having more than two towers without a central anchorage could be unstable in some conditions. A modern exception was the design of the proposed Chacao Channel bridge, a project which has been canceled. This innovative bridge was to have two main spans, made possible by the use of a rigid central tower composed of two side-by-side A frames. The stiffness of these frames (as opposed to the flexibility of the usual spar tower) prevents transmission of significant dynamic forces between the mainspans, ensuring dynamic stability in various wind conditions.

1. Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge (Japan) 3909 m
2. Kurushima-Kaikyo Bridge (Japan) 3260 m (suspended sections are not all contiguous)
3. Great Seto Bridge (Japan) 3186 m (two bridges with common anchorage)
4. San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge (USA) 2822 m (two bridges with common central anchorage)
5. Great Belt Bridge (Denmark) 2719 m
6. Mackinac Bridge (USA) 2625 m

History of long spans

• Union Bridge (England/Scotland) 137 m - 1820. The longest span from 1820 to 1826. The oldest in the world still in use today.
• Menai Suspension Bridge (north Wales) 176 m - 1826, The longest span from 1826 until 1834.
• Zähringen Bridge (Switzerland) 271 m - 1834. The longest span from 1834 until 1849. The bridge was removed in the 1920s.
• Wheeling Suspension Bridge (USA) 308 m - 1849. The longest span from 1849 until 1851 and from 1864 to 1866
• Lewiston-Queenston Bridge (USA and Canada) 317 m - 1851. The longest cable span from 1851 until it was destroyed by wind in 1864. However, the road deck span was only 258 m.
• John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge (USA) 322 m - 1866. The longest span from 1866 - 1869
• Niagara Clifton Bridge 384 m - 1869. The longest span from 1869 to 1883. Replaced in 1899.
• Brooklyn Bridge (USA) 486 m - 1883. The longest span from 1883 until 1903.
• Williamsburg Bridge (USA) 488 m - 1903. The longest span from 1903 until 1924.
• Bear Mountain Bridge (USA) 497 m - 1924. The longest span from 1924 to 1926. 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 (USA) 533 m - 1926. The longest span from 1926 until 1929.
• Ambassador Bridge (Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada) 564 m - 1929. The longest span from 1929 to 1931.
• George Washington Bridge (USA) 1067 m - 1931. The longest span from 1931 until 1937.
• Golden Gate Bridge (USA) 1,280 m - 1937. The longest span from 1937 until 1964.
• Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (USA) 1,298 m – 1964. The longest span from 1964 until 1981.
• Humber Bridge (UK) 1,410 m - 1981. The longest span from 1981 until 1998.
• Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge (Japan) 1,991 m - 1998. The longest span from 1998 to the present.

Other record holders

• Tacoma Narrows Bridge (USA) 853 m—1950 & 2007. The largest twin suspension bridge in the world.
• Royal Gorge Bridge (USA) 1929 The highest (384 m) suspension bridge in the world.
• Tsing Ma Bridge (Hong Kong) 1,377 m—1997. The longest span carrying road and rail traffic.
• George Washington Bridge (USA). Suspension bridge with the most lanes of traffic—fourteen.

See also

• List of spans (list of remarkable permanent wire spans)

Bridge-related articles Types of bridges Moveable bridge · Beam bridge · Cantilever bridge · Arch bridge · Suspension bridge · Cable-stayed bridge · Truss bridge · Visual index to various types Lists of Bridges Notable bridges · By length · Longest suspension bridge spans · Largest cable-stayed bridges · Longest cantilever bridges · Longest continuous truss bridges · Arch bridges · Tallest · Highest · Bridge disasters

External links

• Progress of Center Span on Long-Span Bridges at the Honshū--Shikoku Bridge Expressway Co.

References

Note: Some of the information posted on the following sites may differ from that above. As of February 21 2006, the sites were out of date or inaccurate as noted in parenthesis

• Denenberg, David, Bridgemeister.com (an extensive inventory of roughly 2,000 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, May 24, 1999 (out of date)
• The World's Greatest Bridges, The Bridge over the Strait of Messina (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)