On March 18, 2022, the suspension bridge connecting Europe and Asia, named 1915 Çanakkale, was inaugurated. With 2,023 meters in length in the central part, it is the longest suspension bridge in the world. A mega-construction that, including accessories, has a length of 4,600 meters. The most impressive thing about the structure is the gigantic towers, which reach 318 meters in height, the same as the well-known Chrysler Building in New York City.
1915 Çanakkale is part of a much larger project, 89 kilometers long, which connects both continents and includes a highway. At the same time, the structure is part of the Kınalı-Tekirdağ-Çanakkale-Savaştepe route. In addition to being the longest suspension bridge in the world, the highway includes two access viaducts, 83 crossings (43 uppers and 40 lower), and a large number of service areas, as well as maintenance and operations centers and parking.
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Crossing the 1915 Çanakkale will not be free for drivers, but they will have to pay a toll of 12.2 euros. Previously, those who wanted to travel between Anatolia and the Gallipoli peninsula had to take a ferry, which took an hour between the two points. Now, with the new bridge, the journey barely takes five minutes.
Longest Suspension Bridges in The World
Before the suspension bridge that connects Europe and Asia was inaugurated, the first place in the ranking of the longest suspension bridges in the world was held by the Akashi Kaikyo, a mega-construction that connects the town of Honshu with the island of Awaji (Japan). The bridge is divided into three sections, and the central one is 1,991 meters long.
The Yangsigang, located over the Yangtze River in Wuhan, China, is the longest two-story suspension bridge in the world. The main section is 1,700 meters long and has six lanes.
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What Is The Difference Between a Bridge and a Viaduct?
Bridges and viaducts are part of many landscapes around the world, some of them very famous thanks to different factors, and it is true that they are often very attractive. Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a bridge and a viaduct? If you usually confuse both constructions, in this section, you can discover what each one of them is like.
Bridges
Viaducts
Viaducts are generally several bridges connected to each other by arch bridge structures, which carry a road or railway across a valley or gorge. They are usually built on valleys, canyons, and, on some occasions, also on the water. Unlike bridges, viaducts are mainly supported by arches that are built with reinforced concrete, or also stones in ancient times.
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Types of bridges:
- Arch bridges.
- Beam bridges.
- Truss bridges.
- Cantilever bridges.
- Hanging bridges.
- Cable-stayed bridges.
- Cantilever beam bridge.
- Pontoon bridge.
- Cable-stayed arch bridge.
- Tunnel.
It is important to note that bridges can be fixed or mobile and that they are designed to allow vehicle traffic, pedestrian crossings, pipeline crossings, train crossings, or water crossings, among others.
What is The Oldest Bridge in The World?
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The work has long been the subject of study and, as reported by amusingplanet.com, archaeologists have concluded that this structure was originally intended for the passage of horse-drawn carriages. And this is not the only Mycenaean bridge erected in the region: there are, in fact, three others near Arkadiko built in a similar way and belonging to the same historical period.
1915 Çanakkale is part of a much larger project, 89 kilometers long, which connects both continents and includes a highway. At the same time, the structure is part of the Kınalı-Tekirdağ-Çanakkale-Savaştepe route. In addition to being the longest suspension bridge in the world, the highway includes two access viaducts, 83 crossings (43 uppers and 40 lower), and a large number of service areas, as well as maintenance and operations centers and parking.
According to data offered by the Xinhua agency, the construction of the bridge alone has involved an economic outlay of 2,500 million euros. A consortium of South Korean and Turkish companies has participated in the construction, employing 5,000 workers.
Crossing the 1915 Çanakkale will not be free for drivers, but they will have to pay a toll of 12.2 euros. Previously, those who wanted to travel between Anatolia and the Gallipoli peninsula had to take a ferry, which took an hour between the two points. Now, with the new bridge, the journey barely takes five minutes.
About the reason for the name (1915 Çanakkale), it has a historical explanation. 1915 is a very important year for the Turks since it was when the Battle of Gallipoli or Çanakkale Savaşlari was fought in the framework of World War I. The towers have been painted in the colors of the Turkish flag, in red.
Longest Suspension Bridges in The World
Before the suspension bridge that connects Europe and Asia was inaugurated, the first place in the ranking of the longest suspension bridges in the world was held by the Akashi Kaikyo, a mega-construction that connects the town of Honshu with the island of Awaji (Japan). The bridge is divided into three sections, and the central one is 1,991 meters long.The Yangsigang, located over the Yangtze River in Wuhan, China, is the longest two-story suspension bridge in the world. The main section is 1,700 meters long and has six lanes.
Finally, it should be noted that the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in the world is 516 Arouca, located in Portugal and 516 meters long.
What Is The Difference Between a Bridge and a Viaduct?
Bridges and viaducts are part of many landscapes around the world, some of them very famous thanks to different factors, and it is true that they are often very attractive. Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a bridge and a viaduct? If you usually confuse both constructions, in this section, you can discover what each one of them is like.When thinking of landscapes with bridges or viaducts, it is inevitable that those moments in the Harry Potter movies come to mind in which the train goes to school and you see the immensity of nature and the train traveling through... a bridge? or a viaduct?
These are the differences between bridges and viaducts.
Bridges
Bridges are often built over bodies of water or other obstacles that have to be traversed in order to get to the other side, and they don't have to close your way underneath, just provide a passage over the obstacle in question. Bridges are larger and more expensive to build than viaducts, and they usually use materials such as reinforced concrete or steel, and even in ancient times, they were made with stones.
Viaducts
Viaducts are generally several bridges connected to each other by arch bridge structures, which carry a road or railway across a valley or gorge. They are usually built on valleys, canyons, and, on some occasions, also on the water. Unlike bridges, viaducts are mainly supported by arches that are built with reinforced concrete, or also stones in ancient times.Based on these definitions and the differences between a bridge and a viaduct, we could say that viaducts are really a type of bridge, so all viaducts are bridges, but not all bridges are viaducts.
Types of bridges:
- Arch bridges.- Beam bridges.
- Truss bridges.
- Cantilever bridges.
- Hanging bridges.
- Cable-stayed bridges.
- Cantilever beam bridge.
- Pontoon bridge.
- Cable-stayed arch bridge.
- Tunnel.
It is important to note that bridges can be fixed or mobile and that they are designed to allow vehicle traffic, pedestrian crossings, pipeline crossings, train crossings, or water crossings, among others.
With everything clear, yes, Harry Potter is a viaduct. Specifically, it is the Glenfinnan viaduct and it is very close to Fort William, in Scotland. A spectacular place to visit.
What is The Oldest Bridge in The World?
The bridge I want to tell you about is a little stone gem and is believed to be one of the oldest stone arch bridges ever built and still in use. It is the Arkadiko Bridge, also called the Kazarma Bridge, which is located along the road that connects Tiryns and Epidaurus, in the Peloponnese, Greece. Its construction dates from the year 1300 a. C., or the Greek Bronze Age, and its construction was carried out using limestone boulders mixed with smaller stones.
Kept dry, the Arkadiko Bridge has a length of twenty-two meters and a width of about five meters and sixty centimeters with a height of four. If the road that ends it is about two and a half meters wide, at the base, there is a small arched opening whose passage is about a meter wide.
The work has long been the subject of study and, as reported by amusingplanet.com, archaeologists have concluded that this structure was originally intended for the passage of horse-drawn carriages. And this is not the only Mycenaean bridge erected in the region: there are, in fact, three others near Arkadiko built in a similar way and belonging to the same historical period.
Among them is the Petrography Bridge, which spans the same watercourse a kilometer away and resembles the Kazarma Bridge in all respects. Slightly larger in span and height, this second bridge also continues to be traversed normally.
And to these neighboring structures, a fifth is added, a little further away, at Lykotroupi, in northern Argolis. Also from the Mycenaean period, this bridge is more than five meters wide (to be exact, five meters and twenty centimeters), two meters and forty centimeters high, and one-meter span. True works of civil engineering that thousands of years later continue to fulfill their original function.
And to these neighboring structures, a fifth is added, a little further away, at Lykotroupi, in northern Argolis. Also from the Mycenaean period, this bridge is more than five meters wide (to be exact, five meters and twenty centimeters), two meters and forty centimeters high, and one-meter span. True works of civil engineering that thousands of years later continue to fulfill their original function.
Did you know about these bridges?
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