The world's longest suspension bridges are listed according to the length of their main span (i.e., the length of suspended roadway between the bridge's towers). The most common method of comparing the sizes of
suspension bridgeA suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. While modern bridges of this type date from the early 19th century, earlier bridges without vertical suspenders date from the 7th Century in Central America.This type of bridge has...
s, the length of main
spanSpan is a section between two intermediate supports, e.g. of a beam or a bridge.A span can be made of a solid beam or of a rope. The first kind of span is used for bridges, the second one used for power lines, overhead telecommunication lines, some type of antennas or for aerial tramways.The 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 bridgeA cable-stayed bridge is a bridge that consists of one or more columns , with cables supporting the bridge deck....
s, the next longest design, are practical for spans up to around one kilometer. Thus, the 15 longest bridges on this list all are suspended-deck suspension bridges and currently are the 15 longest of all types of vehicular bridge.
Completed suspension bridges
This list includes only completed suspension bridges that carry automobiles or trains. It does not include cable-stayed bridges,
footbridgeA footbridge or pedestrian bridge is a bridge designed for pedestrians and in some cases cyclists, animal traffic and horse riders, rather than vehicular traffic. In many developed countries, footbridges are both functional and can be beautiful works of art and sculpture...
s 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, however the bridge has not yet opened for traffic. Completion is scheduled for October 2009.
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Rank |
Name |
Location |
Main
span
metreThe metre or meter is the basic unit of length in the International System of Units . Historically, the metre was defined by the French Academy of Sciences as the length between two marks on a platinum-iridium bar, which was designed to represent one ten-millionth of the distance from the Equator...
s |
Main
span
feetA foot is a non-SI unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. Its size can vary from system to system, but in each is around a quarter to a third of a meter...
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Year opened |
 |
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Akashi-Kaikyō BridgeThe , also known as the Pearl Bridge, is the world's longest suspension bridge . It is located in Japan and was completed in 1998. The bridge links the city of Kobe on the mainland of Honshū to Iwaya on Awaji Island by crossing the busy Akashi Strait...
(The longest from 1998 to the present) |
Japan Kobeis the sixth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture and a prominent port city in Japan with a population of about 1.5 million. The city is located in the Kansai region of Japan and is part of the metropolitan area...
- Awaji Route, Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
|
1,991 |
6,529 |
1998 |
 |
* |
Xihoumen BridgeThe Xihoumen Bridge is a suspension bridge built on the Zhoushan Archipelago, the largest offshore island group in China. The main span was completed in December 2007. The entire bridge is scheduled for completion in October 2009...
|
China Zhoushan Archipelago, China |
1,650 |
5,414 |
2009? (see note above) |
 |
|
Great Belt Bridge (also known as the Storebælt Bridge; Danish: Storebæltsbroen) |
Denmark Halsskov-Sprogø Sprogø is a small, protected Danish island, which is located in the Great Belt, the strait that separates the main islands of Funen and Zealand...
, DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
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1,624 |
5,328 |
1998 |
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Runyang BridgeThe Runyang Bridge is a large bridge complex that crosses the Yangtze River in Jiangsu Province, China, downstream of Nanjing. The complex consists of two major bridges that link Zhenjiang on the south bank of the river and Yangzhou on the north. The bridge is part of the Beijing-Shanghai...
|| China
Yangtze RiverThe Yangtze River, or Chang Jiang , Tibetan: Bri-chu, is the longest river in China and Asia, and the third-longest in the world, after the Nile in Africa and the Amazon....
, China || 1,490 ||4,888 || 2005
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Humber BridgeThe Humber Bridge is the fifth-largest single-span suspension bridge in the world, near Kingston upon Hull in England. It spans the Humber between Barton-upon-Humber on the south bank and Hessle on the north bank, connecting the East Riding of Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire...
(The longest from 1981 until 1998)|| UK
Barton-upon-HumberBarton-upon-Humber or Barton is a small town in the North Lincolnshire district of Lincolnshire, England located on the south bank of the Humber Estuary, and at the end of the Humber Bridge. It lies east of Leeds, southwest of Hull and north northeast of the county town of Lincoln...
-
Kingston upon HullKingston upon Hull , almost invariably referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is located 25 miles from the North Sea on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary...
,
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
|| 1,410 || 4,626 || 1981
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* ||
Jiangyin Suspension BridgeThe Jiangyin Suspension Bridge is the most seaward bridge to cross the Yangtze River of China. It connects the cities of Jiangyin and Jingjiang. The main span of the bridge is meters long, making it the sixth-longest span suspension bridge in the world and the largest in China at the time of its...
|| China Yangtze River, China || 1,385 ||4,543 || 1999
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.jpg)
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Tsing Ma Bridge The Tsing Ma Bridge is a bridge in Hong Kong. It is the world's seventh-longest span suspension bridge. The bridge was named after two of the islands at its ends, namely Tsing Yi and Ma Wan . It has two decks and carries both road and rail traffic, which also makes it the largest suspension bridge...
(the longest carrying road and rail traffic) || Hong Kong
Tsing YiTsing Yi , or Tsing Yi Island is an island in the urban area of Hong Kong, to the northwest of Hong Kong Island and south of Tsuen Wan. With an area of 10.69 km², the island has extended drastically by reclamation along almost all its natural shore and the annexation of Nga Ying Chau and Chau Tsai...
-
Ma WanMa Wan is an island of Hong Kong, located between Lantau Island and Tsing Yi Island. The island belongs to Tsuen Wan District. It has an area of 0.96 km². It is today more well known as Park Island ....
,
Hong KongHong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a highly autonomous territory of the People's Republic of China, facing Guangdong to the north and the South China Sea to the east, west and south...
|| 1,377 ||4,518 || 1997
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Verrazano-Narrows BridgeThe Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge that connects the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City at the Narrows, the reach connecting the relatively protected upper bay with the larger lower bay....
(The longest from 1964 until 1981) || USA
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
(
BrooklynBrooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located southwest of Queens on the western tip of Long Island. An independent city until its consolidation with New York in 1898, Brooklyn is New York City's most populous borough, with 2.5 million residents, and second largest in area...
–
Staten IslandStaten Island is a borough of New York City in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
),
USAThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|| 1,298|| 4,260 || 1964
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Golden Gate BridgeThe Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. As part of both U.S...
(The longest from 1937 until 1964) || USA San Francisco-
Marin CountyMarin County is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2007, the population was 248,096. The county seat is San Rafael and the largest employer is the county government. Marin County is...
,
CACalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
, USA || 1,280|| 4,200 || 1937
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Linked photo ||
* || Yangluo Bridge || China Yangtze River, China || 1,280|| 4,200 || 2007
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Högakustenbron (High Coast Bridge)The High Coast Bridge is a suspension bridge crossing the mouth of the Ångermanälven river near Veda, on the border between the Härnösand and Kramfors municipalities in the province of Ångermanland in northern Sweden. The area is often referred to as The High Coast, hence its name...
|| Sweden Ångermanälven river ,
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
|| 1,210 ||3,970 || 1997
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Mackinac BridgeThe Mackinac Bridge , is a suspension bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac to connect the non-contiguous Upper and Lower peninsulas of the U.S. state of Michigan. Envisioned since the 1880s, the bridge was completed only after many decades of struggles to begin construction. Designed by engineer...
|| USA Mackinaw City - St. Ignace,
MichiganMichigan is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Ojibwe term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
USA || 1,158 ||3,800 || 1957
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Minami Bisan-Seto Bridge (Great Seto Bridge)The is a suspension bridge with a center span of . It is the 13th longest suspension bridge span in the world. The span carries roadway and the Seto-Ōhashi Line railway tracks. It is part of the Seto-Chuo Expressway and with the other 5 bridges along this route are collectively known as the...
|| Japan
KojimaKojima Engineering was a Japanese Formula One constructor who entered cars in the Japanese Grand Prix in 1976 and 1977.The team was founded in 1976 by Matsuhisa Kojima. Kojima had made a fortune importing bananas, and was a motor-racing enthusiast, having ridden in Motocross himself in the 1960s...
-Sakaide Route, Japan ||1,118 ||3,609 || 1989
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Linked photo || ||
Huangpu BridgeThe Huangpu Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge in the Guangzhou province in China.Its total length is 7,016 meter and the main span is 1,108 metres.It was opened for traffic in December 2008.-External links:**...
||
GuangzhouGuangzhou , in English formerly known as Canton and also known as Kwangchow, is a sub-provincial city and the capital of Guangdong Province in the southern part of the People's Republic of China.It is a port on the Pearl River,...
|| 1,108 || 3,635 || 2008
|-
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* ||
Fatih Sultan Mehmet (Second Bosporus Bridge)The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, also known as the Second Bosphorus Bridge , is a bridge in Istanbul, Turkey spanning the Bosphorus strait...
|| Turkey
IstanbulIstanbul is the largest city in Turkey and fifth largest city proper in the world with a population of 12.6 million. Istanbul is also a megacity, as well as the cultural and financial centre of Turkey. The city covers 39 districts of the Istanbul province...
,
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
|| 1,090 ||3,576 || 1988
|-
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* || Boğaziçi (First Bosporus Bridge) || Turkey Istanbul, Turkey || 1,074 ||3,524 || 1973
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George Washington BridgeThe George Washington Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting the Washington Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City to Fort Lee in New Jersey by means of Interstate 95, U.S. Route 1/9. U.S...
(The longest from 1931 until 1937) || USA
Fort LeeFort Lee is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 35,461.Fort Lee was formed by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 29, 1904, from the remaining portions of Ridgefield Township. With the creation of Fort Lee,...
,
NJNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
- New York City NY (Manhattan), USA || 1,067 ||3,500 || 1931
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|| || Third Kurushima-Kaikyo Bridge || Japan Onomichi-Imabari Route, Japan || 1,030 ||3,379 || 1999
|-
| || || Second Kurushima-Kaikyo Bridge || Japan Onomichi-Imabari Route, Japan || 1,020 ||3,346 || 1999
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* || Ponte 25 de Abril (Tagus Bridge) || Portugal
LisbonLisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal. It is also the seat of the district of Lisbon and the main city of the Lisbon region...
,
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
||1,013 ||3,323 || 1966
|-
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Forth Road BridgeThe Forth Road Bridge is a suspension bridge in east central Scotland. The bridge, built in 1964, spans the Firth of Forth; connecting the capital city Edinburgh, at South Queensferry, to Fife, at North Queensferry...
|| UK
Firth of ForthThe Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
, UK || 1,006 ||3,300 || 1964
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Kita Bisan-Seto Bridge (Great Seto Bridge)The is a suspension bridge with a center span of . It is the 19th largest suspension bridge in the world. The span carries roadway and the Seto-Ōhashi Line railway tracks. It is part of the Seto-Shuo Expressway and with the other 5 bridges along this route are collectively known as the...
|| Japan Kojima-Sakaide Route, Japan || 990 ||3,248 || 1988
|-
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Severn BridgeThe Severn Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the River Severn between South Gloucestershire, just north of Bristol, England, and Monmouthshire in South Wales, via Beachley, a peninsula between the River Severn and River Wye estuary. It is the original Severn road crossing between England and...
|| UK
River SevernThe River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at . It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales. It then flows through Shropshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, with the county towns of Shrewsbury, Worcester, and Gloucester...
, United Kingdom || 988 ||3,240 || 1966
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* ||
Yichang BridgeThe Yichang Bridge, or Yichang Yangtze Highway Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the Yangtze River a score or two kilometers downstream from the center city of Yichang, China...
|| China
YichangYichang is a prefecture-level city in Hubei province of China.-Administrative divisions:*Xiling District - includes the city center*Wujiagang District - southeastern parts of the urban area, and suburbs...
(Yangtze River), China || 960 ||3,150 || 2001
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Shimotsui-Seto Bridge (Great Seto Bridge)The is a suspension bridge with a center span of which connects Honshū with the island of Hitsuishijima. It is the 22nd largest suspension bridge in the world. The span carries roadway and the Seto-Ōhashi Line railway tracks...
|| Japan Kojima-Sakaide Route, Japan || 940 ||3,084 || 1988
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* ||
Xiling BridgeThe Xiling Bridge, or Xiling Yangtze Bridge , is a suspension bridge over the Yangtse River, just a few kilometers downstream from the Three Gorges Dam...
|| China Yichang (Yangtze River), China || 900 ||2,952 || 1996
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* ||
Humen Pearl River BridgeThe Humen Pearl River Bridge is a suspension bridge over the Pearl River in Guangdong Province, southern China. It connects the Nansha District of Guangzhou to Humen Town of Dongguan...
|| China
DongguanDongguan is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong province, People's Republic of China....
(
Pearl RiverThe Pearl River or less commonly, the "Guangdong River" , is China's third longest river , and second largest by volume . Located in the south, it flows into the South China Sea between Hong Kong and Macau...
),
GuangdongGuangdong is a province on the southern coast of People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
province, China || 888 ||2,913 || 1997
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Ohnaruto BridgeThe is a suspension bridge on the route connecting Kobe with Naruto, Tokushima, Japan. Completed in 1985, it has a main span of . Although it is one of the largest bridges in the world, it is dwarfed by the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, which is on the same route...
|| Japan Kobe-Naruto Route, Japan || 876 ||2,874 || 1985
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Tacoma Narrows BridgeThe 1950 Tacoma Narrows Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning The Narrows in Tacoma, Washington. Opened on October 14, 1950, it replaced a bridge of the same name, in the same location, that collapsed due to a windstorm on November 7, 1940.-Design:...
(westbound) || USA
TacomaTacoma is a mid-sized urban port city in and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park...
, WA, USA || 853 ||2,800|| 1950
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Tacoma Narrows BridgeThe Tacoma Narrows Bridge is a pair of mile-long suspension bridges in the U.S. state of Washington, which carry State Route 16 across the Tacoma Narrows between Tacoma and the Kitsap Peninsula. They replaced a bridge that was opened to traffic on July 1 1940 and which became famous four months...
(eastbound) || USA Tacoma, WA, USA || 853 ||2,800|| 2007
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* ||
Askøy BridgeThe Askøy Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the fjord of Byfjorden between the city of Bergen and Askøy in Hordaland county, Norway. Opened in December 1992, it has the longest bridge span in Norway. The bridge is 1057 metres long, with a main span of 850 metres. The maximum clearance to...
|| Norway Bergen,
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
|| 850 ||2,789 || 1992
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Innoshima BridgeThe is a Japanese suspension bridge, part of the 59 kilometer Nishi-Seto Expressway linking the islands of Honshū and Shikoku in the joint region of Suworen--Kokurū. Completed in 1983, it has a main span of and connects Mukaishima, Hiroshima with Innoshima, Hiroshima.-External links:*...
|| Japan Onomichi-Imabari Route, Japan || 770 ||2,526 || 1983
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* ||
Akinada BridgeThe is a suspension bridge in Hiroshima, Japan. Completed in 2000, it has a main span of 750 meters. It was constructed by PentaOcean Construction.-External links:*...
|| Japan Akinada Islands (
Hiroshimais the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It became the first city in history assaulted by nuclear armament when the United States of America dropped an atomic bomb on it on August 6, 1945, near the culmination...
Pref.), Japan || 750 ||2,461 || 2000
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* ||
Semipalatinsk BridgeThe Semipalatinsk Bridge is a gravity-anchored suspension bridge that crosses the Irtish river in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan. It has a main span of 750 meters and a total length of 1086 m.It was built 1998–2002 and is still in use.-External links:*...
|| Kazakhstan Semipalatinsk (
IrtyshThe Irtysh River is a river in Siberia and is the chief tributary of the river Ob. Its name means White River. It is actually longer than the Ob to their confluence. Irtysh's main affluent is Tobol River...
river),
KazakhstanKazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a country situated in Eurasia that is ranked as the ninth largest country in the world. It is also the world's largest landlocked country. Its territory of 2,727,300 km² is greater than Western Europe...
|| 750 ||2,461 || 2000
|-
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Al Zampa Memorial Bridge (New Carquinez Bridge)The Carquinez Bridge refers to two parallel bridges which cross the Carquinez Strait linking Vallejo, California to the north, with Crockett, California to the south. The bridges are signed as part of Interstate 80...
|| USA
Carquinez StraitThe Carquinez Strait is a narrow tidal strait in northern California. It is part of the tidal estuary of the Sacramento and the San Joaquin rivers as they drain into the San Francisco Bay...
, CA, USA ||728 ||2,388 || 2003
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* ||
Hakucho BridgeThe is a suspension bridge in Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan. Opened April 17 1998, it has a main span of 720 meters and is signed as part of Japan National Route 37.Several windmills line the bridge which provide lighting at night to the park golf link nearby....
|| Japan Muroran (
Hokkaidō, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island and the largest, northernmost of its 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshū, although the two islands are connected by the underwater Seikan Tunnel...
Pref.), Japan || 720 ||2,362 || 1998
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* ||
Angostura BridgeAngostura Bridge is a suspension bridge that spans the Orinoco River at Ciudad Bolívar, Venezuela. Built in 1967, it has a main span of 712 meters. Until the opening of the Second Orinoco crossing 100 km further downstream near Ciudad Guayana on 13 November 2006 it was the only bridge across...
|| Venezuela
Ciudad BolivarCiudad Bolívar is the capital of Venezuela's southeastern Bolivar State. It was founded with the name Angostura in 1764, renamed in 1846, and, as of 2005, had an estimated population of 338,250....
,
VenezuelaVenezuela , officially titled Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It is a continental mainland with numerous islands located off its coastline in the Caribbean Sea...
||712 ||2,336 || 1967
|-
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* ||
Kanmonkyo BridgeThe Kanmonkyo Bridge is a suspension bridge crossing the Kanmon Straits, a stretch of water separating two of Japan's four main islands...
|| Japan
Honshūor Honshu is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Strait...
-
Kyūshūor Kyushu is the 3rd-largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include Kyūkoku , Chinzei , and Tsukushi-no-shima...
, Japan || 712 ||2,336 || 1973
|-
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|| || San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge (Yerba Buena Island to anchorage) || USA San Francisco - Oakland, CA, USA || 704 ||2,310 || 1936
|-
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|| || San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge (San Francisco to anchorage) || USA San Francisco - Oakland, CA, USA || 704 ||2,310 || 1936
|-
| || || Bronx-Whitestone Bridge || USA New York, NY, (
The Bronx