Kintaikyo,
Iwakuni
,
Japan
The
original
Kintai
Bridge
was
built
in
1673
but
collapsed
due
to
flooding.
The
rebuilt
bridge
survived
for
more
than
200
years
until
a
typhoon destroyed it in 1950. The bridge that stands now over the
Nishiki River has five wooden arches displaying an incredible amount of
detail and craftmanship. Interesting fact: no nails or bolts have
been
used to build the arches, only clamps and wires..
Juscelino
Kubitschek
Bridge
,
Brasilia
,
Brazil
The
JK
Bridge
in
Brasilia
is
a
lesson
in
elegant
bridge
design.
The
three
huge
diagonal
arches
over
the
deck
of
the bridge give the
structure an amazing visual fluidity.
Rolling
Bridge,
London
,
UK
Thomas
Heatherwick's
award-winning
rolling
bridge
is
an
ingenious
addition
to
the
grand
union
canal
system
in
London
and
is
unique.
Unlike
regular
movable
canal
bridges, the rolling bridge curls up to form an octagon
by way of hydraulic jacks to let ships pass.
Beipanjiang
River
Railroad
Bridge,
Guizhou
,
China
Beipanjiang
River
Railroad
Bridge
in
Guizhou
is
an
enormous
railway
bridge
that
was
built
as
part
of
the
'Guizhou-Shuibai
Railway
Project'.
Connecting
two
mountains
over a deep ravine, at its highest point the bridge's deck
sits 918 ft above the ground. Parenthetically the bridge connects
two
of the country's poorest areas.
Henderson
Waves,
Southern
Ridges,
Singapore
'Henderson
Waves'
is
Singapore
's
highest
pedestrian
bridge
and
is
at
the
'Southern
Ridges,'
a
beautiful
9
km
(six
miles)
stretch
of
gardens and
parks. The deck of the bridge is made from thousands of Balau
wood
slats, perfectly cut and arranged, and along the length of the deck a
snaking, undulating shell forms sheltered seating areas on every upward
curve.
Pont
Gustave
Flaubert,
Rouen
,
France
This
incredible
vertical
lift
bridge
is
in
Rouen
,
France
,
whose
spans
weigh
1,200
tons
each
but
can
be
hoisted
180
ft vertically in an
impressive 12 minutes. The angular lift structures at the top of
each
tower weigh 450 tons each. The huge vertical lift allows even the
largest cruise liners to sail through.
Hegigio
Gorge
Pipeline
Bridge
,
Southern
Highlands
Province
,
Papua
New
Guinea
This
bridge
supports
two
pipelines;
one
gas,
the
other
oil,
across
the
extremely
deep
gap
in
Papua
New
Guinea
.
If
this
were to be
officially
recognized as a vehicular or pedestrian bridge it would rocket to the
top of the 'world's highest bridge-span' with the pipelines at an
impressive height of 1,290 ft above the bottom of the gorge. By
comparison, the current highest bridge span belongs to the Royal Gorge
Bridge in Colorado , hanging a mere 1,053 ft above ground level.