Suspension bridges themselves are the greatest achievement of engineering. But some engineers and bridge builders managed to amaze the world with their ingenuity and courage and build incredibly long structures that connect riverbanks, different mountains, valleys, etc.
Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge
This bridge is not for weaklings. It was opened on August 20, 2016, and at that time it was the longest suspension bridge with a glass bottom. The bridge is 430 meters long and 6 meters wide. It is suspended about 300 meters above the ground, just imagine the picture you can see on the bridge under your feet! By the way, at the same time take a look at this view while on the bridge. there can be no more than 800 people. This is the maximum load capacity of the structure.
To bridge the canyon between two mountain cliffs in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in northwestern Hunan Province, engineers installed four support pillars along the edges of the canyon walls. The trail itself was made of a metal frame with more than 120 glass panels. Each of these panels consists of three layers of tempered glass, which is 5.1 centimeters thick.
The bridge has become a real entertainment destination for tourists. The bravest can swing on the swing attached to it, as well as perform a 285-meter bungee jump!
Charles Kuonen Bridge
On July 29, 2017, the world was shocked by the news that in Switzerland, near the resort town of Zermatt in the canton of Valais, the world’s longest suspension bridge for pedestrians opened — its length was 494 meters. Only unlike the Chinese structure, its bottom is made not of glass, but of boards. But you can also look at your feet on it: through the gap between these boards you can see the bottom of the valley.
The trail runs at an altitude of 1600 to 2200 m above sea level and at an altitude of 85 meters above the deepest valley in Switzerland. It uses 8 tons of cables, which are equipped with a special system that prevents the bridge from swinging. According to some reports, the construction of the bridge took about 730 thousand Swiss francs! This is slightly less than 79 million rubles.
The bridge can be crossed in just 10 minutes, so pedestrians can move from one point of the valley to another in such a short time.
Aroka Bridge 516
The name of this bridge in Portugal is actually quite logical: the Arches is an urban—type settlement, 516 is the length of the structure in meters. It is suspended at an altitude of 175 m above the level of the Paiva River and connects both its banks.
Construction of the bridge began in May 2018 and its construction took a little less than three years. Access to the bridge is possible either from Canelas (municipality in Mexico) or from Alvarenga (municipality in Brazil), but it is impossible to cross the bridge just like that — groups of visitors are always accompanied by a guide. According to the authorities, the bridge was built in order to revive the region, whose economy suffered in the years before the Covid-19 pandemic and almost completely collapsed during it.
Golden Gandaki Pedestrian Bridge
A year before the Aroka 516 Bridge opened in Portugal, the Baglung Parbat Bridge opened in Nepal, which is located 300 kilometers from Kathmandu at an altitude of 122 meters above the Kaligandaki River. Its length is 567 meters.
The bridge has a load capacity of 85 tons, 612 people can be on it at the same time! Initially, it was planned to open the trail in October 2020, but the builders handed over the project ahead of schedule — in July. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, they did not decide to open the bridge at the same time, this moment was postponed for several months.
Golden Gandaki Pedestrian Bridge
Despite such a flashy name, no gold was used in its construction. Except that the adjective “golden” was used figuratively: the estimated cost of the bridge according to the Nepalese government was 69,100,000 Nepalese rupees (almost 49 million rubles).
Sky Bridge 721
Today, this suspension bridge is the longest in the world! Based on the name, you can determine its length — 721 meters. But the width is quite small — only 1.2 meters, for this reason, traffic on the track is carried out only in one direction. Up to 500 tourists can travel across the bridge at a time.
The transition trail connects two mountain ranges in the village of Dolni Morava, Czech Republic, and is located at an altitude of 95 meters above ground level and about 1110 meters above sea level. It was built over 2 years, and approximately $8.4 million was spent on it.
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