Chronological Development of the World's Longest Bridge Span

 

Development of the world's longest span record is as accurate as major sources permit. Especially the span and the year of completion are approximate for the oldest  bridges. 

Longest Spans by Struct. Type

1. Development of The Span Record

 No.  Bridge Span [m]  Location, Country Year Structural Type Notes  

1

  Martorell 37  Spain 217 B.C.  Stone arch   
2  Trajan 52  Danube River, Romania 104 A.D.  Timber  1)
3 Yaxchilan 62  Usumacinta River, Mexico ca.600  A.D.  Hemp-rope  suspension  1)

4

 Trezzo

 72  Italy 1377

 Stone arch

  1)
5  Luding 103  Dadu River, China 1705  Iron chain  suspension   
6  Schaffhausen 119  Switzerland 1757  Timber  1), 2)
7  Schuylkill Falls 124  Philadelphia, PA, USA 1816  Suspension  1)
8  Union/Tweed 137  Berwick, UK 1820  Iron chain  suspension   
9  Menai Straits 177  Anglesey, UK 1826  Iron chain  suspension   

10

 Fribourg

273

  Switzerland

1834

 Suspension

  1)
11  Wheeling 308  West Virginia, USA 1849  Suspension   
12  Lewiston 318  Niagara River, USA 1851  Suspension  
13  Cincinnati 322  Ohio River, USA 1867  Suspension   
14  Clifton 386  Niagara Falls, USA/Canada 1869  Suspension  1)
15  Brooklyn 486  New York, NY, USA 1883  Suspension   
16  Firth of Forth 521  Edinburgh, UK 1890  Steel truss  2 spans
17  Quebec 549  Quebec City, Canada 1917  Steel truss   
18  Ambassador 564  Detroit, MI, USA 1929  Suspension   
19  George  Washington 1067  New York, NY, USA 1931  Suspension   
20  Golden Gate 1280  San Francisco, CA, USA 1937  Suspension   
21  Verrazano-Narrows 1298  New York, NY, USA 1964  Suspension   
22  Humber Estuary 1410  Kingston-upon-Hull, UK 1981  Suspension   
23  Akashi-Kaikyo 1991  Kobe-Naruto, Japan 1998  Suspension   

1) 

  Not standing

2) 

  119 m consisted of 2 spans, but the middle support was temporarily removed after completion
Updated 20.8.2012 Copyright ©  Juhani Virola Maintained by LBE

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Tables of longest bridge spans have been collected by Eur Ing-FEANI Juhani Virola You can freely copy and distribute tables provided that the authorship is mentioned by referring the author or URL of this page.
If you have any questions, corrections or  comments concerning these tables please,  contact the author.
back to top HUT       |   Department      |   LBE       |     BridgeLab@hut.fi Updated 3.2.2003