Aizhai bridge – World’s longest bridge

Aizhai bridge is the world’s longest and highest bridge. The Aizhai Bridge is a suspension bridge on the G65 Baotou-Maoming Expressway near Jishou, Hunan, China. The bridge was built as part of an expressway from southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality to Changsha. Aizhai Bridge is 336 m (1,102 ft.) high and has a 1,176 m (3,858 ft.) span, making it the world’s highest and longest suspension bridge. It connects two traffic tunnels in the mountains, cutting the time needed to traverse the canyon beyond it from 30 minutes to 1.

Construction on the Aizhai Bridge has taken nearly five years, began in October 2007 and was completed by the end of 2011, ahead of schedule. The bridge was temporarily opened to pedestrians during the 2012 Spring Festival and was formally opened to traffic in March 2012.

A brave worker put the final touches on the Anzhaite Long-span Suspension Bridge.

The ambitious structure is 336m high and 1176m long.

The bridge, which connects to two tunnels, was built to ease traffic

Drivers can take in the views of the Dehang Canyon as they steer their way across all 3,858ft of the new sky-high road which links two tunnels

People and traffic stream across the Anzhaite Long-span Suspension Bridge during the opening ceremony. Once on the bridge cars and lorries can motor along a two-way, four-lane motorway at about 50mph. Pedestrians can also walk along it on a special walkway under the road.

The bridge is a key part of the Jishou-Chadong Expressway, a 64-kilometre road which has 18 different tunnels which cover about half of its length. It is hoped the bridge will help ease traffic jams which are common in the mountainous area which has narrow, steep and winding roads.

The structure is supported by a base 78ft wide. China is has the longest bridge in the world, the Danyang Kunshan Grand Bridge which is just over 100miles long and was built two years ago to carry the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway.