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Sunday, February 16, 2014

TOP FIVE WORLD'S MOST AMAZING BRIDGES

Bridges are meant to provide passages, connecting one place to another in order to overcome physical obstacles like water valley or road. Generally, it is an impressive piece of architecture indeed but apart from being a basic structure, some of them becomes a tourist attraction due to their unique designs and one of a kind appearance. Listed below are five of the most amazing bridges in the world. Have fun! (This is a revised list from my 2009 entry).
TOP FIVE WORLD'S MOST AMAZING BRIDGES
Author's Note : This Entry is listed subjectively. It covers bridges from any category (road, continuous, rail and more)

TOP 5 WORLD'S MOST AMAZING BRIDGE
"HANDERSON WAVES"
(SINGAPORE)
Handerson Waves is one of the major attractions found in the Southern Ridges in Singapore. At a height of 36 metres or 12 storeys from the road, it is considered to be the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore. It connects Mount Faber Park and Telok Blangah Hill Park. The bridge has a wave-form made up of seven undulating curved steel ribs that alternately rise over and under its deck. The curved ribs form alcoves that function as shelters with seats within. Slats of yellow balau wood, an all-weather timber found in Southeast Asia, are used in the decking. The wave-forms are lit with LED lamps at night from 7pm to 2am daily. It is considered as one of the most beautiful pedestrian bridges. 

TOP 4 WORLD'S MOST AMAZING BRIDGE
"BANPO BRIDGE"
(SOUTH KOREA)
Banpo is a major bridge in downtown Seoul over the Han River, South Korea, connecting the Seocho and Yongsan districts. The bridge is on top of Jamsu Bridge, forming the upper half of a double-deck bridge; it is the first double deck bridge built in South Korea. On September 9, 2008, the Bridge got a major facelift and 10,000-nozzle fountain that runs all the way on both sides were installed which is later called the Moonlight Fountain which holds the Guinness World Record for being the world's longest bridge fountain. Immediately after being installed, the bridge turned into a major tourist attraction, as the bridge pumps out 190 tons of water per minute using the water from the river below. 

TOP 3 WORLD'S MOST AMAZING BRIDGE
"NANPU BRIDGE"
(CHINA)
Nope, this is not a Hot Wheels Track. The Nanpu Bridge across Huangpu river is one of the main bridges in Shanghai, China, and the first cable stayed bridge with a span of over 400 meter in the country. One of the attractive characteristics of the bridge is the circular design that is implemented in order to reduce the gradient of the approach to the bridge. When viewed across the entire span, the Nanpu Bridge, with a total length of 8,346 meter, looks like a dragon lying across the Huangpu River, with its head and tail in a spiral shape linking the old city area of Puxi with Pudong Developing Zone. Cool isn't (photo credits to http://www.paulreiffer.com/2014/01/somewhere-over-the-rainbow-shanghais-nanpu-bridge/)

TOP 2 WORLD'S MOST AMAZING BRIDGE
"DANYANG-KUNSHAN GRAND BRIDGE"
(CHINA)
The Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge is the world's longest bridge. It is a 164.8-kilometre (102.4 mi) long viaduct on the Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway. Another part of that train line, the 70.8-mile (114-km) long Langfang–Qingxian viaduct, is the second longest bridge in the world. It was completed in 2010 and opened in 2011. Employing 10,000 people, construction took four years and cost about $8.5 billion. Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge currently holds the Guinness World Record for the longest bridge in the world in any category as of June 2011.

THE WORLD'S MOST AMAZING BRIDGE
"MILLAU BRIDGE"
(FRANCE)
Millau Bridge or Millau Viaduct is a cable-stayed bridge that spans the valley of the River Tarn near Millau in southern France. Designed by the French structural engineer Michel Virlogeux and British architect Norman Foster, it is the tallest bridge in the world with one mast's summit at 343.0 metres (1,125 ft) above the base of the structure. It is the 12th highest bridge deck in the world, being 270 metres (890 ft) between the road deck and the ground below. The bridge has been consistently ranked as one of the great engineering achievements of all time. The bridge received the 2006 International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering Outstanding Structure Award. While it may provide picturesque views of the valley below, once the mist descends it is not a route for the faint hearted! It is also the world's tallest vehicular bridge.  

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