Top 10 Longest Bridges Worldwide You Might Want to Know

The Seven Mile Bridge is a bridge in the Florida Keys, in Monroe County, Florida, United States. It connects Knight's Key (part of the city of Marathon, Florida) in the Middle Keys to Little Duck Key in the Lower Keys. Among the longest bridges still existing when it was built, it is part of the Overseas Highway in the Keys, a section of U.S. Route 1. There are two bridges at this location. The modern bridge is open to vehicular traffic; the older one is only for pedestrians and cyclists. The older bridge, originally known as the Knights Key-Pigeon Key-Moser Channel-Pacet Channel Bridge, was built from 1909 to 1912 under the direction of Henry Flagler and Clarence S. Coe as part of the Florida East Coast Railway's Overseas Railroad.

After the railway was damaged by the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, the route was sold to the United States government, which refurbished The Seven Mile Bridge for automobile use. Unsupported sections were added in 1935 to widen it for vehicular traffic. The dismantled railway was recycled, painted white, and used as a railing. It has a swing span to allow boat traffic through the Moser Channel of the Intracoastal Waterway, near where the bridge crosses Pigeon Key, a small island that housed a work camp for Flagler's railroad. Hurricane Donna in 1960 caused additional damage. The current roadway bridge was constructed from 1978 to 1982.

Linking Prince Edward Island, Eastern Canada, to New Brunswick, with a length of 8 miles (equivalent to 12.9 km), The Confederation Bridge rightfully stands as one of the longest bridges in the world today. Confederation is deemed one of Canada's most outstanding construction achievements of the 20th century. The bridge construction extended from fall 1993 to spring 1997 with a cost of 1 billion dollars and the dedicated effort of over 5000 engineers and workers. From its inauguration on May 31, 1997, to the present day, this grand construction project has garnered numerous prestigious awards.

This bridge is a toll two-lane road on the Trans-Canada Highway between Borden - Carleton, Prince Edward Island (at Highway 1) and Cape Jourimain, New Brunswick (at Highway 16). It is a multi-span balanced cantilever concrete box girder structure. The majority of the bridge is arched at a height of 40 meters above the water with a navigational clearance of 60 m for passing vessels. The bridge sits on 62 piers, with 44 main piers spaced 250 m apart. The bridge is 11 m wide. The speed limit on the bridge is 80 km/h but may vary depending on wind and weather conditions. When traveling at the permitted speed, it takes about 12 minutes to cross the bridge.

The San Mateo - Hayward Bridge (commonly known as the San Mateo Bridge) is a bridge spanning California's San Francisco Bay, connecting the San Francisco Peninsula with the East Bay. The western terminus of the bridge is in Foster City, a suburb on the eastern edge of San Mateo. The eastern terminus of the bridge is in Hayward. It is the longest bridge in California and the 25th longest in the world by length. The bridge is owned by the state of California, and maintained by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the state's highway agency. The Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) oversees toll operations. The bridge is part of State Route 92 (SR 92), with its western terminus at Half Moon Bay in the Pacific Ocean coast. It links Interstate 880 (I-880) at the East Bay with U.S. Route 101 (US 101) on the peninsula. It is nearly parallel and lies between the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge and the Dumbarton Bridge.

The bridge is considered one of the worst commutes in the Bay Area, culminating with the completion of a new eastbound span serving westbound traffic in 2002. Traffic on the eastbound span completely took over the old bridge, although eastbound traffic. lanes were not expanded to three lanes until February 2003. Tolls are only collected from westbound traffic at the eastern toll plaza of the bridge. As of January 2019, the toll for passenger vehicles is $6. For vehicles with more than two axles, the toll is $6 per axle. Drivers can pay with cash or use the FasTrak electronic toll collection device. During peak traffic hours, the two left lanes are designated HOV lanes, allowing carpool vehicles with two or more occupants or motorcycles to pass for a fee of $3 for some drivers. The next three lanes are dedicated FasTrak lanes. During off-peak hours, the two HOV lanes become dedicated FasTrak lanes.

The Penang Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge in Malaysia, linking Gelugor on Penang Island and Seberang Prai on the mainland of the Malay Peninsula. The bridge is also linked to the North-South Expressway in Prai and the Tun Dr. Lim Chong Eu Expressway in Penang. The bridge officially opened to traffic on September 14, 1985. The total length of the bridge is 13.5 km, making it the second longest bridge in Malaysia after the Penang Second Bridge and the fifth longest in Southeast Asia.

The Penang Second Bridge, also known as the Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge, is a cable-stayed bridge in Malaysia, connecting Gelugor on Penang Island and Seberang Prai on the mainland of the Malay Peninsula. The bridge has a total length of 250m, with the northern span over the strait being 17 km long, and a navigational clearance height of 30m to accommodate large vessels easily, with the northern span over the strait being 17 km long. The bridge has two main towers and three main piers connected by lead spans, with a deck width of 29.8m arranged into four lanes of two-way traffic, and a lead span width of 35.6m. The entire bridge is 24km long, with the northern span over the strait being 17km long.

Rio - Niteroi Bridge, also known as President Costa e Silva Bridge, is a box girder bridge spanning Guanabara Bay, in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It connects the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Niterói. It is currently the second longest bridge in Latin America, after the Metro Line 1 bridge, and the 48th longest in the world as of 2020. From its completion in 1974 until 1985, it was the second longest bridge in the world. A box girder rigid bridge (a bridge with large girder dimensions to withstand forces) linking the two major cities of Rio de Janeiro and Niteroi in Brazil, the Rio - Niteroi Bridge has a length of 8.25 miles equivalent to 13.29 km. During a royal visit to Brazil, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip participated in the bridge's groundbreaking ceremony on August 23, 1968, and by April 1974, the Rio - Niteroi Bridge was officially completed. The Rio - Niteroi Bridge is officially named the 'President Costa e Silva Bridge' after the Brazilian president who proposed its construction. Approximately 140,000 vehicles cross the bridge each day.

The bridge was constructed by a consortium of Brazilian companies led by Camargo Correa SA (for concrete works) and Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company and Redpath Dorman Long along with Montreal Engenharia from Brazil (for steel spans). It stretches 13.29 km - 8.836 km over water, and the central span of the bridge is 300 m long and 72 m high to allow hundreds of ships to enter the bay each month. At the time of completion, the central span was the longest box girder in the world, it was surpassed by the main span of 301 meters of the Stolma Bridge (1998) and the main span of 330 meters of the second Shibanpo Bridge (2006). It carries 140,000 vehicles daily, which have to pay a single fare upon entering Niterói of R$ 4.30 (as of June 2018), about US$1.10, GBP £0.85 or €0.97. It has 18 access points and eight overpasses.

The official name of Chesapeake Bay Bridge is the William Preston Lane, Jr. Memorial Bridge and commonly referred to as the Bay Bridge, it is a bridge connecting the Eastern Shore and the Western Shore regions of the United States. Spanning 17.6 miles, the Bay Bridge is a marvel of human construction and has been recognized as one of the 7 man-made wonders of the world. It takes 25 minutes to traverse the length of this magnificent bridge. Currently, the Bay Bridge is a popular tourist attraction in Maryland, USA. As of January 2021, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge - Tunnel has seen over 140 million vehicles pass through. The CBBT complex carries U.S. Route 13, the primary north-south highway on Virginia's Eastern Shore peninsula and is part of the historic U.S. East Coast Highway, providing the only direct link along the East Coast and the Atlantic Ocean, between the Eastern Shore and Hampton Roads, as well as an alternate route to connect the Northeastern United States midpoint with Norfolk and further south to the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida.

From 1995 to 1999, at an additional cost of nearly $200 million, the capacity of the surface portion of the bridge was increased and expanded to four lanes. Currently, a two-lane tunnel upgrade is underway. The bridge-tunnel officially bears the name Lucius J. Kellam Jr. Bridge-Tunnel since August 1987, 23 years after its opening, honoring one of the long-standing civic leaders associated with the school's development, construction, and operation. However, it continues to be known by the moniker Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. The complex is built and operated by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel District, a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia administered and overseen by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel Commission in cooperation with the Virginia Department of Transportation. Costs are recouped through tolls. In 2002, a study by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) authorized by the Virginia General Assembly concluded that 'due to the state's inability to fund future capital requirements of the CBBT, the District and Commission should be retained to operate and maintain the Bridge-Tunnel as a permanent toll facility.'

Vasco da Gama Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge across the Tagus River in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. It is the longest bridge in Europe, with a total length of 17.2 km. This bridge is the longest in Europe still in use with a total length of 17.185 km, including 0.8 km for the main bridge and 11.5 km on land, with 4.8 km of dedicated access road. Its purpose is to alleviate congestion on Lisbon's other bridge (25 de Abril Bridge) and connect to previously unrelated highways radiating from Lisbon. Construction began in February 1995, and the bridge was opened to traffic on March 29, 1998, during the International 98 Exhibition, the World Expo held to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Vasco da Gama's discovery of the sea route from Europe to India.

The Vasco da Gama Bridge has six lanes, with a speed limit of 120 km/h, similar to a highway, except for a portion of it which is limited to 100 km/h. On windy, rainy, and foggy days, the speed limit is reduced to 90 km/h. The number of lanes will be expanded to eight when traffic reaches an average of 52,000 vehicles per day. The bridge has an expected lifespan of 120 years, designed to withstand wind speeds of 250 km/h and remain stable during an earthquake up to 4.5 times the historic 1755 Lisbon earthquake (estimated around 8.7 on the Richter scale). The deepest foundation piles, up to 2.2 m in diameter, have been driven down to 95 m below mean sea level. Environmental preservation pressure has led to the expansion of the bridge's land-side shoulder inward to preserve the marsh below, as well as the tilting of the bridge's light poles inward to avoid illuminating the river below.

Donghai Bridge held the title of the world's longest sea-crossing bridge until the completion of Hangzhou Bay Bridge on May 1, 2008. It was finished on December 10, 2005. The bridge spans a total length of 32.5 kilometers (20.2 miles), connecting mainland Shanghai with Yangshan Deepwater Port in China. Almost the entire bridge structure sits low. There are also several cable-stayed sections to allow large vessels to pass through, with the longest span being 420 meters.

Donghai Bridge, also known as the East Sea Bridge, is China's first sea-crossing bridge. It held the record as the world's longest sea-crossing bridge until Hangzhou Bay Bridge surpassed it. The bridge features six lanes and was opened to the public in late 2005. Stretching across the East China Sea, the cable-stayed bridge connects Shanghai with Yangshan Island, making it the area's first free-trade port. While Donghai Bridge only retained the title of the world's longest sea-crossing bridge for a few years before Hangzhou Bay Bridge was completed in 2008, it still proudly stands as the first sea-crossing bridge in the region.

The idea of building a bridge was based on enhancing the connectivity and relationship between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Maritime surveys began in 1968, construction commenced in 1981, and it continued until officially opening to the public in 1986. Since its completion in 1986, the causeway has facilitated commerce and strengthened cultural and social ties between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The idea of constructing a bridge linking Bahrain to the eastern region of Saudi Arabia has attracted the two kingdoms for generations. This idea originated during the formal visit to Bahrain in 1954 and the desire of King Saud to foster and further strengthen the bond between the two peoples. In 1965, the plan to construct the causeway officially took shape when Sheikh Khalifah ibn Sulman Al Khalifah, the Prime Minister of Bahrain, visited the then reigning King Faisal, expressing a desire to move forward.

With a length of 28 km and 4 lanes, King Fahd Causeway is the bridge connecting Saudi Arabia to the island kingdom of Bahrain. On November 11, 1982, the rulers of both Arab nations and Bahrain officially laid the first stone for the bridge's construction. After 4 years of construction, the causeway was completed in 1986 with a total cost of 1.2 billion dollars fully supported by Saudi Arabia. As of March 8, 2020, due to the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the causeway was temporarily closed to all passenger traffic to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus between the two countries. Commercial cargo trucks were still allowed to cross the border after strict screening. The causeway reopened on July 23, 2020, and the Saudi Arabian embassy in Bahrain announced that citizens could return to the Kingdom via the King Fahd Highway without prior permission. On September 10, 2020, the causeway was listed as closed to most non-commercial traffic on the website of the U.S. Embassy in Bahrain.

The Lake Pontchartrain High Bridge is a bridge spanning Lake Pontchartrain (Louisiana, USA), with a total length of 38 km connecting the two cities of Metairie and St. Tammany Parish. The first project connecting the South - North shores was constructed in 1956, consisting of 2 two-way lanes, with a total cost of $30.7 million USD. By 1969, an additional 2 lanes were added, dividing the bridge into 2 separate one-way lanes, at a cost of $26 million USD. On average, over 30,000 vehicles participate in traffic on the bridge daily. At mile 16, the bridge can be raised and opened for large vessels to pass through.

Since 1969, the bridge has been listed in the Guinness World Records as the longest bridge over water in the world, until 2011 when the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge in China was inaugurated, Guinness created two types of records for bridges over water: Continuous length and total length over water. The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway then became the longest bridge over water (continuous) while the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge became the longest bridge over water. Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Bridge is recognized as the longest bridge over a lake in the world by Guinness, and it is a must-visit destination for any traveler to the United States.