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World’s 10 Longest Bridges

A quick overview of the ten longest bridges in the world.

Updated on

May 29, 2024

The Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge in eastern China is the longest bridge in the world, showcasing the country’s dominance in long-span engineering.

What is the longest bridge in the world?

As stated above, the Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge is the world’s longest bridge.

Below is a list of the top 10 longest bridges on earth.

1. Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge, China

Length: 102 miles (164 km)

Located between Nanjing and Shanghai in the Jiangsu province of China, Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge, is by far the longest bridge in the world.

The long bridge that opened in June 2011 carries the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway across the Yangtze River delta, from Danyang to Kunshan.

Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge rises 100 metres above the ground and runs roughly parallel to the Yangtze River – navigating rice paddies and other wetlands.

Construction of the bridge commenced in 2006 and it took four years, 10,000 workers, and $8.5 billion in funding to complete the project.

2. Changhua–Kaohsiung Viaduct, Taiwan

Length: 97.78 miles (157.3km)

The Changhua–Kaohsiung Viaduct in Taiwan ranks second among the longest bridges in the world. The bridge is a part of the Taiwan High-Speed Railway.

Opened in 2007, the bridge runs from Baguashan in Changhua County to Zuoying in Kaohsiung. It moved 200 million passengers in its first five years of operation.

Changhua–Kaohsiung Viaduct. PHOTO | COURTESY

The railway, built over known fault lines, is designed to survive earthquakes and other natural devastations. It allows for trains to stop safely during quakes and for repairable damage during a maximum earthquake.

3. Cangde Grand Bridge, China

Length: 72.08 miles (116km)

Cangde Grand Bridge is the third longest bridge in the world.

The bridge has 3,092 piers and is also a part of the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway.

Completed in 2010, the Cangde Grand Bridge is designed to endure strong earthquakes and other natural catastrophes such as floods and hurricanes.

The bridge helps to cut the train travel across Hong Kong, Macau, and mainland China from three hours to just 30 minutes.

4. Tianjin Grand Bridge, China

Length: 70.21 miles (113.7km)

The Tianjin Grand Bridge is a viaduct located in China. The bridge – part of the Beijing-Shanghai railway – connects Langfang to Qingxian.

Completed in 2010, Tianjin Grand Bridge boasts a unique design of an elevated track that helped the builders avoid erecting many single structures for crossing railways and roads while shortening the construction timelines.

5. The Weinan Weihe Grand Bridge, China

Length: 49.54 miles (79.7km)

Weinan Weihe Grand Bridge is a railway that forms a portion of the Zhengzhou–Xi’an High-Speed Railway connecting Zhengzhou and Xi’an in China.

The bridge, which crosses the Wei River twice, required more than 2.3 million cubic meters of concrete and 45,000 tons of steel to be completed.

Weinan Weihe Grand Bridge. PHOTO | COURTESY

Upon completion in 2008, the Weinan Weihe Grand Bridge became the longest bridge in the world. However, it was quickly overtaken by the above four bridges.

The bridge remained idle from 2008 until February 6, 2010, when the railway was opened to passenger and cargo trains.

6. Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge, Hong Kong

Length: 34.18 miles (55km)

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is the latest kid on the block.

Completed in 2018 at $18.8 billion, the bridge that connects Hong Kong and Macao is the longest sea bridge in the world.

It is also the longest open-sea fixed link in the world.

Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao-Bridge. PHOTO | COURTESY

The bridge consists of three cable-stayed bridges, an undersea tunnel, and four artificial islands – making it a very stunning bridge.

Construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao-Bridge began in December 2009 and the entire project was finalized on February 6, 2018.

7. Bang Na Expressway, Thailand

Length: 33.55 miles (54km)

The Bang Na Expressway in Thailand is one of the longest bridges that do not pass over a water body – only crossing over the Bang Pakong River.

The six-lane elevated highway, also known as Bang Pakong Expressway, ranks seventh in the general category of the longest bridges in the world.

The highway, built using more than 1,800,000 cubic meters of concrete, is raised onto a viaduct that spans 42 meters on average.

Bang Na Expressway was the world’s longest bridge from 2000 until 2004. It now holds the title of the longest road bridge in the world.

8. Beijing Grand Bridge, China

Length: 29.96 miles (48.2km)

Beijing Grand Bridge in China ranks eighth among the world’s longest bridges.

The bridge is a part of the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway from Beijing to Shanghai. It was completed in 2010 and opened to traffic in 2011.

Beijing Grand Bridge in China. PHOTO | COURTESY

9. Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, USA

Length: 24 miles (38.63km)

Located in Louisiana, USA, Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is the longest bridge in the US and the world’s second longest continuous bridge passing over water.

It comprises two parallel bridges, the longest of which measures 38.63km.

Lake Pontchartrain Causeway was the world’s longest sea bridge from 1969 to 2018 when the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge took over.

Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. PHOTO | COURTESY

The causeway has survived many hurricanes, including Hurricane Katrina in 2005 – which caused highway damages of an estimated $3 billion.

10. Line 1, Wuhan Metro Bridge, China

Length: 23.4 miles (37.7km)

Line 1 of Wuhan Metro is an elevated metro line in Wuhan – the capital of the Hubei province of China – carrying an elevated light rail through the city.

Line 1 of Wuhan Metro – which opened in 1995 and re-opened in 2004 after renovations in 2003 – is the world’s longest unbroken metro viaduct.

When it opened in July 2004, Line 1 made Wuhan the fifth city in mainland China to have a metro system after Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.