The 10 Longest Arch Bridges in the World...

Arch bridges are one of the oldest types of bridges. The oldest known bridge in the world known to still be in use is the Caravan Bridge, a stone arch bridge across the Meles River in Izmir, Turkey. It was built in 850 B.C.

Roman engineers built many arch bridges, quite a few of which are still standing. Probably the most famous is the Pont du Gard, an aqueduct bridge in southern France. Built in the first century A.D., it features three tiers of limestone arches and stands 48 meters high and 275 m long.

The Alcantara Bridge, a stone arch bridge built by the Romans in Spain in 106 A.D., has been repaired numerous times after suffering damage during various wars, but it is still serving pedestrians. It is 45 m high and 182 m long.

The oldest bridge in the city of Rome itself is the Pons Fabricius, a 62-m-long stone arch bridge over the Tiber River, built in 62 A.D., that is still in use by pedestrians.

Many arch bridges from the Medieval and Renaissance periods are still functioning as well. The Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy, consists of three segmental arches: The main arch has a span of 30 m, and each of the two side arches spans 27 m. It was rebuilt in 1345, replacing earlier versions that were destroyed by flooding.

One of the architectural icons of Venice, Italy, is the Rialto Bridge, erected in 1591 over the Grand Canal. Built of white marble, it features two ramps leading to a central portico.

The first arch bridge to be made of cast iron, the Iron Bridge in Shropshire, England, opened in 1781 and is still in use by pedestrians today.

There are three major types of arch bridges. The oldest is the deck arch bridge, or common arch bridge, in which the bridge deck is on top of the arch. The stone arch bridges built by the Romans are of this type.

The use of cast iron and steel enabled engineers to develop the through arch bridge, where the bridge deck travels below part of the arch, and is suspended from cables or tie bars. Eight of the ten longest arch bridges in the world (see related slide show) are of this type (the other two bridges are both deck arches).

The third major type of arch bridge is the tied arch (or bowstring arch), where the horizontal forces of the arch are borne as tension by the bottom chord (the deck itself, or tie rods), rather than by the ground or the bridge foundations. The longest tied arch bridge in the world is the Caiyuanba Bridge in China, with a main span of 420 m.

One of the most noteworthy arch bridges built in the U.S. in recent years is the Hoover Dam Bypass (officially named the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge). Completed in 2010, it soars 323 m across the Black Canyon on the Arizona-Nevada border directly downstream from the Hoover Dam. It features a composite design, using concrete for the arch and columns and steel construction for the roadway deck. At a height of 270 m above the Colorado River, it is America's longest single-arch concrete crossing, and also the second highest bridge in the U.S.

It was designed by a team led by HDR Inc., that included Jacobs Engineering unit Sverdrup Civil and T.Y. Lin International. It was built by a joint venture team of Obayashi Corp. and PSM Construction USA Inc., a unit of PS Mitsubishi Construction Co. Ltd. The team erected two 330-m-tall lattice-framed cableway towers that supported 3-in.-dia. cableways that maneuvered the precast concrete arch segments into position.

The world's longest cathedral arch bridge is the Galena Creek Bridge in Nevada. Its main span is 210 m. It opened in 2012. Cathedral arch bridges are structures in which the vertical load bearing occurs only at the peak of the arch.

One of the most significant bridges currently under construction in India is the Chenab Bridge, a railway bridge in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. A 1.3-km-long span, it will consist of two ribbed arches of steel trusses and will have a main span of 469 m. At 359 m above the riverbed, it will be the tallest rail bridge in the world when it is completed in 2016.

In Dubai the United Arab Emirate's Roads and Transport Authority has plans to build a world-record-length arch bridge, to be called the Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Crossing. Its main span will be 609 m, and it will carry six lanes of traffic in each direction and a metro line over Dubai Creek. It has been designed by FXFOWLE. The project has been on hold for several years.

1.    Chaotianmen Bridge, 552-m main span, China. The Chaotianmen Bridge straddles the mighty Yangtze River in Chongqing in central China, a short distance below where the Jialing River joins the Yangtze. It is a continuous steel truss arch bridge with tie girders, and has a main span of 552 m. It is a real workhorse, carrying six lanes of traffic and two pedestrian walkways on its upper deck, and two light rail lines and four vehicular lanes on its lower deck. It was designed by the design institute of China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group and the Chongqing Communications Research & Design Institute. It was built by the China Communications 2nd Navigational Bureau 2nd Engineering Co., Ltd., and completed in 2009.

2.  Lupu Bridge, 550-m main span, China. The Lupu Bridge is a through arch bridge over the Huangpu River in Shanghai. It connects the city’s Luwan and Pudong districts. It carries six lanes of the North-South Elevated Road, which intersects with the Inner Ring Road on the Puxi side of the river. It was designed by the Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute, and built by the Shanghai Foundation Engineering Co. of the Shanghai Construction Group. It was completed in 2003. It is a popular tourist attraction. Visitors ride an elevator from the bridge’s base to the deck, and then climb 327 steps along the arch to an observation deck.

3. Bosideng Bridge, 530-m main span, China. The Bosideng Bridge is the longest concrete-filled-steel tubular arch bridge in the world. Completed in 2012, it carries the G93 Chengdu-Chongqing Ring Expressway across the Yangtze River in Sichuan Province.

4. New River Gorge Bridge, 518-m main span, West Virginia. The New River Gorge Bridge is a steel arch bridge over the New River Gorge near Fayetteville. Completed in 1977, it was the world’s longest single-span arch bridge until 2003. The deck is 876 ft above the New River. It was the highest vehicular bridge in the world when it opened, and is currently the third-highest in the U.S. It was designed the Michael Baker Co. and built by U.S. Steel’s American Bridge division. It is made of Cor-Ten steel, a variety of steel alloy that was developed to resist corrosion and avoid the need for painting.

5. Bayonne Bridge, 510-m main span, New York-New Jersey. A steel arch bridge, the Bayonne Bridge links Bayonne, N.J., with Staten Island, N.Y. It was designed by noted bridge designer Othmar Ammann and architect Cass Gilbert, and opened in 1931. It spans the Kill Van Kull, a tidal strait connecting Newark Bay with Upper New York Bay, which is the main entryway for container ships destined for Port Newark. In order to accommodate larger post-Panamax ships that will be using the newly expanded Panama Canal, the Port of New York and New Jersey, the bridge’s owner, is raising the bridge’s roadway by 64 ft. A joint venture of Skanska Koch and Kiewit Infrastructure Co. were awarded a $743 million contract, and work began in 2013. A new roadway will be built above the existing road within the current arch structure, after which the existing roadway will be demolished. The project is expected to be completed in the summer of 2016.

6. Sydney Harbour Bridge, 503-m main span, Australia. A steel arch bridge designed and built by the British firm Dorman Long and Co. Ltd., it opened in 1932. It carries eight lanes of traffic, two rail tracks, a pedestrian path and a bike lane. Each end of the arch is flanked by 292-ft concrete pylons, faced with granite, which were designed by the Scottish architect Thomas Tait, a partner in the architectural firm John Burnet and Partners. Sixteen construction workers died during the building of the bridge. Tourists are allowed to ascend 200 steps to the top of the bridge’s southeast pylon. Paul Hogan worked as a rigger on the bridge’s maintenance staff for several years. He stumbled into show business when his workmates dared him to enter a TV talent contest in 1972. After stints as a comedian in clubs and TV, he boomed as Crocodile Dundee in 1986.

7. Wushan Bridge, 460-m main span, China. A concrete-filled-steel tubular arch bridge, it was completed in 2005. Upon completion, its bridge deck was 180 m above the surface of the Yangtze River, but that clearance was reduced following the filling of the reservoir behind the Three Gorges Dam, which is over 50 miles downstream of the bridge.

8. Mingzhou Bridge, 450-m main span, China. A double-leg rib arch bridge, it was completed in 2011. It carries the Ningbo Eastern Outer Ring Road. Ningbo is a deep water port city with a population of 3.5 million, separated from Shanghai by Hangzhou Bay.

9. Zhijinghe River Bridge, 430-m main span, China. A concrete-filled-steel tubular arch bridge, it spans a dramatic gorge in Hubei Province. Its deck is 965 ft above the Zhijinghe River, distinguishing it as the highest arch bridge in the world. It carries the West Hurong highway directly into tunnels at each end of the bridge. It opened in 2009.

10. Xinguang Bridge, 428-m main span, China. The Xinguang Bridge is a steel truss arch bridge spanning the Pearl River in Guangzhou. Three sections of the bridge’s main arch were raised and then joined, the first time this construction method was used in China. It was completed in 2008. Guangzhou, a major manufacturing and trading hub, has a population of 11 million and is located about 75 miles northwest of Hong Kong. It was formerly called Canton.