Nobody knows the exact date of construction of the world’s first suspension bridge. There is reliable information about the construction of such structures in Southeast Asia, Ancient Egypt, Central and South America. Therefore, we can assume that this design has been known to mankind for more than 3 thousand years. True, throughout all this time, suspension bridges remained quite primitive and made it possible to overcome small water obstacles and gorges.
With the development of technology, suspension bridges became stronger, longer and more reliable. The first modern bridge was built by James Finley in 1796 in the Northeastern United States. Since then, a competition has begun among engineering projects for the title of longest bridge, which is currently won by the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge by Japanese specialist Satoshi Kashimi (on the map). It connects the islands of Shikoku and Awaji and has already been included in the Guinness Book of Records twice in its short history. Firstly, Akashi Kaikyo is recognized as the longest suspension bridge in the world. The distance from one end to the other is 3911 meters. Secondly, the construction of Satoshi Kashimi in the period from 1998 to 2004 was recognized as the highest bridge in the world. Only the Millau Viaduct in the south of France could surpass it.
Construction of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge began in 1988 and lasted 10 years. Frequent and severe storms, as well as almost one and a half thousand ships plying the strait daily, created additional difficulties for workers. Initially, in the project, on which hundreds of specialists worked for almost 3 years, it was assumed that the length of the central section of the structure would be 1990 meters. But the forces of nature made their own adjustments to the engineers’ plans. In 1995, a very strong earthquake occurred in Kobe, due to which one of the pylons deviated from the set course by almost 1 meter, so the entire bridge had to be “stretched” by the same amount in order to maintain its integrity and design strength.
Another problem that workers encountered was that the concrete for the bridge’s supports had to be laid directly under water. To successfully resolve this issue, it was necessary to create a new type of this building material, which would harden as quickly as possible right at the bottom of the bay.
The design of any modern suspension bridge consists of many steel cables. Akashi Kaikyo has so many of them that they can encircle our entire planet almost seven times! Particular attention was paid to safety during the construction of the bridge. The grandiose structure is so stable that it can easily withstand the strongest underwater currents, winds whose speed reaches 80 meters per second, as well as earthquakes with a magnitude of up to 8.5.
About 2 million workers took part in the construction of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge. The state spent about $5 billion on the construction of the structure. In order to somehow recoup the costs, travel across the bridge was made toll. Now this pleasure costs 20 dollars. Due to such a high price, many Japanese prefer to continue to use ferries to cross the Akashi Strait.
Next to the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge there is a museum dedicated to him. In it you can see a small copy of the structure, study information about all stages of its construction, from digging a pit to tensioning cables. The museum occupies two floors and consists of 13 separate zones. In addition to the bridge models, there is part of a real cable, the diameter of which is 1.12 meters.
The museum receives visitors every day, except Mondays and holidays. Its doors are open from 09:15 to 17:00 from the beginning of April to July 19, until 18:00 from July 20 to 31, and the rest of the time it is open until 16:30.
On the bridge itself there is a special observation deck for tourists, although you can climb it only when accompanied by a museum employee. From there, from the height of a 100-story building, you have an incredible view of the bridge, the city of Kobe and Awaji Island. Every day two excursions are organized to the site. The ticket price is 3,000 yen (1,920 rubles). An application to visit the observation deck must be submitted in advance and no less than 2 months before the planned date.
The easiest way to get to the longest suspension bridge in the world is from Osaka, where the international airport is located. As a rule, you can fly to this Japanese city from Russia with just one transfer. Ticket prices start from 25 thousand rubles.
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Author: Roskin Mikhail
