31. Banpo Bridge
Located in: Seoul, Korea
Established: 1982
Cost: $19.41 million*
Located in Seoul, South Korea crossing the Han River, the Banpo Bridge connects the Yongsan and Seocho Districts. Banpo Bridge is adtop the Jamsu Bridge, and it is the upper-half of a double-decker. The Banpo Bridge was the first double-decker ever built in South Korea, and it was originally supposed to be a girder bridge.
Banpo Bridge ©FenlioQ / Shutterstock
Completed in 1982 after two years of construction, the Banpo Bridge has a unique feature: The Moonlight Rainbow Fountain. This Fountain is the longest bridge fountain in the world (confirmed by Guinness). It has 10,000 LED lights that run along dual 347-foot sides. The Fountain shoots out 190 tons of water a minute.
32. Millau Viaduct
Located in: France
Established: 2004
Cost: $424 million*
Metro called this one of the most “terrifying bridges” in the world, and they have a point. The Millau Viaduct is a cable-stayed multi-span bridge that was built in 2004. It is located in the Valley of the Tarn in Southern France, and it crosses the gorge valley.
Millau Viaduct ©Richard Semik / Shutterstock
The bridge is “terrifying” because it is the tallest bridge in the world, a record it holds even today, in 2020. It is 1,104 feet tall. The Viaduct took three years to build, but, once it was inaugurated, it was opened within two days to the public. It won the IABSE’s 2006 Outstanding Structure Award.
33. LEGO Bridge
Located in: Wuppertal, Germany
Established: 2011
Cost: Unknown
The Lego Bridge (in German, Lego-Brucke) took just thirteen days to build. This concrete beam bridge is located along the Wuppertal Northern Railway. It’s a beautiful work of art, made to look like it was constructed from large Legos. Artist Martin Heuwold painted the bridge, which had been decommissioned in 1991, after being inspired by his daughters, who love Legos.
LEGO Bridge ©Morty / Wikimedia.org
The city council in Wuppertal approved his project, as did Lego. Wuppertal Bewegung supervised the painting, which took less than two weeks. Heuwold hired unemployed workers to help complete the project. The Lego Bridge spans 2,700 feet, so painting it was no small task.
34. Aiguille du Midi Bridge
Located in: France
Established: 1958
Cost: Unknown
The Aiguille du Midi is a mountain located in the French Alps in the Mont Blanc massif. This tourist destination is very popular, particularly as the summit has a café, gift shop, and panoramic viewing platform. Tourists are able to get into the viewing center via the Aiguille du Midi Bridge.
Aiguille du Midi Bridge ©Badahos / Shutterstock
The Bridge perches atop the steep mountain, so it’s definitely not suitable for those afraid of heights. You have to take a cable car 1,900 feet up the mountain to reach it. This cable car, called the Vallee Blanche Cable Car, crosses from Pointe Helbronner to Aiguille du Midi.
35. Friendship Bridge
Located in: Nantan, Japan
Established: 2015
Cost: $70 million*
As you can see from the photo, Friendship Bridge, in Nantan, Japan, is no ordinary bridge. Friendship Bridge is located in Yoshi Springs, which is a wellness resort located outside Kyoto, Japan. Friendship Bridge, a pedestrian bridge, does not connect one point to another.
Friendship Bridge @sincpc / Pinterest
Instead, it is a circle that measures 262 feet in diameter. Norihiko Dan & Associates, a Japanese architectural firm, designed Friendship Bridge. It is meant to provide contemplation for people, as it overlooks a vast river. Friendship Bridge is accessible by two cement paths. It has become a popular tourist attraction in the small resort town.
36. Royal Gorge Bridge
Located in: Colorado
Established: 1929
Cost: $5.33 million*
In 1929, the Royal Gorge Bridge cost just $350,000 to build, which, in today’s money, is over $5 million. The Royal Gorge Bridge was the highest suspension bridge in the world until 2003, when the Beipan River Bridge was completed in China. The Royal Gorge is still the highest suspension bridge in America, clearing 955 into the Grand Canyon below.
Royal Gorge Bridge ©Rachapon Namluck / Shutterstock
The steel base structure of the bridge is covered with nearly 1,300 wooden planks. The bridge allows passenger cars before and after park attractions close, depending on the season. The bridge connects to the Royal Gorge Amusement Park, one of Colorado’s most popular tourist attractions.
37. Magdeburg Water Bridge
Located in: Magdeburg, Germany
Established: 2003
Cost: $594.92 million*
In Germany, architects in the early 2000s wanted to devise a bridge that would connect to water bodies by water itself, and, thus, the Magdeburg Water Bridge was built. The Water Bridge lets ships move between Berlin and the Rhineland comfortably. The Water Bridge is the largest canal underbridge in Europe, spanning the Elbe.
Magdeburg Water Bridge ©IURII BURIAK / Shutterstock
Large commercial ships benefit most from this navigable aqueduct, as they used to have to descend into the Elbe and climb out of it. Now, they can just go above it. The bridge’s longest span measures 248 feet. It took six years to build, with construction beginning in 1997.
38. Trift Suspension Bridge
Located in: The Alps
Established: 2004 (Remodeled in 2009)
Cost: Unknown
Thrillist called the Trift Bridge one of the “craziest” bridges in the world. Thrill-seekers certainly love it. The Trift Bridge has a 4.8/5-star rating on Google. It is a 558-foot bridge that has 328-foot clearance below. Construction began on this Gadmen, Switzerland bridge in 2004. It opened to pedestrians only later that year.
Trift Suspension Bridge ©JaviJ / Shutterstock
The bridge spans Triftsee Lake. It receives 20,000 visitors a year. To get to the bridge, you have to take a cable car to Meiringen, and then a gondola. After you land by gondola, you have to hike 1.5 miles uphill to get to the bridge, which is one of the longest and highest of its kind in the world.
39. Aiola Island Bridge
Located in: Graz, Austria
Established: 2003
Cost: $7.8 million*
The Aiola Island Bridge, also known as the Mur Island Bridge, was built in 2003. It took a year to design, courtesy of Acconci Studio, headed by New York City designer Vito Acconci. This unique bridge is a pedestrian bridge that required the creation of a fake island located on the River Mur.
Aiola Island Bridge @arquitecturaespectacular / Pinterest
The futuristic island itself is the main attraction. Located on a platform, the interesting shape is attributed, by Acconci, to his love of “architectural styles and art…from the Middle Ages.” The two bridges leading to the Island connect opposite sides of Graz, Austria, across the River Mur. The projected life of Mur Island is fifty years.
40. Puente de Ojuela Bridge
Located in: Durango, Mexico
Established: 1898
Cost: $30,000-$40,000*
The Puente de Ojuela Bridge often makes the world’s “Most Dangerous Bridges” lists. It’s certainly a strange bridge, built in the late nineteenth century by a New York Company, John A. Roebling Sons & Co. Its designer was Wilhelm Hildenbrand. Located in Mapimi, Durango, Mexico, it led into the abandoned mining town of the Ojuela Goldmine.
Puente de Ojuela Bridge Miryam Zarzar / Wikimedia.org
The 1,870-foot-long bridge lay abandoned (and, according to some internet sleuths, haunted) for nearly a century until the Puente de Ojuela was restored as a tourist attraction in the early nineties. The bridge is used for pedestrians only. Two plaques on the bridge pay homage to “the people who worked in…the mineral town.”
41. Sundial Bridge
Located in: Redding, California
Established: 2004
Cost: $23.5 million*
The Sundial Bridge, located in Turtle Bay, Redding, California, is a cantilever, cable-stayed spar bridge that is suited for cyclists and pedestrians. It forms the shape of a giant sundial. Santiago Calatrava designed the Sundial Bridge for $23.5 million in 2004. It spans 700 feet and has a clearance of just 26 feet.
Sundial Bridge ©Andrew Zarivny / Shutterstock
The Sundial Bridge crosses the Sacramento River. The Bridge provides access to the southern and northern areas of the Turtle Bay Exploration Park, which contains museums, as well as the McConnell Arboretum & Gardens. The Sundial Bridge is also a gateway to the 35-mile-long Sacramento River Trail.
42. Seven Mile Bridge
Located in: Florida
Established: 1982 (Road Bridge)
Cost: $121.42 million*
The Seven Mile Bridge, located in Monroe County, Florida, is a key part of the Florida Keys. It connects Little Duck Key in the Lower Keys to Knight’s Key in Marathon, Florida (the Middle Keys). It is one of the longest bridges in the world, forming part of the 2,368-mile Route 1.
Seven Mile Bridge ©pisaphotography / Shutterstock
The Seven Mile Bridge really has two variations—one that’s open to cars and one that’s open only to cyclists and pedestrians. The older bridge was built in 1909, whereas the newer bridge, which is the US Route 1 connector, was constructed in 1978, opening to the public in 1982.
43. Pont du Gard Aqueduct
Located in: Gard, France
Established: 100 A.D.
Cost: $7.5 million*
That date isn’t a typo—the Pont du Gard really was constructed in the first century A.D. It took twenty years to build, from 40-60 A.D., and the cost was 30 million sesterces—about $7.5 million in today’s money (though that estimate is very rough). The Pont Du Gard was built to carry water across the river Gardon.
Pont du Gard Aqueduct ©kavram / Shutterstock
It carried water to the Nemausus (Nimes) colony of ancient Rome. It is the tallest of all ancient Roman aqueduct bridges today, and it is one of the most meticulously preserved. It is made of Shelly limestone, and UNESCO, acknowledging its immense historical value, added it to its World Heritage Sites list in 1985.
44. Khaju Bridge
Located in: Isfahan, Iran
Established: 1650 (Repaired 1873)
Cost: Unknown
King Abbas II had the Khaju Bridge built in Isfahan, Iran in the seventeenth century. Construction ended in 1650, and it stood, all twenty-three arches untouched, until 1873, when the Iranian government repaired the bridge and restored it to its former glory.
Khaju Bridge Jakob ©Fischer / Shutterstock
King Abbas II installed a pavilion inside the structure so that he could admire the view of his empire. Today, you can actually see some remnants of the stone throne. The bridge is made of stones and bricks. Originally, King Abbas II had it decorated with paintings and tilework, and there was also a teahouse on the Bridge. It crosses the Zayanderud.
45. Gateshead Millennium Bridge
Located in: Newcastle, UK
Established: 2001
Cost: $29.37 million*
The Gateshead Millennium Bridge is a cyclist and pedestrian tilt bridge that crosses the River Tyne. It connects the Quayside of Newcastle upon Tyne to the Gateshead arts quarter. The structure was designed by WilkinsonEyre and Gifford. The bridge is also called the “Winking” or “Blinking Eye Bridge,” because of its tilted shape.
Gateshead Millennium ©Bridge ColourArt / Shutterstock
The Millennium Bridge is the sixteenth-tallest structure in Tyneside. The Asian Hercules II, one of the largest floating cranes in the world, lifted the Bridge in one piece into place. There are six hydraulic rams in total, which rotate the bridge to allow boats and sail ships to pass through. It takes just 4 and ½ minutes to rotate from closed to open.