Thursday, July 14, 2011

Beautiful Bridges Around the World I

I'm on your side ... When times get rough ..
And friends just can't be found ...
Like a BRIDGE over troubled water ..

I will lay me down


Nanhu bridge China



Peace bridge US-Canada



Banpo Bridge (South Korea)The Fountain Bridge
On September 9, 2008, the Banpo Bridge in Seoul (South Korea) got a major facelift: a 10,000-nozzle fountain that runs all the way along both its sides. Immediately after being installed, the bridge turned into a major tourist attraction, as the bridge pumps out 190 tons of water per minute using the water from the river below.


Yeongheung Bridge, South Korea



Henderson Waves (Singapore)
At a height of 36 metres or 12 storeys from the road, the Henderson Waves it’s the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore. The 300-metre bridge links up the parks at Mount Faber and Telok Blangah Hill.


Gateshead Millennium Bridge (Gateshead to Newcastle, UK)
Spanning the River Tyne in England between Gateshead on the south bank and Newcastle-upon-Tyne on the north, the next bridge in our journey was another of the projects commissioned for the turn of the Millennium. It is a pedestrian and cycle bridge, instead of a stereotypical automobile bridge, and its design provided designers Wilkinson Eyre (a high-profile architecture firm) with the 2002 Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Stirling Prize.

What’s special about this bridge is its ability to allow boats and other water traffic to move underneath it, despite being relatively low to the surface of the river. Mini hydraulic rams on each side of the bridge tilt it back on special pivots, lifting the bridge out of the way of those attempting to go underneath. This move has lent the bridge a new nickname, the Blinking Eye Bridge.


Helix Bridge (Singapore)



Lu Pu Bridge (China)
The Lupu Bridge is currently the longest arch bridge in the world, stretching a massive 550 meters across the Huangpu River, China. Along with being a record holder (“The bridge’s arch is longer than the previous record holder, the 518-metre long New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia”), the bridge is also the center point for a lot of local hostility.


Nanpu Bridge (Shanghai, China)
The spiral bridge approach in puxi is considered to be a wonder in world bridge construction. It is made to minimize the amount of land used by the bridge approach.



Erasmus Bridge (Rotterdam, Netherlands)



Octavio Frias de Oliveira Bridge (Brazil)
The Octavio Frias de Oliveira Bridge over the Pinheiros River in São Paulo, Brazil was opened in May 2008. It is 138 metres (450 ft) tall, and connects Marginal Pinheiros to Jornalista Roberto Marinho Avenue. It’s design is unique in that the 2 curved decks of the bridge cross each other through its X-shaped supporting tower.


The Bosphorus Bridge - connecting 2 continents



Tsing Ma Bridge Hongkong



Aiola Island Bridge (Australia)



Khaju Bridge (Iran)



Karoon 3 Bridge Iran



Tower Bridge (UK): Most Famous and Beautiful Victorian Bridge
Completed in 1894 and designed by Horace Jones and Wolfe Barry, Tower Bridge (so named after the two, striking, 141ft high towers and the Tower of London close to it) is one of the most famous landmarks in London and one of the most beautiful in the world. The 800ft long bridge has a 28ft clearance when closed but raises in the centre to a maximum clearance of 140ft that allows ships to pass down the Thames. Back in the days when goods were moved by sea instead of air the bridge was raised around 50 times daily. Tower Bridge took 432 workers 8 years to build. During that time they sank 70,000 tonnes of concrete into 2 huge piers, lowered 2 counterbalanced bascules into place each weighing 1,000 tonnes and then clad the whole bridge in Portland stone and Cornish granite to disguise the 11,000 tonnes of steel beneath.



Sydney Harbour Bridge
is the widest long-span bridge in the world at a total length of 3,770ft!





Millau Viaduct (France)
Towering 1,125ft above the Tarn Valley in southern France, driving along the Millau Bridge is said to feel like flying. This Foster + Partners marvel is slightly taller than the Eiffel Tower, took three years to build and opened to the public in 2004. While it may provide picturesque views of the valley below, once the mist descends it is not a route for the faint hearted! The Millau Bridge has a total length of 8,071ft with the longest single span at 1,122ft and a maximum clearance below of 886ft; in short the bridge is massively impressive both on paper and in real life. The deck is lofted on 7 pylons and weighs 36,000 tonnes. A series of 7 masts, each 292ft tall and weighing 700 tonnes, are attached to the corresponding pylons.


Pont de Normandie Prancis