Beautiful Bridges Around the World II

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 ...



Magdeburg Water Bridge (Magdeburg, Germany)

The Magdeburg Water Bridge is exactly what its name suggests; a bridge made over water!
The Magdeburg Water Bridge connects the former East and West Germany over the Elbe River, and it was made as part of the unification project. 1 km long, the 500 million euros water bridge enables river barges to avoid a lengthy and sometimes unreliable passage along the Elbe. Shipping used to come to a halt on the stretch if the river’s water mark felt to unacceptably low levels

The Kintai Bridge (Iwakuni, Japan)

Possibly one of the most unlucky bridges in the world, Kintaikyo was reconstructed in 1673 after every other attempt to cross the Nishiki River via bridge had been foiled by seasonal flooding. The five wooden arches remained intact right up to 1950 when a typhoon finally destroyed them. However, the bridge was again reconstructed three years later and is still crossable today!

K bridge across Paranoa Lake, in Brazil

Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco)

Navajo Bridge (Arizona, USA)

The Longest Bridge-Tunnel Combination: Oresund Bridge

This longest combined road and rail bridge in Europe connects Denmark and Sweden across the Oresund strait. The artificial island itself is 4 km long. Shortly after being built, there were fears that not enough people are going to use it, but as it turned out, Danes were buying less expensive houses in Sweden and commuting to work in Denmark, and the construction costs of close to 30.1 billion are expected to be paid off in 2035

San Diego – Coronado Bridge (San Diego, US)

This award-winning bridge quickly became an area landmark after its opening in 1969. With a vertical clearance of approximately 200 feet, the tallest ships can pass beneath it.

Hangzhou Bay Bridge (Hangzhou Bay, China)

This bridge, recently completed, is the world’s longest trans-oceanic bridge, stretching across Hangzhou Bay off the eastern coast of China. Connecting the municipalities of Shanghai and Ningbo in Zhejiang province, it was linked at 3pm on June the 14th, 2007

The Falkirk Wheel (Scotland)

Strange bridge in Victoria, Canada: Johnson Street Bridge.

onepoto bridge

New Footbridge edinburgh

The Bridge of Aspiration (Covent Garden, London, UK)

Bridge Of Aspiration, Royal Ballet, Covent Garden. The bridge spans Floral Street, between two buildings: The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera House. It caught my eye whilst walking near Covent Garden, London. Architect: Jim Eyre of Wilkinson Eyre.

Peace Bridge (designed by Santiago Calatrava)

Santiago Calatrava is known for his elegant bridges that combine structure with a sculpture-esque touch. Yet, could his iconic style be changing? His latest design for Calgary, Canada is a red and white tubular structure, an aesthetic quite unlike of his earlier works. The new footbridge, slated for completion in 2010, will span the Bow River and aid approximately 5,000 people a day commuting in and out of the city on foot or on bike

Rolling Bridge (UK): The Bridge that Curls Up on Itself

Designed by Heatherwick Studio, the award-winning Rolling Bridge is located Paddington Basin, London. Rather than a conventional opening bridge mechanism, consisting of a single rigid element that lifts to let boats pass, the Rolling Bridge gets out of the way by curling up until its two ends touch. While in its horizontal position, the bridge is a normal, inconspicuous steel and timber footbridge; fully open, it forms a circle on one bank of the water that bears little resemblance to its former self.

Twelve metres long, the bridge is made in eight steel and timber sections, and is made to curl by hydraulic rams set into the handrail between each section

The Hanging Bridge of Bilbao, Spain

Built in 19th century, in a year of 1893, it introduced truly revolutionary combination of 150-meter long steel bridge and a hanging gondola, moving across the river. Similar structures were built after its example, but only a few remain in existence today in the world. The 43-meter towers present an imposing view over the city

The-Malaysia-Sky-Bridge

Kinzua Viaduct in McKean County, Pennsylvania

Conwy Suspension Bridge in the medieval town of Conwy, North Wales

Ini foto lawas .. sekarang di sisi kanan kiri jembatan ini sudah dibangun pula dua buah jembatan, dan kastil di latar belakang sudah tidak ada lagi

Ponte Vecchio (Florence, Italy)

The Ponte Vecchio in Florence is one of the most famous tourist spots in Italy, and is thought to be the oldest wholly-stone built, segmental arch bridge in Europe, although there are many partial segments which date further back. It was originally built of wood until destroyed by floods in 1333, and twelve years later it was rebuilt using stone. Famous for its lining of shops, the bridge has housed everybody from Medieval merchants and butchers to souvenir stalls and art dealers.

La Pont Du Gard Bridge

The name literally means "Bridge across the river", which only serves to prove that this is THE bridge among all bridges. Built sometime around 20 B.C. by the Roman Empire in the South of France, this is one of the most ancient, and possibly the most beautiful of all Roman-built aqueducts. Pont du Gard crosses the Gardon Valley and reaches 49 meters in height, measuring 280 meters in length.

Every huge block of stone (some of which weigh up to 6 tones) was carved to perfectly fit in its place, making this grandiose structure a marvel of masonry & engineering. A number of writers celebrated this bridge in their works, including Jean-Jacques Rousseau in "Confessions". Numerous inscriptions, some ancient Roman in origin, cover the stones, making the whole site a historian's and photographer's paradise.

Chengyang Bridge (Sanjiang of Guangxi Province, China)

The Wind and Rain Bridge is the symbolized architecture of the Dong minority people. The wind and rain bridge in Diping is the largest of its kind in Guizhou Province, where China’s biggest Dong community lives. The bridge is over 50 meters long and it’s first built in 1894 during the Qing Dynasty over 100 years ago. However, the original structure was destroyed in a big fire in 1959 and the one visitors see today was a recreation finished in 1964.

It’s a pure wooden architecture made up of pillars, purlins and balusters of different sizes and shapes. The body of the bridge is divided to three tiers, the largest one in the middle take the shape of a traditional Chinese drum tower. The pilasters and eaves of the bridge are engraved with flowers and patterns and are quite magnificent.

“Stari Most” (Old Bridge)

Star Most is a hump—backed bridge, 4 meters in width and 30 in length, and towers above the river at a height of 24 meters at its highest point. The Helebija tower on the northeast and the Tara tower on the southwest are known as the mostari, or “the bridge keepers”.

Stari Most was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1557 to replace an older wooden suspension bridge. Construction began in 1557 and took nine years to complete and, according to the inscription the bridge, was completed in 974 AH, which corresponds to the period between July 19, 1566 and July 7, 1567.

Jembatan ini pernah dihancurkan waktu perang bosnia beberapa tahun lalu ==>> lihat videonya http://www.youtube.com/wat​ch?v=rfWyKJY1wc8

Carr Bridge (Scotland)

The Root Bridge (Cherrapungee)

"The lower reaches of the southern slopes of Khasi and Jaintia hills are humid and warm and are streaked by many swift flowing rivers and mountain streams. A species of Indian Rubber tree - botanical name: Ficus Elastica - thrives and flourishes alongside these streams and rivers. This tree can comfortably perch itself on huge boulders along side the riverbanks or in the middle of rivers and send its roots down to the riverbed. Thus, they have adapted themselves very well to high soil erosion caused by these fast flowing rivers and streams that come down about 3000 feet along precipitous slopes. These trees shoot out many secondary roots from their trunks.

The early war-Khasis, had noticed these qualities of this tree and had adapted it to serve their need for bridges to cross rivers and streams. In order to direct the roots in the desired direction, betel nut tree trunks, sliced half in the middle for their entire length, are hollowed out and are positioned according to the requirement of the bridge. The thin and long tender roots are then passed through these hollowed out betel nut tree trunks. The roots start growing towards the directed end. When they reach the other end of the stream or river, they are allowed to take root in the soil. These bridges usually have base spans numbering more than two. There are also two protective railing spans. Stones are used to fill any gaps in the base spans and over time they get embedded in the floor of the root bridge. Some of these bridges have roots brought down from the tree branches joining the middle of the bridge as support spans. Some of these root bridges are made by entwining the roots of two trees planted on opposite banks or in the middle of the river on huge boulders.

These root bridges are so strong that some of them can carry 50 or more people at a time. We have some of them in the vicinity of our Resort that are 53 feet, 56 feet, 70 feet and even over 100 feet long. One has two bridges stacked one over the other. We have fondly named it the 'Double Decker Root Bridge'. Now the villagers of Nongriat where the said bridge is located at the bottom of the valley are so thrilled to see so many international tourists dropping to see the bridge, have been kind enough to accept the name and have added to it the name of the stream over which the bridge has been built and are calling it 'Umshiang Double Decker Root Bridge'. This Umshiang Double Decker Root Bridge is so unique, it is the only one of its kind in the entire world.

The roots used in one of these bridges are about 18 inches broad and about 6 inches thick. These bridges are being used daily even today by people living in these villages around Cherrapunjee. These bridges take 10 to 15 years to become fully functional. They keep growing in strength by the day. Perhaps their life span is 500 to 600 years after they are well formed. These bioengineering wonders are eloquent testimonies of man living in harmony with nature."

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