Qingdao Jiaozhou Bay Bridge passes over China’s Jiazhou Bay and is one of the longest bridges in the world to run entirely across water. Spanning a total length of 16.6 miles (approximately 27km) this can be a particularly scary passing for those who have a fear of looking down to the lapping waters below, but visitors can rest assured that it’s a strong one.
With its longest continuous segment spanning a whopping 16.1 miles or 25.9km, it’s one of the longest bridges in the world, and it helps to reduce the road distance between Licang District and Huangdao District in Qingdao by 30 km.
This meant that those travelling the journey could save between 20 and 30 minutes when compared with travelling via the expressway along the coast.
The opening of the bridge also took weight off the three-ferry service which connected the Huangdao region to the city of Qingdao, but was struggling with rising passengers and cargo levels.
However, along with its length, one of the most impressive things about his bridge is its strength.
Engineers designed the bridge using 450,000 tons of steel and 2.3 million cubic metres of concrete in a bid to withstand intense natural disasters including earthquakes of up to 8.0 magnitude and typhoons.
The bridge is also designed to handle collisions from 300,000-tonne vessels. In the winter months, the bridge is one of the largest to be constructed on frozen waters in China, with Jiaozhou Bay experiencing an annual ice period of 60 days each year.
Some of its most defining features are the mighty concrete columns that hold the road up above the water.
But creating such a strong and sturdy bridge does not come cheap. According to the official state-run television company CCTV, it was reported to cost around 10 billion yuan, which equates to roughly £10 billion at the current exchange rate.
The design of the bridge involves three channel bridges – Cangkou, Red Island and Dagu Channel. The Cangkou Bridge spans 260m, the Red Island Bridge covers a distance of 120m, while the Cangkou Channel Bridge was reported to be the first ocean interchange in China.
The construction of the bridge began in 2007 and thanks to the work of more than 20,000 people, it was completed four years later in 2011.
