4 out of the ordinary bridges

14Jul08

These four bridges are by far, the coolest things I have ever seen. The time and effort spent making these magnificent bridges is just mind blowing.

1. Vizcaya bridge, located in Portugal

It is the world’s oldest transporter bridge and was built in 1893, designed by Alberto Palacio. It was the solution given by the engineer to the problem of connecting the two towns without disrupting the maritime traffic. The bridge, still in use, is 164 meters long and its gondola can transport six cars and several dozens of passengers in one minute and a half. It operates every 8 minutes, 24 hours a day all year round, with different fares depending on the time of day

sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

2. Magdeburg Water bridge, located in Germany

It’s 918 meters, completed in October 2003. Construction began in 1997, and after six years and around half a billion euros, the gigantic water bridge connects Berlin’s inland harbor with the ports along the Rhine river. The huge tub created to transport ships over the Elbe took 24,000 metric tons of steel and 68,000 cubic meters of concrete to build.

sources: 1, 2, 3

3. Kawazu loop bridge, located in Kawazu, Japan.

Built in 1981, the Kawazu loop bridge is possibly the only double loop bridge in the world. 45 meters high, 1.1 km long and with a diameter of 80 meters. It is located in Kawazu, Japan.

sources: 1, 2

4. Sakura bridge, located in Tokyo

What makes the bridge unique is the fact that the vibrations caused by vehicles crossing the structure are converted by way of the piezo effect (the ability for some materials, more often than not crystals, to produce electricity as a result of mechanical pressure) and subsequently used to generate the electricity needed to illuminate the bridge. The metropolitan expressway company aim to utilize this technology across the entire network of roads, eventually negating the need for any other kind of external power source when lighting the roads.

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