10. London Bridge - Lake Havasu, Arizona, USA
Built over the River Thames in the 1820s, this is the very bridge that inspired the song “London Bridge is Falling Down” and just like in the song, it did indeed “fall down” when it was deconstructed and transported, piece by piece, to Lake Havasu City in Arizona. The reason behind this? In the 1960s, London bridge was found to be too small to accommodate the growing traffic of London’s metropolitan city so it was then put up for auction and, in 1968, was sold to Rober McCulloch, founder of Lake Havasu City, for a price of $2.5 million.
9. Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge - Boston, Massachusetts, USA
This Boston-based bridge is one that’s not hard to spot not only for it’s gargantuan size – it spans over 1400 feet across Boston’s Charles River and comprises of a whopping 10 lanes for traffic – but also for it’s unique design
8. Sydney Harbour Bridge - Sydney, Australia
Looking at the below picture, it’s easy to see why Australians have given the Sydney Harbour Bridge the nickname “coat hanger”. Its construction took all off five years as well as 53,000 tons of steel and was completed during the Great Depression. Every year, the bridge gets a fresh coat of paint to ensure that its appearance is maintained – 72,000 gallons of gray paint goes into this, by the way.
7. Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel - Virginia, USA
So massive and so extensive, the Bay Bridge-Tunnel is one of the few structures on Earth that can be seen from outer space. For something so colossal, plenty of time and money would of course be needed and true enough, the bridge-tunnel took roughly 30 years to complete before it was opened in 1964 and at a cost of about $450 million. The part of the entire structure which is the bridge was built as a shortcut for residents traveling to and from Virginia, Delaware and Maryland and also served as a protection for the U.S. Navy. The tunnel part, on the other hand, was built as an alternative route for the Navy.
6. Brooklyn Bridge - New York, USA
The Brooklyn Bridge has been providing a link between New York and Brooklyn ever since it was first opened in 1883 and looking at it, it’s no surprise that it’s considered to be one of the many pride and joys of modern engineering – it happens to be the longest suspension bridge in the world and its towers were once the tallest structures in the concrete jungle that is New York.
5. Firth of Forth Bridge - Queensferry, Scotland
A bridge has to be extremely sturdy if it’s meant to support hundreds of trains every day and this impressive structure is one such bridge. The first bridge to be constructed mainly out of steel – an estimate of 54,000 tons! – and held together with more than 7 million rivets, the Firth of Forth certainly is one strapping structure.
4. Tower Bridge - London, England
A much needed addition to the London Bridge in the 1890s, the Tower Bridge was constructed to help ease traffic and as a solution to the congestion on the London Bridge. Now that the London Bridge has found a new home, the Tower Bridge remains as one of London’s most famous tourist attractions.
3. Sunshine Skyway Bridge - St. Petersburg, Florida, USA
This next bridge stretches on for 4 miles and happens to be the 5th-largest cable-stayed bridge in the world. To ensure that the support columns of the bridge will not be easily moved or destroyed by impacts from passing boats, 36 “dolphins” were included into the building of this stunningly large and long structure
2. Akashi Kaikyo Bridge - Kobe, Japan
Not as large as the Zakim bridge in terms of width, but the Akashi Kaikyo bridge is still so humongous, it is able to accommodate 9 million cars per year on its 6 lanes of freeway. And given the fact that it was built under some of the most severe weather conditions in the world, this bridge is one that can’t and will not be moved
1. Golden Gate Bridge - San Francisco, California, USA
If you’re trying to imagine just how long the Golden Gate Bridge is, picture this: 40 jumbo jets parked end to end; this bridge is not colossal, it’s super-colossal! Serving as a connection between San Francisco and Marin County, this majestic bridge was completed in 1937 and raked up a cost of $26 million.
